The Mandate System, the Making of the Middle East, and the Russian Revolution

HIST 10043/27/13

World War I and the Ottoman Empire• Ottoman Empire signs alliance with Germany on Aug. 2, 1914.• Hope to gain territory at expense of Russia.• Armenian Genocide: forced march of Armenians thought to be allying with the Russians causes hundreds of thousands of deaths.• Gallipoli Peninsula: British try to open up eastern front by landing troops near the Dardanelles, Ottomans push them back.

The Arab Revolt• Arabs had not ruled the Arab world since the 10th century.• Development of Arab nationalism in opposition to Turkish

nationalism.• British (occupying Egypt) promise Hussein ibn Ali, the Emir of

Mecca an Arab kingdom if he would help overthrow the Ottomans.• What kinds of promises did Sir Henry McMahon give Hussein ibn

Ali?• Hussein’s son Faisal led a revolt in support of a British advance into Syria which helps defeat the Ottoman Empire.• T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) and LowellThomas

The Mandate System• France, Britain, Italy, and Japan decide to divide up German colonies

and former Ottoman territories.• But Woodrow Wilson promoting self-determination.• Mandate System: Colonial administration held accountable by the

League of Nations for the “material and moral well-being and the social progress of the inhabitants.”

• Class A (developed), B (small, undeveloped), and C mandates (large, undeveloped)

• Arab territories Class A Mandates: “reached a state of development where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory, until such time as they are able to stand alone.”

Sykes-Picot Agreement• Britain and France agree to divide up Arab territories between each other.• After the war, they adopt the language of “Mandates”• Britain receives Palestine, Transjordan, and Mesopotamia• France receives Syria and Lebanon• How does this agreement compare to the promises made in the McMahon letters?• What should the Arabs expect as a Class A Mandate?

The New Middle East

• Divides map of region into countries which never existed before.

• Syria becomes Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, and Palestine.• Problems of boundaries last throughout 20th century

– Iraq and Kuwait– Kurdistan

• 1922: Egypt becomes “independent”, but British troops still stationed along Suez Canal.• 1931: King Faisal granted independence for Iraq, but British bases must stay.

Zionism and the Balfour Declaration

• Zionism: Jewish nationalist movement, seeking a Jewish homeland away from European anti-Semitism.

• Theodore Herzl (1860-1904): Argues for a homeland in Palestine due to historic connections.

• Supported by many Europeans as solution to anti-Semitism.• Chaim Weizmann: leader of British Zionists, persuades politicians to

reserve a piece of Ottoman Empire for Jewish homeland.• Balfour Declaration: agreement sent from Foreign Secretary Sir Arthur Balfour to Weizmann expressing British support.• How does this complicate the agreements made to Hussein ibn Ali and Faisal?

Jewish Immigration• Jewish communities throughout the Ottoman Empire.• 19th century: European Jews begin immigrating to Palestine.• Balfour Declaration and British Mandate increase immigration rate.• Kibbutzim: settlers found communal farms to create self-sufficient

Jewish communities.• Tenant farmers evicted to make room for settlers fuel anger, 1920-1921 riots.• British try to limit immigration, but Zionist organizations smuggle in immigrants.• 1930’s British face strikes and guerrilla warfare from both sides.

The Kemalist Republic

• Treaty of Sevres (1920): forces Ottoman sultan to hand most of his lands to France, Britain, Italy, Greece, and Armenia.

• Mustafa Kemal: army officer, gained fame at Gallipoli, forms nationalist movement.• 1922: Turkish War of Independence reclaims most of Anatolia and the area around Istanbul.• Turkish-Greek population exchange.

Atatürk

• Mustafa Kemal becomes leader of Turkish Republic.• Atatürk: Father of the Turks• Radical modernizer and reformer.• Abolishes the sultanate• Secular republic • Introduces European legal system, suppresses Muslim courts, schools, and religious orders• Replaces Arabic alphabet with Latin alphabet.

Atatürk

• Requires people to take family names.• Women receive equal rights, including right to vote and run for office.• Polygamy is outlawed, civil marriages and divorces.• Discourages women from veiling.• Replaces fez with brimmed hat.• What do hats have to do with national identity?

Westernization in the Middle East

• British and French seen as foreign occupiers throughout Middle East.

• Large scale urbanization.• Turkey inspires Arab urban and middle class to adopt

Western ideas and styles.• Establishment of western schools and universities.• Strong French influence in North Africa where French settled and Lebanon.