The Arab Revolt and Syria
Map of the Ottoman Administrative Divisions in Syria
The geographical region of Syria – as part of the larger region defined as Levant, had been under Ottoman rule since its conquest in the 16th Century. Damascus, the old capital of the Umayyads, remained an important center for Arabic culture – and commerce and trade. However, most of the traditionally rich and prosperous lands of Syria fell to mismanagement during the years of Ottoman rule, and by the 19th Century, Syria was a mere shell of the era of the Great Caliphs. The Tanzimat reforms of the Ottoman Empire were the first major chance to face Syria, even though the traditional Arab family systems persisted through the centralization measures. A major effect of the reforms was the surge in sectarian clashes around Mount Lebanon, between the Druze and the Maronites. Shockwaves of these tensions echoed to Damascus, and led to the involvement of the Western Powers, with the French backing the Maronites, the British the Druze, while the Sublime Porte proclaimed the sultan's benevolence toward all his religiously equal subjects. The changes in the Land Laws led to the First Aliyah of the Russian Jews, who started to settle in Palestine. At the same time, Arabism and regional patriotism mixed and gained predominance over pan-Ottomanism among the Arabs of Syria. Already in 1868, Ibrahim al-Yazigi, a Syrian Christian philosopher, called for the Arabs to "recover their lost ancient vitality and throw off the yoke of the Turks".
The turn of the century saw the second major change in Ottoman Syria - the era of the railroads. Construction of the Hejaz Railway was underway, which dramatically shortened the travel time between Hejaz and Damascus. As the railways were built through the Hauran plateau, and as the Young Turk revolution, economic change and increased taxation and conscription started to mount as a burden in the Damascus Vilayet, the Druze family of al-Atrash, de facto rulers of al-Suwayda, started to show increased resentment towards the Turkish rulers. In 1909, a small dispute between Druze and Bedouin lead to clashes, and soon the Houran Plateau and the Druze Mountain lands were in a revolting mood. In the end, the revolt was brutally crushed by Ottoman forces by 1910, and the Druze leader Zuqan al-Atrash was executed. It can be argued that this event acted as an example for the later Arab Revolt in the Hejaz.
A year after the Houran Revolt, Muslim intellectuals and politicians from throughout Syria formed al-Fatat - "the Young Arab Society", a nationalist club, in Paris. Initially, al-Fatat called for greater autonomy within the Ottoman state rather than Arab independence from the Empire. They also organized the Congress of 1913, also known as the First Syrian Congress, in the hall of the French Geographical Society. The Congress didn’t achieve much apart for symbolic relevance, and a declaration calling for Arabic becoming an official language in the Arab provinces, employment of Arab troops only in their home provinces except in time of war and a stronger locally-controlled provincial government. Of course, the Porte could simply disregard this, as most Arab Muslims continued to believe in loyalty to the Empire – as its head was their Caliph.
By 1914 unrest had already broken out among the tribes of the central Arabian interior, where Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, in alliance with the Wahabi Islamist movement, openly condemned the Ottoman government of the Young Turks as anti-Islamic. Meanwhile, the Hashemite ruler of Hejaz, Sharif Hussein ibn Ali, worried about the Ottoman Railway, which could bring 1000 devout pilgrims overnight from Damascus– or 1000 Ottoman soldiers. The Hashemites saw this as a grave threat to their rule, and to their traditional society which had largely been left in place by previous decades of Ottoman Administration. The start of the First World War changed the situation, as now Arabs were drafted and sent to fight on the Egyptian and Caucasian Fronts, and tax collectors were sent to the tribes. The United Kingdom, of course, knew of these events, and weapons started to flow to Sharif Hussein, as he worked to create chains of alliances among the Bedouins. But he also made contact with the urban based al-Fatat of Syria.
The Arab Revolt itself began on 5 June 1916. Forces commanded by Sharif Hussein ibn Ali’s sons, the emirs Ali and Feisal, attacked the Ottoman garrison at Medina in an attempt to seize the holy city and its railway station, receiving support from the British. By the end of July the ports of Jiddah, Yanbu and Rabegh were in Arab hands, allowing an increase in supply of arms and equipment, as well as the arrival of the former Arab prisoners-of-war, who now came to fight against the Turks alongside the Bedouin tribes. A British military mission was also dispatched, and a Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence started to slowly gain influence in it. The rebels, under co-ordination of Lawrence, spent most of 1917 attacking the railway, and keeping Ottoman troops at bay. A daring raid let to the capture of Aqaba, a new base, and recognition from the British commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, Sir Edmund Allenby. Reconnaissance parties penetrated all the way into Syria and rebel leaders made contact with Arab nationalists in Damascus. Simultaneously, the British pushed into Palestine and the Jordan Valley, and the Ottoman Empire began to falter.
The Battle of Megiddo, fought between 19th and 25th of September, 1918, ended in a decisive victory for the anti-Ottoman allies. The victory would have likely been impossible, if the Arab Northern Army hadn’t been able to launch raids to the rear of the Ottomans, capturing the vital railway junction at Deraa. The Arab Army and their allies launched a pursuit of the fleeing Ottomans, liberating the Houran, Quneitra, Sa’sa and coming closer and closer to Damascus, the capital of an Ottoman Viaylet. Fleeing German and Ottoman soldiers passed through the city towards Homs, as an evacuation was ordered due to the fears of becoming trapped in the valleys. On 1st of October, 1918, the independence of Syria was proclaimed and the Hejaz flag raised over the Governor's palace by Emir Said Abd el Kader, who formed a provisional council to rule the city until Prince Feisal took command. T.E. Lawrence drove into Damascus with the Arab Army leaders and their forces. They met at the Town Hall and declared their loyalty to King Hussein, Prince Feisal's father. This all happened while there still were Ottoman troops in the city, and by the time the British Army entered, Arab flags flattered over the city and an Arab Government was declared.
((Second part of history IC coming tomorrow))
