L1&2: Nationalism in the Middle East After World War One
World Between the Wars Part One
Agenda
Objective:
1. To understand and evaluate
issues of nationalism,
autonomy, and control in
the Middle East following
World War One.
Schedule:
1. Lecture
2. Discussion
Homework
None
The World Between the Wars
• Two Foci
– Nationalism created in the Middle East, Asia,
and Africa
– The rise of dictatorships in Europe and Asia
• First Unit: The Rise of Nationalism in the
Middle East, Asia, and Africa
– Review Unit Schedule
The Middle East In World War One
The Middle East 1914
What Do You Notice?
The Middle East in WWI
Arabia
Persia
• Formally neutral, but battles
between the British and the
Ottomans happened on their turf
• Individuals likely took sides
• Formally neutral, but battles
between the British and the
Ottomans happened on their turf
• Individuals likely took sides
Colonial Possessions
Ottoman Empire
• Fought on the side of their colonial
masters
• Once a great and powerful empire
ruling over the entire Middle East,
by 1914 was known as the “sick
man of Europe.”
• Joined the war on the side of
Germany and Austria-Hungary
The Middle East in WWI:
The Ottoman Empire
• Ottomans fought on the
side of Germany and
Austria Hungary
• Why?
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Attempt to maintain control
over other minority groups still
in the Empire
• Armenians, Arabs, Kurds
Out of fear of a Russian
invasion (Continuous wars
with Russia for the past 100
years)
Attempt to regain traditional
territory in the Balkans
The Middle East in World War One:
The British Seek Help from the Arab People to
Defeat the Ottomans
• As we know, the Ottoman Empire was
comprised of many different ethnic
groups (Turks, Armenians, Arabs,
Assyrians, etc.)
• Many of the groups were unhappy with
the fact that they were ruled by the
Ottomans and wished to create their
own independent states
• One such people were the Arabs.
• The British believed that they could
channel this Anti-Ottoman sentiment
(and pro-Arab nationalism) to their
advantage…
The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence:
Britain Inspires Revolution
• In a series of letters written in 1915-1916,
the British encouraged the Arabs to revolt
against the Ottoman Empire
• The letters declared that if the Arabs
revolted, the British would recognize their
independence after the war.
The Arab Revolt
• The Arab Revolt began
in June 1916, when an
Arab army of around
70,000 men moved
against Ottoman forces.
• Assisted by the British
– “Lawrence of Arabia”
• The Revolt was
successful at helping to
defeat the Ottoman
Empire
Ottoman Empire 1915-1918
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•
•
•
Outgunned
Undermanned
Industry couldn’t keep up
Citizen’s turned against
the empire
– Arab Revolt, Armenians
taking arms against the
Ottomans, etc.
• Eventually defeated
The Middle East After
World War One
Questions on the Table
Colonies
Ottoman Empire
• Would they be given
independence in exchange
for their service in World War
One?
• The Empire is done. What
will happen to all of the
different ethnic groups living
there who seek selfdetermination?
Arabs
Jews
• How/when would an
independent Arab state be
established?
• How/when would an
independent Jewish state be
established?
The Middle East’s Perspective on these
Questions
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•
What do you think?
How do Wilson’s 14 Points support
these sentiments…
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“What we demand in this war ... is that
the world be made fit and safe to live in;
and particularly that it be made safe for
every peace-loving nation which, like our
own, wishes to live its own life, determine
its own institutions, be assured of justice
and fair dealing by the other peoples of
the world.”
“Free, open-minded, and absolutely
impartial adjustment of all colonial claims,
based upon a strict observance of the
principle that in determining all such
questions of sovereignty the interests of
the populations concerned must have
equal weight with the equitable claims of
the government whose title is to be
determined.”
Europe’s Perspective on these
Questions
• What do you think?
The Middle East After World War One:
Sykes-Picot Agreement
• May 1916
• Secret agreement between Britain and France,
with the assent of Russia
• Carved up the Middle East for British, French,
and Russian control should they win World War
One
• Completely disregards the “promise” of Arab
independence
• The secret agreement was revealed to the world
by the Bolsheviks in October 1917 (oh snap!)
Territorial Distribution Proposed by
Sykes-Picot
• France:
– Syria, Lebanon and
Southern Turkey
• Britain:
– South Iran, Jordan, West
coast of Saudi Arabia, Iraq,
Eastern Yemen
• International
Administration:
– Palestine, Central Iran
• Independent Armenia
Final Agreements Reached
The Mandate System
• Following WWI, the newly created League of Nations
established something called the “mandate system”
• Mandate system was a legal status for certain
territories transferred from the control of one country
to another following the war.
• Said that these territories would be administered by
France or Britain
– French and British troops and colonial administrators
would take control of the government.
• Why did France and Britain want to retain control
over the Middle East?
– Oil!
Mandate System in Action!
• Treaty of Sevres (1920) divided the Ottoman Empire
into:
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British Mandate of Palestine
British Mandate of Iraq
French Mandate of Syria
Armenia
Saudi Arabia
Some Land given to Greece
Islands given to Italy
Allies would occupy the remainder of the Ottoman Empire
(until…revolution creates Turkey)
• World War One (the war to make the world safe for
democracy) strengthened the influence of France
and Britain in the Middle East
Mandate System
• Rationale:
– “which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand
by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the
modern world, there should be applied the principle
that the well-being and development of such peoples
form a sacred trust of civilization and that securities
for the performance of this trust should be embodied
in this Covenant.”…
– “entrusted to advanced nations who by reason of
their resources, their experience or their geographical
position can best undertake this responsibility, and
who are willing to accept it,…”
• How does the mandate system reflect European
ideas about race and imperialism?
The Balfour Declaration
• Letter from the British Foreign
Secretary Lord Balfour to the
leader of the Zionist movement
indicating the creation of a
homeland for the Jewish people.
• Territory for the homeland would
come from “the territories lying
between the Jordan and the
eastern borders of Palestine.”
• In Palestine, conflicting forces of
Arab nationalism and Zionism
created a situation the British
could neither resolve nor extricate
themselves from.
What Happens to Certain
Nations/Regions
Occupied Ottoman Empire
• Turkish nationalist
movement led by
Mustafa Kemal begins
to form in opposition to
allied occupation
• Turks were the ethnic
group who had led the
Ottoman Empire
• Turkish War of Independence 1922
– Kemal and Turkish nationalist fight occupying forces
– Also use the war as an opportunity to expel ethnic
Greeks from the nation.
• In 1922, Republic of Turkey is established
Republic of Turkey
• The role of nationalism in creating the
Republic of Turkey was two-sided:
– Turks will be the only Middle Eastern ethnic
group to successfully cast off European control
in the years immediately following World War
One
– Nation-building accompanied by mass death
and the flight of millions of
refugees to escape rule by
another people
Republic of Turkey
• President = Mustafa
Kemal (Ataturk)
• Sought to create a
new, modern, and
secular republic
• Reformed many of
the past practices of
the Ottoman empire
– Full rights of women,
new writing system
based upon the Latin
alphabet
Iran
•Independent nation of Persia
becomes Iran
•Iran becomes a Shi’ite nation.
Shi’ite Islam becomes the state
religion, with a formal hierarchy of
clergy.
•In 1906, the weak kings are
overthrown and a parliament
(majlis) established.
•Reza Shah Pahlavi stages a
coup in 1921, strengthens central
authority, begins modernization,
builds railroads.
•Under his son Mohammed, Iran
becomes an ally of the U.S. in the
Cold War.
Saudi Arabia
• Abdul-Aziz bin Saud
unites Bedouin tribes
– Had hoped to create a
pan-Arab state, but
British actions in the
Middle East made that
impossible
• Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia is created in
1926.
• Oil discovered in 1930s.
• US forms alliance during
World War II.
Iraq
• British Mandate of Mesopotamia
was established by the League
of Nations
• British imposed territorial
boundaries that did not take into
account the politics of the
different ethnic and religious
groups of the era.
• Lots of revolts and problems;
British reportedly gas Kurdish
villages
• Independence was not achieved
until 1932
Palestine
• Administered as a British mandate
• Was supposed to be populated by both
Muslims and Jews (per Balfour Declaration)
• In the early years of the Mandate, Jewish
immigration to Palestine was quite
substantial.
• Palestine Riots of 1920s
– Violent conflicts between Muslims and Jews
– Trust among the British, Jews, and Arabs
eroded
• Jewish community increased moves
towards an autonomous infrastructure and
security apparatus parallel to that of the
British
• Tensions continued up until and throughout
the 1920s and 1930s.
Syria
• Administered by French mandate
• Nationalist agitation against the French led
to a revolt in 1925, but was suppressed by
the French
• Syria and France
negotiated a treaty of
independence in 1936
Why Was the Middle East Unable to Establish a
Pan-Arab State and Cast Off European Control?
• Complicated!! But in part…
– Arab-speaking people were deeply divided
• By Leader:
– Sheik Hussein (Leader of the Arab Revolt)
– Ibn Saud (Leader of the revolt to establish Saudi Arabia)
• By Religion/Sect:
– Muslims divided into five separate sects
– Christians divided into 10 different sects
– These divisions prevented the emergence of a
powerful nationalist movement and permitted
Britain and France to divide and rule separate
parts of the area
Putting It All Together
•
How would you summarize the treatment of the
Middle East following WWI?
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How did Europe’s sense of nationalism influence their
treatment?
What do you think the goal of Europe was in the
Middle East post-war?
How would you summarize the nationalist sentiment
in the Middle East following WWI?
What accounts for the development of this
sentiment?
Do you think nationalism was successful in the
Middle East? Why or why not?