Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
guardian of the Muslim holy places, who had taken up the reins of the Arab nationalist
movement in 1914. He was joined by his brother Abdullah and the enigmatic British col-
onel TE Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia (see the boxed text,
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)
.
Lawrence helped with coordination and securing supplies from the Allies, as well as at-
tacking the Turkish-controlled Hejaz Railway, in a campaign that swept across the desert
from Arabia, wrested Aqaba from the Ottomans and eventually ousted them from Damas-
cus. By 1918 the Arabs controlled modern Saudi Arabia, Jordan and parts of southern
Syria. Faisal set up government in Damascus and dreamed of an independent Arab realm.
Glad of the help in weakening the Ottoman Empire (allies of Germany during WW1),
the British promised to help Faisal. The promise was severely undermined, however, by
the 1917 Balfour Declaration:
This contradictory acceptance of both a Jewish homeland in Palestine and the preservation
of the rights of the original Palestinian community lies at the heart of the seemingly irre-
concilable Arab-Israeli conflict.
The Creation of Jordan
The Arab Revolt may not have immediately
achieved its goal during peace negotiations,
but it did lead directly (albeit after over two
decades of wrangling with the British) to the
birth of the modern state of Jordan.
At the 1919 Paris Peace Conference the
British came to an agreement with Faisal, who
was given Iraq, while his elder brother Abdul-
lah was proclaimed ruler of Trans-Jordan, the
land lying between Iraq and the east bank. A young Winston Churchill drew up the bor-
ders in 1921 (see the boxed text,
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)
. Abdullah made Amman his capital. Britain
recognised the territory as an independent state under its protection in 1923, and a small
defence force, the Arab Legion, was set up under British officers. A series of treaties after
1928 led to full independence in 1946, when Abdullah was proclaimed king.
The betrayal of the Arab cause by Western allies
was underlined by the secret Sykes-Picot Agree-
ment of 1916 in which 'Syria' (modern-day Syria
and Lebanon) came under French control, and
'Palestine' (an area including modern Israel, the
Palestinian Territories and Jordan) came under Brit-
ish control.
