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

1. The Mandate System, the Making of the Middle East, and the Russian Revolution HIST 1004 3/27/13

2. 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.

3. 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 Lowell Thomas

4. 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.”

5. 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?

6. 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.

7. 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?

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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?

12. 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.