History and Democracy of the Modern Middle East - HIST 235 Resource Guide

T.E. Lawrence became an intelligence officer in the British Army and played a large role in the unifying the Arab tribes. Against all odds, he eventually led a daring attack on the Turkish port of Aqaba - a victory that became a turning point for Lawrence, the Arabs, and the British.

Contents: The World Prepares for War (2:44) -- Fighting to a Standstill During World War I (5:27) -- Battle of Gallipoli (3:32) -- Russians on the Eastern Front (1:30) -- World War I Naval Battles (3:51) -- Infancy of Air Warfare (3:20) -- United States Enters World War I (2:19) -- Legacy of World War I (2:42)

Chronology of events in the Middle East during World War I.

In 1914 the Allies decided to carry the war into every German colony in Africa. Military operations in Togoland, Cameroon and South-West Africa were completed by 1916; the campaigns in German East Africa (later Tanganyika) continued until 1918, a week after the armistice was signed on the Western Front. Turkey's alliance with Germany led to assaults on the Suez Canal and Basra, both repelled by Allied forces.
Includes map.

World War I (1914-1918) was perhaps the most important political event in the evolution of the modern Middle East. The issues that fuel the current Arab-Israeli dispute and serve as roadblocks to peace originated during World War I in the Middle East and its immediate aftermath. The war had three notable effects on the development of what would become an ongoing war between Arabs and Zionists in Palestine.

Agreement reached between the British, French, and Russian governments regarding claims of territory belonging to the Ottoman Empire. In the spring of 1915 British high commissioner in Egypt Sir Henry McMahon promised Sharif Hussein ibn Ali of Mecca British support for an Arab state under Hussein in return for Arab military support against the Ottoman Empire.

Uprising during World War I by the Arab peoples of north, central, and western Arabia against Ottoman rule. Since the 16th century, the Ottoman government in Constantinople had controlled the area of Syria, Palestine, Iraq, the western provinces of Saudi Arabia, and part of Yemen. Much of the region's population of some 6 million was nomadic. In 1908 the Young Turks came to power in Turkey and promoted Turkish nationalism at the expense of other nationalities of the empire, which the Arabs and other peoples resented. The new government also sent troops into Arab lands and introduced conscription, both of which angered the Arabs.