1914-1936 WW1 AND ITS AFTERMATH

1914 - 1936 World War I and its Aftermath. World War I sees Europe complete the seizure of the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany, is crushed by Britain and France. The territories of Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine fall into European hands. The French and British draw the borders of the modern Middle East, and the League of Nations sanctions their domination of the region.

Key Figures in 'The Middle East and the West'

1914 - 1936: World War I and its Aftermath Georges Picot and Sir Mark Sykes British and French diplomats who signed a secret agreement in 1916 dividing up the Middle Eastern territories of the Ottoman Empire when World War I was over. France was to acquire Lebanon, Syria and Mosul (part of northern Iraq today). Britain was to receive northern Palestine, Jordan and Iraq. The rest of Palestine was to be administered internationally.

The agreement clashed with promises to the Arabs made by T. E. Lawrence and other British officials, and was superceded by British conquests before the war ended in 1918. The secret terms of the agreement were made public by the Russian Bolsheviks in 1918. T.E. Lawrence "Lawrence of Arabia" (1888-1935). Famed British Arabist. Traveled to Jedda in Arabia in 1916 to organize an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. He allied Britain with the Hashemite clan in control of Mecca. Lawrence led an Arab army to seize Damascus in 1918.

He believed that Britain broke its promises to the Arab cause. Lawrence opposed the French occupation of Syria and British methods during its occupation of Iraq. His account of the Arab Revolt during World War I was published as The Seven Pillars of Wisdom and remains in print today. His story was made into an Oscar-winning movie, Lawrence of Arabia, directed by David Lean in 1962.

Edmund AllenbyBritish general (1861-1936). After service in the British army in France during the war, he was given command of British forces in Palestine. Allenby captured Jerusalem in 1917. He began a major offensive into Syria in September 1918, supported by T.E. Lawrence's Arab force. Lawrence beat Allenby to Damascus.

Allenby's victories superceded the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, which had determined how Britain and France would divide up the conquered territories of the Ottoman Empire after the war. Allenby's name remains the name of a key bridge and crossing point over the Jordan River between Jordan and Israel.