How did the Arab conquests defeat the Ottoman Empire?

 

How did the Arab conquests defeat the Ottoman Empire?

It was May 25, 1923. Britain had sealed Jordan's independence and at that time its command was in the hands of Prince Abdullah bin Al-Hussein.

23 years later, in 1946, Jordan became an independent country and on May 25, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was also founded.

But according to the agreement reached at that time for Jordan's independence and later according to the 1928 constitution, Britain had the right to decide on the economic, military and foreign affairs of the country.

The Encyclopedia Britannica writes that historical references recorded in the Bible indicate that this area had a central position at that time. This is the area that the Jordan River separates from Palestine.

Biblical kingdoms such as Moab, Gilead and Adam were all located within the Jordanian border.

The capital and Roman province of Arabia, famous for its red stones, was also located here.

British tourist Gertrude Bell described Petra as ‘a city of legend, everything pink and magnificent.’

The Story of ‘Transjordan’

During World War I, the Arabs joined forces with the Allied powers (Britain and France) in the 1916 revolution against the Ottoman Empire. Formally, Sharif Hussein bin Ali in Mecca declared a rebellion against the Turkish rulers on June 10.

British intelligence officer Thomas Edward Lawrence arrived in the Arabian Peninsula and worked with the Arab fighters for two years. It was a kind of militia.

Lawrence became a liaison officer. He was also working as an advisor to Faisal, the son of the central leader Sharif Hussein bin Ali at that time in Mecca.

Thomas Edward is also known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ in the modern history of the Middle East. He was a strategist and played an influential role in the war against the Turks.

In October 1916, Sharif Hussein bin Ali declared himself ‘King of the Arab States’. However, his colleagues recognized him only as ‘King of the Hejaz’.

Arab forces captured the Hejaz Railway Lines and then in July 1917, Prince Faisal bin Ali Hussein's army captured Aqaba.

Considering the strategic importance of the port of Aqaba, which was built on the shores of the Red Sea, it can be said that this was the first major victory of Prince Faisal's army.

His army's series of victories continued and they gradually began to advance northward.

On October 4, 1918, his army, led by Prince Faisal, entered Damascus. With this, the dominance of the Ottoman Empire that had existed for the past four hundred years came to an end.

The Turks were constantly weakening, but the war between the Arab forces and the Turkish army continued until the end of 1918.

The war ended with the Treaty of Mudros between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire at the Greek port of Mudros. Under the agreement, both sides agreed to end the war.

At the end of World War I, Arab forces had captured 35,000 Turkish soldiers. The number of Turkish soldiers killed was about the same.

On March 20, 1920, the ‘Syrian General Congress’ met in Damascus, in which Faisal I, son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali, was declared king of a united Syria, which also included Palestine.

But within a few weeks, the Allied countries that opposed the Ottoman Empire in World War I divided their occupied territories.

This decision to divide the Ottoman Empire was taken at a peace conference held in San Remo, Italy, in April 1920.

The Syrian Empire was divided. Syria and Lebanon were handed over to the French, while Palestine was handed over to British rule.

The French soon invaded Faisal's kingdom and took control of Damascus after the Battle of Messalon in July 1920.

King Faisal was exiled and eventually moved to London at the invitation of the British government.

In November 1920, Faisal's brother Abdullah arrived in Ma'an with 2,000 fighters. Ma'an is in what is now southern Jordan, but was then part of the Hejaz.

His aim was to rally the tribesmen and attack the French. They wanted to avenge King Faisal, who had been forced to leave the kingdom.

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, by this time Britain had established its dominance in Iraq. During World War I, in 1917, Britain had taken control of Basra, Baghdad, and Mosul, which were part of the Ottoman Empire.

However, in May 1920, a rebellion broke out in Iraq against the Allied powers. The Iraqi people felt that the freedom they had been promised had been ignored.

Britain needed to deploy an additional 100,000 British and Indian troops to strengthen its position.

To reduce the opposition of the British government, Britain decided in March 1921 to sponsor King Faisal as a representative of Iraq in order to negotiate a treaty with them that would pave the way for Iraqi independence.

King Faisal agreed to the plan.

He was welcomed in Iraq and crowned there in August 1921.

By April 1921, the Allied powers had decided that King Faisal's brother Abdullah should become ruler of 'Transjordan'.

Thus, the British Raj replaced the Ottoman Turks in the territory of Jordan. In July 1922, the League of Nations approved this mandate and Britain got the right to govern the territory as it wished.

On May 25, 1923, Britain sealed the independence of ‘Transjordan’. Prince Abdullah bin Al-Hussein was appointed its ruler.

According to this agreement of independence of ‘Transjordan’ and the 1928 constitution, the right to decide on financial, military and foreign affairs remained in the hands of the British government.

A resident was appointed there to govern by the Allied powers.

After the Second World War, the Emirate of Transjordan gained complete independence under an agreement signed in London on March 22, 1946.

Abdullah declared himself king. A new constitution was drawn up and in 1949 the Emirate of Transjordan was renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Who was King Abdullah I?

King Abdullah was born in Mecca in 1882. He died in Jerusalem on July 20, 1951. In the history of the Middle East, he is known as the first king of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

He ruled Jordan from 1946 to 1951.

Abdullah, the second son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali, the ruler of the Hejaz, was educated in Istanbul. Istanbul was then part of the Ottoman Empire.

After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, he represented Mecca in the Ottoman parliament. In early 1914, he joined the Arab National Movement.

The movement aimed to liberate Arab lands from the Ottoman Empire.

From 1915 to 1916, he played a key role in secret negotiations between the Allied powers and Sharif Hussein bin Ali.

The result of these negotiations was the declaration of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire on June 10, 1916.

Abdullah took control of the Jordanian territory after his older brother, King Faisal, took control of Iraq.

He threatened to invade Syria and began negotiations with Britain to legally separate the Transjordan region from British-occupied Palestine.

King Abdullah wanted to create an Arab state that would include Syria, Iraq, and Transjordan.

He sided with Britain during World War II. His army, also known as the 'Arab Army', fought alongside the Allied forces in the 1941 Syrian-Iraqi War.

Transjordan gained independence in 1946. Abdullah was crowned in Amman on 25 May 1946, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was proclaimed.