The Arabian Revolt

The Arabian revolt is reasonably well-known, thanks to David Lean and his epic "Lawrence of Arabia". However, it is easy to overstate the influence of a single man, especially when you are making a film about him.

At the entry of Turkey into the war in 1915, the arabian states were in various states of autonomy. Some, such as Trucial Oman, were effectively under British control. Direct Turkish control, in fact, only really extended to the holy cities of Medina and Mecca, the Hejaz railway that extended into the area of those cities, and various port and garrison towns scattered around the peninsula.

Arab nationalist societies in the northern regions (Syria and Palestine) had been persecuted by the Turks, and when the Turks joined the war in 1915, they tried to pressure the local Arab leaders to declare jihad against the British. The Sherif of Mecca, Husein Ibn 'Ali, the principal arab leader and head of the Hashemite clan, not only refused to declare jihad but went to the British and indicated his desire to revolt.

The British pledged support, which was eventually forthcoming in 1916. The Arab armies captured Mecca and Jeddah and Husein was crowned "Sultan of the Arabs" in October of that year. Later he would exchange this title for that of "King of the Hejaz".

The British support took the form both of financial help, and of direct material aid. British and French Artillery, armoured cars and machine-guns were all seconded to the arabian forces, which became known collectively as the Arab Army. Even aeroplanes served with the Northern Arab Army in Palestine and Syria. British officers were also sent to advise the Arab commanders, one of whom the aforementioned Col. T E Lawrence. Lawrence's exact contribution is still debated. Some see him as the inspiration behind the Arab Army's success, others see him as a self-publicist who merely happened to be there.

British troops at Gaza.

The Arab Army was composed mainly of irregular volunteers, dressed in civilian style and - until weapons were supplied by the British or captured from the Turks - poorly armed. They were complemented by some units of regular troops, mostly ex-prisoners of war, conscripted into the Turkish army from Syria or Iraq. They were commanded by Ja'afar al Askari, who had been an officer in the Ottoman forces until his capture while attacking Egypt in February 1916, and indeed most of the Arab officers were formerly officers in the Turkish army. The regular troops wore British Khaki uniforms and local civilan clothing, freely mixed, though almost all wore the khaki khefiya headdress which was the particular badge of the Arab Army.

Late in 1916, the Arab (or "Sherifian", after the Sherif of Mecca) Army was split into 3 commands: The Northern Army operated against the Hejaz railway and marched on Damascus, the Southern Army besieged Medina (which only surrendered in January 1919) and the Eastern Army watched the border with the territory of Ibn Rashid of the Shammar, who saw an alliance with the Turks as the best way to remain independent from the Sherif and from Ibn Sa'ud of Riyadh, effective king of Sa'udi Arabia even before the war, and certainly before that name was mooted.

Ibn Sa'ud was anti-Turkish, but also anti-British, anti-Sherifian, anti-Shammar and leader of the puritanical Wahhabi sect (who rejected all luxury and the worship of saints, including Mohammed). However, he was anxious to be on the winning side and he renounced his support for the Turks and pledged support instead to the British, though his contribution was somewhat lacksadaisical, consisting of minor actions against the Turks and a 1918 attack on his old enemy Ibn Rashid of the Shammar. Ibn Sa'ud became ever more powerful in Arabia after the war, and in 1926 he was proclaimed King of the Hejaz and Nejd and in 1932 the Kingdom of Sa'udi Arabia was proclaimed.

The Arab revolt was important in occupying vast numbers of Turkish troops needed elsewhere, and in fact the Arab army formed the right flank of the British Army's advance through Palestine in 1918. Arab troops arrived in Damascus the day before the British. However, British and French plans for the Levant ran counter to Arabian dreams of independence and Syria and Palestine became respectively French and British mandates after the war.

Further Reading

Lawrence and the Arab Revolt, by D Nicholle (London 1989)
"Revolt in the Desert" (London 1927) and "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" (1935) - both by T E Lawrence.

as cited in Haythornthwaite's "World War One Sourcebook" (see sources section).