A K a B A: The Great Arab Revolution of 1916

By Hani Beshara Omar

Most of the shock which affected the Middle East during the 20th century can be tracked back to the First World War. Arabs were faced with political, cultural and linguistic persecution under the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire sided with the Central Powers (Turkey and Germany) against the Allies (England, France and Russia). Sharif Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi, Ameer of Mecca then, in the hope of an opportunity to liberate the Arab World, sided with the Allies. He launched the Great Arab Revolution of 1916. After the war, however, the victors reneged on their promises to the Arabs. The Allies, (France and Britain), have obscured their intentions of recognizing the Arab Nation. They were deceptive and had no intention of keeping what they have promised. This book is a testimony to the sacrifices rendered by Arab Nationalist groups in Greater Syria, Iraq and Hijaz (Arabs) who began to rally behind the Hashemite banner of Abdullah and Faisal, sons of Sharif Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi. The movement began when the Arabs took the Port of Aqaba in what is now a large city in Southern Jordan. While the colonial powers denied the Arabs their promised single unified Arab state, it is nevertheless testimony to the effectiveness of the Great Arab Revolution that the Hashemite family was able to secure an Arab rule over Transjordan, Syria, Iraq and Arabia. This revolution included Arabs from all the Arab land because of their nationalism and mutual unity to kicking the Turks out.
On June 10, 1916, Grand Sharif Hussein raised his rifle on his balcony in Mecca and fired the first shot of the Great Arab Revolution. Hussein's own sons became field commanders and the revolution spread across the Arabian Peninsula. The Turkish garrison in Mecca fell to the Arabs within weeks, as did the port of Jeddah, with the assistance of the British navy. Several other small towns in the Hejaz quickly fell. But by September the Revolution was losing steam. The rifles sent by the British were antiquated and the Arabs lacked artillery. The Turks had reorganized themselves and were resisting in Medina while successfully counter-attacking Hejaz from the north.
Hussein's son, Abdullah, was courted by the British in Cairo in early 1914 which resulted in a busy exchange of letters between the Grand Sharif and Sir Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner in Egypt then. In December 1915, Abdullah was informed that he "may rest assured that Great Britain has no intention of concluding any peace in terms of which the freedom of the Arab people from German and Turkish domination does not form an essential condition". Unfortunately, he took Britain at their word.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781796094435

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COPYRIGHT © 2020 BY HANI BESHARA OMAR.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 03/27/2020

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CONTENTS

About The Book

Disclaimer

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter 1 Theater Of Operations

Chapter 2 In Search Of A Hero

Chapter 3 In London

Chapter 4 Cairo, London, India, France & Other Places

Chapter 5 Damascus, Syria

Chapter 6 Jeddah, Arabia

Chapter 7 Prelude To War

Chapter 8 Crossing The Desert

Chapter 9 Preparing For The Battle And The Move Towards Akaba

Chapter 10 Afterward

Appenix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

Appendix IV

Appendix V

Appendix VI

Appendix VII

Appendix VIII

Appendix IX

Notes By Chapter

Bibliography

Arabic References

Mentioned & Key Of Main Characters In The Book

ABOUT THE BOOK

What has motivated me to write this book was my obligation towards my ancestors-the Arabs. A strong motivation and a national feeling which I could not explain.

The idea of writing began when I was in college. My college time was interrupted by the Vietnam war era. I served in the US Armed Forces for six years.

This book will attempt to outline the political struggle of the Arab people in the 1900’s and describe the (sacrifice) for Arabia and the competition between the Arabs and the West during an era marked with Nationalism and creating new nations.

While reserching to write the chapters in this book, depending on a wealth of information and documents, I have struggled to resist the natural feeling, or the temptation and even the compelling inclination to act as a spokesman for my ancestors. I have tried hard to suppress my emotions and restricted my research for historical facts supported by undisputed sources and documents. I have totally depended on contents of memoirs, biographies and private papers of others.

I will attempt, in this endeavor, to include that the Great Arab Revolution came because of the Arabs’ desire for making their own destiny and to establish a dependent Arab Nation, and NOT because of a genuine help from either the French or the British.

Britain and France, although had their own selfish ambitions, collectively were not the driving force behind this revolution. The revolution initially came because of an uprising in Northern Arabia Al-Nahda Al-Arabiya which was later developed into a national movement caused the Arabs to revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

After very long research and hours of hard work, and spending time at libraries, I don’t pretend that I have reached the absolute truth, but that I have tried to shed some light on the matter for the others to follow and keep seeking the truth.

I don’t pretend to be a judge of any human condition or a great story teller who can distinguish myth from reality. Akaba carries a special spot in my heart and I feel like I want to tell the story and its place within the Arab history.

The Author

DISCLAIMER

Part of this (semi fictional) book or novel is (somehow) based on actual events, however, some of the characters and incidents portrayed and names herein may be real or fictitious or may sound the same. Misspelling of names, and any similarity to the name, character, or history of any person, living or dead, or any actual event is entirely coincidental and, unintentional. So much have been researched, analyzed, commented on or written. That a mistaken misquote or a missed reference can be unintentional or, within a sincere oversight on my part.

To avoid confusion, I have made the spelling of places and names to a single form across the book. The following should be noted:

Ottoman and Turkey or Turks are used interchangeably throughout the book. Other items in the book that may be noted as follows;

Aqaba, Al-Aqaba, Al-AGABA or Akaba are all written forms and widely accepted. Throughout the book the following abbreviation is used after a mention of the Prophet Mohammad – PBUH – Peace Be upon Him;

Finally, the dialogues which were quoted from various references were obtained from reports or memories (memoirs) from many people or created by the author. The accuracy of those cannot be proven. Some translation was necessary when references in other languages were utilized but it was the best the author can do. Though, I must admit that some dialogues were created by me. Wikipedia-the free internet was also my source for some of the material. It is much appreciated.

DEDICATION

To the martyrs who gave their lives for a noble and a just cause. I dedicate this book to those who wrote history by their innocent blood and to the mother-land-land of peace.

To my parents, my wife and family, to my brothers and sisters, and especially to my brother Samir, who passed on and whom I miss so much, this book is mostly dedicated to him.

During the writing of this book both my father and mother has moved on to a better world. I miss them very much too and I also dedicate this book to them.

This book is also dedicated to the next generation of all young Arabs, all Arabs in the Arab World or wherever they may live, Arab Americans and the Arab youth particularly in the Western World, who should be proud of their heritage and their ancestors’ multiple contributions to the world.

To the Armenian people who also suffered, as the Arab subjects, from the Ottomans.

And last, but not least, to the Hashemites who without their sacrifice there would not have been a revolution.

Taba Almout Ya Arab Translated into English Oh Arabs, death is more honorable, for you than living like this.

With those words, Ameer Faisal, with his father the Sherif of Mecca, Hussein Bin Ali, and Ameer Abdullah embarked on a campaign to rid of the Ottomans who ruled the Arab World for approximately (400) four-hundred years.

This cry by Prince Faisal was during a breakfast at a friend’s farm in Damascus in May 5, 1916 when he heard of the hanging of Arabs in Damascus and Beirut, by Djamal the butcher.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am eternally indebted to those people who challenged me, prodded fun at me and dared me to write this book, for without them I could not have had the patience or the will to take on such a tremendous task. They know who they are, and I will not mention their names. Some are alive, and some have passed and whom I miss very much. The principal factor which drove me to write this book was first a cultural obligation toward my ancestors the Arabs, and secondly, to find a hero or heroes that the new generation can read about and be proud of and follow.

In 1963, when I saw the movie Lawrence of Arabia, I became troubled and resented the lies and misrepresentations which were portrayed in it. I saw this movie twenty-seven times or may be more, and finally I bought the video and I am (still) puzzled. And to quote Subhi al-Omari, 1969, p. 167 in his book (The Arab Revolution), the movie portrayed a story about an inaccurate picture about the Arab Revolution and not of the Arab Revolution.

In the movie which made Lawrence the hero and the savior of the Arabs, was marketed brilliantly and it was a made belief. Western exaggeration about Lawrence is to be found in General Allenby’s claims that Lawrence was the inspiring of the Arab movement, in Sir Basil Liddell Hart’s statement that but for Lawrence the Arab Revolt would have remained a collection of slight and passing incidents. And so, on and so forth.

Not since the publishing of Suleiman Mousa’s book in 1962-65 ‘T.E. Lawrence, An Arab View’, a notable Jordanian Historian, has been any defense of the Arab cause or any credit given to those martyrs who spelled their blood and fought hard for the Arab independence. It is my intention and duty to do this honor for them in this book.

I am in full gratitude to those individuals whom I discussed with, exchanged ideas and argued with and who criticized me in a positive way during the preparation and the writing of this book.

I am also especially indebted to my brother Dr. Saleh Beshara Omar who spent valuable hours of proof read and edited the pages of this book. His helpfulness in contributing with positive criticisms, suggestions and knowledge of sources made it all possible.

Also, many thanks are extended to my daughter Maysoun and granddaughter Noor who tersely worked on the design of the cover and other items of this book.

PROLOGUE

World War I broke out in September 1914. The Ottoman Empire entered the war on the side of the Central Powers on October 29th, 1914. In Britain, Lord of the Admiralty WINSTON CHURCHILL declared the Ottoman Empire, defeated in 1911 by the Italians and in 1912 by a coalition of Balkan states, as the weak link in the chain of the Central Powers. Hoping to easily occupy the straits and thus linking up with the Russians via the Black Sea, he ordered the British Navy to invade the Dardanelles region.

Unexpectedly, Ottoman forces pinned down the invading corps on the beaches of GALLIPOLI, and the English invaders were unable to break out, eventually withdrawing in early 1915, after having suffered casualties of over 100,000 men (many of whom were Australians).

In eastern Anatolia, in the meantime Russian forces made quick progress, occupying large regions. The Ottoman Empire had two more fronts, at GAZA (Southern Palestine) and in lower Mesopotamia (Iraq now). Here, operating from a base at (what is now) Kuwait, British troops penetrated northward, but then were stopped and enveloped by the Turks at KUT-EL-AMARA (*) where the entire force had to surrender in 1915.

In the third year of World War I, (1916) the Ottoman Empire had, against expectations, stood its ground and regained reputation. Yet it turned out that the Ottoman war effort was mainly supported by the Turkish population (which dominated the army); the Armenians in eastern Anatolia had supported the Russian invaders. In both Syria and the Hejaz, a nationalist movement was growing, and the Arab tribes led by the Hashemites and SHERIF HUSSEIN OF MECCA and his sons started their revolution.

One must understand why the Arabs took the position of opposing the Turks. In 1908, the Ottomans abandoned their Islamic policies replaced them with secular Turkish nationalism. They began discriminating against non-Turkish population such as the Armenians and Arabs. Arabs were faced with linguistic and cultural persecution. At this time the Arab Nationalist groups in the region began to rally behind the Hashemites and their leader, Sherif Hussein Ibn Ali.

When the Ottomans entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers in 1914, they upheld the ban on the official use of the Arabic language and its teaching in schools, while arresting many Arab nationalist figures in Damascus and Beirut. Arabs were further threatened by the construction of the Hijaz Railway, connecting Damascus and Mecca, which promised to facilitate the mobility of Turkish troops into the Arab heartland.

As a result, in June 1916 Sharif Hussein, the Commander in Chief of the Arabs, began the Great Arab Revolution. He was assisted by his sons, Ameers Abdullah and Faisal. With the help of the British Damascus was liberated in 1918. The war ended with Arab forces ruling what is now known as Jordan and most of the Arab Peninsula including Southern Syria.

One of the Sharif sons, Ameer Faisal, with an army of Bedouins crossed the Nefud desert, rallied other Bedouins to the original force and attacked the Ottoman stronghold at (AKABA) or ALAQABA (In Arabic) or AQABA (1917) which the British Navy had been unable to take. Now equipped and trained by the British, the