Editing Ottoman Empire (section)

===== Arab Revolt =====
{{Main|Middle Eastern theatre of World War I|Arab Revolt}}

The [[Arab Revolt]] began in 1916 with British support. It turned the tide against the Ottomans on the Middle Eastern front, where they seemed to have the upper hand during the first two years of the war. On the basis of the [[McMahon–Hussein Correspondence]], an agreement between the British government and [[Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca]], the revolt was officially initiated at Mecca on 10 June 1916.{{efn|Though the revolt was officially initiated on 10 June, bin Ali's sons [[Ali of Hejaz|'Ali]] and [[Faisal I of Iraq|Faisal]] had already initiated operations at Medina starting on 5 June.<ref>Eliezer Tauber, ''The Arab Movements in World War I,'' Routledge, 2014 {{ISBN|978-1-135-19978-4}} p. 80-81</ref>}} The Arab nationalist goal was to create a single unified and independent [[Arab state]] stretching from [[Aleppo]], Syria, to [[Aden]], Yemen, which the British promised to recognise.

The [[Sharifian Army]], led by Hussein and the [[Hashemites]], with military backing from the British [[Egyptian Expeditionary Force]], successfully fought and expelled the Ottoman military presence from much of the [[Hejaz]] and [[Transjordan (region)|Transjordan]]. The rebellion eventually took [[Damascus]] and set up a short-lived monarchy led by [[Faisal I of Iraq|Faisal]], a son of Hussein.

Following the terms of the 1916 [[Sykes–Picot Agreement]], the British and French later partitioned the Middle East into [[League of Nations mandate|mandate territories]]. There was no unified Arab state, much to Arab nationalists' anger. Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria became British and French mandates.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sykes-Picot Agreement {{!}} Map, History, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Sykes-Picot-Agreement |access-date=22 May 2024 |website=Britannica |language=en |archive-date=22 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522080149/https://www.britannica.com/event/Sykes-Picot-Agreement |url-status=live }}</ref>