The

Fertile Crescent The Fertile Crescent ( ar, الهلال الخصيب) is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, together with the northern region of Kuwait, southeastern region of ...

Plan was an Iraqi

Hashemite The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921� ...

proposal for the union of the

Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq ( ar, المملكة العراقية الهاشمية, translit=al-Mamlakah al-ʿIrāqiyyah ʾal-Hāshimyyah) was a state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdo ...

with Mandatory Syria (including Mandatory Lebanon),

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

, and

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom of ...

Nuri as-Said Nuri Pasha al-Said CH (December 1888 – 15 July 1958) ( ar, نوري السعيد) was an Iraqi politician during the British mandate in Iraq and the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq. He held various key cabinet positions and served eight terms a ...

, prime minister of Iraq, presented the plan to British officials during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when it appeared that France had become too weak to hold on to Syria. The second People's Party, representing northern Syrian commercial and landholding interests, favored the Fertile Crescent Plan and initiated diplomatic steps to implement it. However, the National Party and factions in the army were determined to block any plans for unity with Iraq as long as it had a military treaty with Great Britain. It was also opposed by Syrians who did not wish to live under a monarchy or in a pro-British state. The closest the plan came to fruition was during the regime (August-December 1949) of Colonel

Sami al-Hinnawi Sami Hilmy al-Hinnawi ( ar, محمد سامي حلمي الحناوي, Muḥammad Sāmī Ḥilmī al-Ḥinnāwī; 1898 – 31 October 1950) was a Syrian politician and military officer. Life On December 19, 1949, Shishakli carried out a coup d' ...

, who had installed a People's Party government that entered negotiations to achieve unity. The opportunity was aborted by Colonel

Adib Shishakli Adib al-Shishakli (1909 – 27 September 1964 ar, أديب الشيشكلي, ʾAdīb aš-Šīšaklī) was a Syrian military leader and President of Syria from 1953 to 1954. Early life Adib Shishakli was born (1909) in the Hama Sanjak of Ott ...

's coup d'état. Any faint hope remaining for the Fertile Crescent Plan ended with the overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy in July 1958. Aspirations to unite the Fertile Crescent states continue to exist.Tareq Y. Ismael, Jacqueline S. Ismael, Kamel Abu Jaber, Politics and government in the Middle East and North Africa, University Press of Florida, 1991, p. 192.

References

Bibliography

*Commins, David Dean. ''Historical Dictionary of Syria'', p. 105. Scarecrow Press, 2004, {{ISBN, 0-8108-4934-8. Pan-nationalism Pan-Arabism Proposed political unions 1940s in Asia 1940s in Iraq 1940s in Transjordan 1940s in Lebanon 1940s in Mandatory Syria 1940s in Syria Iraq–Jordan relations Iraq–Syria relations Jordan–Syria relations Lebanon–Syria relations 1940s in Mandatory Palestine Iraq–Lebanon relations Jordan–Lebanon relations

See also

References

Bibliography