The Franco-Syrian War took place during 1920 between the
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 ...
rulers of the newly established
Arab Kingdom of Syria
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. During a series of engagements, which climaxed in the
Battle of Maysalun
The Battle of Maysalun ( ar, معركة ميسلون), also called the Battle of Maysalun Pass or the Battle of Khan Maysalun (french: Bataille de Khan Mayssaloun), was a four-hour battle fought between the forces of the Arab Kingdom of Syria an ...
, French forces defeated the forces of the Hashemite
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
King Faisal, and his supporters, entering
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
on July 24, 1920. A new pro-French government was declared in Syria on July 25, headed by 'Alaa al-Din al-Darubi
[Eliezer Tauber ''The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq''. p.37]
/ref> and the region of Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
was eventually divided into several client states
A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...
under the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...
. The British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
, concerned for their position in the new mandate in Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, agreed to declare the fugitive Faisal as the new king of Iraq.
Background
Near the end of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Egyptian Expeditionary forces of Edmund Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led th ...
captured Damascus on September 30, 1918, and shortly thereafter on October 3, 1918, Hashemite ruler Faisal entered Damascus as well, in the final stages of the Arab Revolt
The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On t ...
against the Ottomans. On October 5, 1918, with the permission of General Allenby, Faisal announced the establishment of an Arab constitutional government in Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
.
Following the implementation of the initially secretive 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the occupied remnants of the Ottoman Empire between France and Britain, French military administration was established in the Levant. General Henri Gouraud was appointed as representative of the French government in the Middle East and commander of the French Army of the Levant, centered in Syria.
While events transpired in Europe that would eventually render the Arab Kingdom of Syria
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
into a French mandate, it would also catalyze Syrian nationalist societies like al-Fatat
Al-Fatat or the Young Arab Society ( ar, جمعية العربية الفتاة, Jam’iyat al-’Arabiya al-Fatat) was an underground Arab nationalist organization in the Ottoman Empire. Its aims were to gain independence and unify various Arab te ...
(the Young Arab Society) to make preparations for a national congress. These Syrian nationalist societies advocated complete independence for an Arab Kingdom, uniting the Arab world under the Hashemite ruler Faisal. The first official session of the Syrian Congress was held on June 3, 1919 and al-Fatat member Hashim al-Atassi
Hashim al-Atassi ( ar, هاشم الأتاسي, Hāšim al-ʾAtāsī; 11 January 1875 – 5 December 1960) was a Syrian nationalist and statesman and the President of Syria from 1936 to 1939, 1949 to 1951 and 1954 to 1955.
Background and e ...
was elected its president.[Eliezer Tauber. The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq. Frank Cass and Co. Ltd. Portland, Oregon. 1995.] On June 25, the King-Crane Commission arrived in Damascus to a flurry of leaflets which said “Independence or Death”. On July 2, 1919, the Syrian Congress passed a number of resolutions pertaining to the formation of Syria as a completely independent constitutional monarchy with Faisal as king, asking for assistance from the United States, and the refusal of any rights claimed by the French. The hopes of Faisal that either the British or Americans would come to his aid and intervene against the French quickly faded with what many consider the defining catalyst for the creation and destruction of the Arab Kingdom of Syria: the Anglo-French Agreement. The Anglo-French Agreement provided for the withdrawal of British troops from Syria and signaled the end of the British military involvement in Syria.
Eventually, Faisal would be forced into negotiations with Clemenceau in January 1920 which stipulated that the French would uphold the existence of the Syrian state and would not station troops in Syria as long as the French government remained the only government supplying advisers, counselors and technical experts.[Elie Kedourie. England and the Middle East: The Destruction of the Ottoman Empire 1914-1921. Mansell Publishing Limited. London, England. 1987.] News of this compromise did not bode well with Faisal’s vehemently anti-French and independence minded supporters who immediately pressured Faisal to reverse his commitment to France, which he did.
Warfare chronology
Countrywide revolts
In the aftermath of the Clemenceau negotiations in January 1920, violent attacks against French forces occurred sporadically across Syria and effectively the Syrian Congress assembled in March 1920 to declare Faisal the king of Syria, as well as to officially set up the Arab Kingdom of Syria with Hashim al-Atassi as Prime Minister. An independent Arab Kingdom of Syria
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
was proclaimed in Damascus on March 8, 1920, in an apparent dispute with the French over the nature of its rule.
This action was immediately repudiated by the British and French and the San Remo Conference
The San Remo conference was an international meeting of the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council as an outgrowth of the Paris Peace Conference, held at Villa Devachan in Sanremo, Italy, from 19 to 26 April 1920. The San Remo Resolution pas ...
was called together by the League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
in April 1920 to explicitly establish the mandate of the French over Syria. Shortly, the war of Syrian Arab nationalists with the French became a devastating campaign for the new proclaimed Arab Kingdom of Syria
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
. Several violent incidents in the region initiated by Arab militias, like the Battle of Tel Hai
The Battle of Tel Hai was fought on 1 March 1920 between Arab irregulars and a Jewish defensive paramilitary force protecting the village of Tel Hai in Northern Galilee. In the course of the event, a Shiite Arab militia, accompanied by Bedouin fro ...
and the raid on Samakh, led to further international support of the French.
The League of Nations having given the French Mandate of Syria as planned, the French General Gouraud issued an ultimatum to the Syrian Arab government to disband its troops and submit to French control. Worried about the results of a long bloody fight with the French, King Faisal himself surrendered on July 14, 1920, but his message would not reach the General and King Faisal’s defense minister Yusuf al-'Azma
Yusuf al-Azma ( ar, يوسف العظمة, ALA-LC: ''Yūsuf al-ʻAẓmah''; 1883 – 24 July 1920) was the Syrian minister of war in the governments of prime ministers Rida al-Rikabi and Hashim al-Atassi, and the Arab Army's chief of general sta ...
, who ignoring the King, led an army to Maysalun to defend Syrian Arab Kingdom from French advance. The Hashemite government of Damascus submitted reluctantly to the French ultimatum and disbanded its troops.
Battle of Maysalun
In spite of King Faisal's acceptance of France's ultimatum, Yusuf al-'Azma
Yusuf al-Azma ( ar, يوسف العظمة, ALA-LC: ''Yūsuf al-ʻAẓmah''; 1883 – 24 July 1920) was the Syrian minister of war in the governments of prime ministers Rida al-Rikabi and Hashim al-Atassi, and the Arab Army's chief of general sta ...
refused to give in. He raised a small body of disbanded troops and civilians, poorly armed relative to the modern, well-equipped professional French Army, and led them to Maysalun. Although he had no illusions about the outcome of the battle, al-'Azma wanted to make it clear that Arab Syria would not surrender without fighting, in order to deny the French occupation any legitimacy. The Battle of Maysalun
The Battle of Maysalun ( ar, معركة ميسلون), also called the Battle of Maysalun Pass or the Battle of Khan Maysalun (french: Bataille de Khan Mayssaloun), was a four-hour battle fought between the forces of the Arab Kingdom of Syria an ...
on July 24th resulted in a crushing Syrian defeat. The French forces under the command of General Mariano Goybet
Mariano Francisco Julio Goybet (17 August 1861 – 29 September 1943) was a French Army general, who held several commands in World War I.
Family
His family is an old family from Savoy in France. Its members were notaries, merchants, mayors, cap ...
easily defeated the Syrian forces. Yusuf al-'Azma himself was killed in the battle.
Final stages
The final stage of the war took place on July 24, 1920, when the French forces entered Damascus without any resistance. The next day, the Arab Kingdom of Syria
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
was abolished, and French rule officially reinstalled.
Aftermath
Following the San Remo conference and the defeat of King Faisal's short-lived monarchy in Syria at the Battle of Maysalun, the French general Henri Gouraud established civil administration in the territory. The mandate region was subdivided into six states. They were the State of Damascus
The State of Damascus (french: État de Damas; ar, دولة دمشق ') was one of the six states established by the French General Henri Gouraud in the French Mandate of Syria which followed the San Remo conference of 1920 and the defeat of ...
(1920), State of Aleppo
The State of Aleppo (french: État d'Alep; ar, دولة حلب ') was one of the five states that were established by the French High Commissioner of the Levant, General Henri Gouraud, in the French Mandate of Syria which followed the San Remo ...
(1920), Alawite State
The Alawite State ( ar, دولة جبل العلويين, '; french: État des Alaouites), officially named the Territory of the Alawites (french: territoire des Alaouites), after the locally-dominant Alawites from its inception until its int ...
(1920), Jabal Druze (1921), the autonomous Sanjak of Alexandretta
The Sanjak of Alexandretta ( ar, لواء الإسكندرونة '', '' tr, İskenderun Sancağı, french: Sandjak d'Alexandrette) was a sanjak of the Mandate of Syria composed of two qadaas of the former Aleppo Vilayet ( Alexandretta and Antio ...
(1921) (modern-day Hatay
Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province of ...
in Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
) and the State of Greater Lebanon
The State of Greater Lebanon ( ar, دولة لبنان الكبير, Dawlat Lubnān al-Kabīr; french: État du Grand Liban), informally known as French Lebanon, was a state declared on 1 September 1920, which became the Lebanese Republic ( ar, ...
(1920), which became later the modern country of Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
.
See also
* Syrian Revolution
* Sultan al-Atrash
*List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
This is a list of modern conflicts in the Middle East ensuing in the geographic and political region known as the Middle East. The "Middle East" is traditionally defined as the Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia), Levant, and Egypt and neighboring ...
Bibliography
France Syria Occupation 1919-1920
References
{{Middle East conflicts