Yusuf al-Sa'dun ( ar, يوسف السعدون) (1888–1980) was a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indig ...

rebel commander in the

Hananu Revolt The Hananu Revolt (also known as the Aleppo RevoltMoubayed 2006, p. 604. or the Northern revolts) was an insurgency against French military forces in northern Syria, mainly concentrated in the western countryside of Aleppo, in 1920–1921. Suppo ...

based in the Jabal Qusayr area near

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

in modern-day

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 ...

. His memoirs of the revolt is the only known rebel testimony available about the revolt that "does not slip into ideological discourse", according to historian Nadine Meouchy.Meouchy, ed. Leibau, p. 506.

Biography

Early life and career

Al-Sa'dun was born to a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

family in

Jisr al-Hadid The glossary of Arabic toponyms gives translations of Arabic terms commonly found as components in Arabic toponyms. A significant number of them were put together during the PEF Survey of Palestine carried out in the second half of the 19th centu ...

in the

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 Anti ...

(modern-day Hatay Province) during

Ottoman Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

rule. Although he did not receive a military education, al-Sa'dun was known for his shooting skills and equestrianism. In 1914, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he volunteered to serve in the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

Hamidiye cavalry The ''Hamidiye'' regiments (literally meaning "belonging to Hamid", full official name ''Hamidiye Hafif Süvari Alayları'', Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments) were well-armed, irregular, mainly Sunni Kurdish but also Turkish, Circassian,Pa ...

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 ...

against British forces.Arsuzi, ed. Sluglett and Weber, p. 590.

Anti-French resistance

Al-Sa'dun returned to his homeland after the war and in 1919 formed a rebel band to counter the French occupation of northern Syria. His revolt became part of the wider

and he was responsible for the Jabal Qusayr military zone,Meouchy, ed. Leibau, p. 510. with his headquarters in Babatorun.Meouchy, ed. Leibau, p. 512. The revolt largely petered out in the summer of 1921 with the flight of its overall leader

Ibrahim Hananu Ibrahim Hananu or Ibrahim Hanano (1869–1935) ( ar, إبراهيم هنانو, Ibrāhīm Hanānū) was an Ottoman municipal official and later a leader of a revolt against the French presence in northern Syria. He was a member of a notable land ...

. However, al-Sa'dun continued the armed struggle by first fleeing to Turkey, which he used as a base for raids against the French in Syria. He lived there in the city of

Gaziantep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally #Name, called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, Turk ...

with his family. In 1922, he launched a punitive expedition against

Jabal Zawiya Mount Zāwiya ( ar, جبل الزاوية, Jabal az-Zāwiyah) or Mount Rīḥā ( ar, جبل ريحا, Jabal Rīḥā) (also in medieval times: Banī-ʻUlaym Mountain ( ar, جبل بني عليم, Jabal Banī-ʻUlaym) is a highland region in Idlib ...

with the apparent target being defectors from the revolt, and later on 26 August, his rebel band, consisting of about 100 fighters, attacked a postal convoy traveling between Antioch and

Darkush Darkush ( ar, دَرْكُوش, Darkūš; also spelled Darkoush or Derkush) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib along the Syrian–Turkish borders on the Orontes River. Nearby loca ...

. He continued his guerrilla campaign against the French between December 1925 and August 1926, during the countrywide

Great Syrian Revolt The Great Syrian Revolt ( ar, الثورة السورية الكبرى) or Revolt of 1925 was a general uprising across the State of Syria and Greater Lebanon during the period of 1925 to 1927. The leading rebel forces comprised fighters of th ...

. The last major clashes with the French were at Tell 'Amar in April 1926 and in Jabal Qusayr in August 1926.Arsuzi-Elamir, ed. Sluglett and Weber, p. 592.

Later life

Al-Sa'dun opposed Turkish claims over the Sanjak of Alexandretta and sought to campaign for the region to remain part of Syria. He moved to Aleppo where he lived in hiding from the authorities in the 1930s. on his way to the Sanjak of Alexandretta, he was arrested by the French authorities. He was subsequently cleared of the charges against him, but he was placed under house arrest. His house arrest ended in 1940, and Syria gained its independence in 1946. In 1950, al-Sa'dun completed his memoirs of his experiences in the Hananu Revolt. Al-Sa'dun lived the remainder of his life in

Salqin Salqin ( ar, سَلْقِين, Salqīn) is a town in Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. Nearby localities include Kafr Takharim to the southeast, Abu Talha to the south, Delbiya to the southwest, al-Alani to the northwest and I ...

, a Syrian town near the Turkish border with the former Sanjak of Alexandretta. He died in 1980.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sa'dun, Yusuf 1888 births 1980 deaths Arab people from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman military personnel of World War I People of the Franco-Syrian War Syrian military personnel Syrian Sunni Muslims