Behind the Lawrence Legend
The Forgotten Few Who Shaped the Arab Revolt
Philip Walker
From Our Blog
The aftermath of the Arab Revolt of 1916-18 and the settlement in the Middle East after the First World War still resonates, world-wide, after a century. It is not only the jihadists of the so-called Islamic State and other groups who rail against the Sykes-Picot Agreement'the secret arrangement between Britain, France, and Russia that carved up much of the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Many moderate Muslims have a rankling feeling of betrayal, being aware that Sykes-Picot contradicted the British promise'albeit a vague one'of a large independent territory for Sherif Hussein of Mecca, the leader of the Arab Revolt, if he would rise up against the Ottomans, Britain's wartime enemies.
Posted on April 6, 2018
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T.E. Lawrence, known as 'Lawrence of Arabia," has provoked controversy for a hundred years. His legend was promoted in the 1920s by the American Lowell Thomas's travelogue; renewed in 1935 through his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom; and revived in 1962 by the epic film Lawrence of Arabia. The hype should not blind us to the fact that Lawrence's contribution to the Arab Revolt of 1916-18 against the Turks was indispensable.
Posted on February 26, 2018
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