ISSN: 0041-4255
e-ISSN: 2791-6472

Sâlahi R. Sonyel

Keywords: T. E. Lawrence, Hashemites, Arabs, Ottoman Empire, History

Abstract

Seventy years ago, in June 1916 to be precise, Sherif Hussein ibn Ali, the Hashemite amir of Mecca, having been encouraged by the British with vague promises of "independence for the Arabs", revolted against his suzerain, the Ottoman Sultan-Caliph, and became an instrument in the destruction of the Caliphate by Christian Powers. In the words of Robert Lacey, "his (Hussein's) movement was less an Arab revolt than an Anglo-Hashemite conspiracy", cemented by about one million pounds sterling in British gold.