A Peace to End All Peace

This book explains how World War I and European colonial ambitions dismantled the Ottoman Empire, creating today’s troubled Middle East.

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Author:David Fromkin

Description

The story of the modern Middle East begins with the fall of the Ottoman Empire. For centuries, the Ottoman rulers controlled vast lands, stretching from Europe to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. At its height, it was one of the most powerful empires on Earth. But by the early twentieth century, it had become weak and fragmented, often described as “the sick man of Europe.”

While European nations modernized with railways, factories, and new technology, the Ottoman Empire struggled to keep pace. Constantinople, the empire’s capital, did not even have electric streetlights until 1912, long after Paris, London, and Berlin. Its vast territories were diverse in culture and language, but most of its people identified strongly with religion rather than nationality. The empire was an Islamic caliphate, yet its Christian and Jewish minorities also shaped its culture.

By 1912, the Ottomans had already lost much of their land. Italy took Libya, and much of the Balkans had broken away. Only parts of the Middle East, Turkey, and Arabia remained. When World War I began, this weakened empire faced decisions that would change history forever.

At first, Ottoman leaders sought allies to protect themselves from European threats. Britain was their first choice, but Britain turned them away. Instead, the Ottomans aligned with Germany, hoping that German strength would shield them from Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. In exchange, they promised to remain neutral. But soon their actions betrayed that neutrality, and by late 1914 the British declared war against them.

From this point, European powers began planning how to divide Ottoman territory once the war ended. This is where confusion, false promises, and ambition collided to shape the future.

British policymakers did not fully understand the region. They relied on reports that were often misleading or false. Some British officials even believed wild rumors that Jewish revolutionaries controlled the Ottoman leadership, which influenced their early decisions. Others, like Lord Kitchener, dreamed of uniting all Arabs under a single religious leader, not realizing the deep divisions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, or the cultural differences among Arab tribes. These errors would prove costly.

Meanwhile, British military strategy also stumbled. The failed invasion of Gallipoli in 1915 showed that defeating the Ottomans would not be easy. After this disaster, Prime Minister David Lloyd George looked for another way to weaken Ottoman power. The British decided to encourage an Arab revolt against Turkish rule.

To do this, they approached Hussein, the Sharif of Mecca, promising him an independent Arab state if he joined their side. But at the same time, British diplomats secretly negotiated with the French about dividing the Middle East after the war. This led to the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, in which Britain and France drew borders across the region, splitting it into zones of control. For the Arabs, this betrayal was hidden until later, but its effects lasted for generations.

The Arab Revolt itself began slowly. At first, few Arab troops were willing to rise up. But with British support and the help of T.E. Lawrence, better known as “Lawrence of Arabia,” Hussein’s forces captured Mecca and later Aqaba, giving them momentum. By 1917, they were advancing into Palestine and Syria alongside British troops.

That same year, another major decision shaped the future: the Balfour Declaration. Britain announced its support for establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This was partly influenced by the belief that Jewish communities in Europe and Russia could help the Allied war effort. It was also driven by religious sentiment among British leaders, who saw control of the Holy Land as a divine mission. The declaration promised to protect local Palestinian rights, but in practice, it laid the groundwork for conflict between Jewish settlers and the Arab population.

By 1918, the Ottoman Empire was collapsing. Allied forces advanced into Damascus, Baghdad, and Jerusalem. On October 30, the Ottomans signed an armistice, effectively surrendering. Soon after, Allied troops occupied Constantinople. The empire that had lasted for six hundred years was no more.

But instead of creating stable new nations, Britain and France imposed colonial mandates. France took control of Syria and Lebanon, while Britain dominated Palestine, Iraq, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Hussein was sidelined, and his sons were placed on thrones in Iraq and Transjordan under British supervision. Meanwhile, Ibn Saud emerged as the strongest leader in Arabia, eventually founding Saudi Arabia in 1932.

In Turkey, however, things took a different turn. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led a nationalist revolt that expelled Allied forces and abolished the Ottoman monarchy. By 1923, Turkey had become a new republic, independent and determined to modernize.

Elsewhere, resistance grew. In Syria, nationalists opposed French rule, leading to uprisings and the exile of Faisal, who had briefly ruled there. In Palestine, opposition to Zionism escalated into riots and violence, as Palestinians feared displacement by Jewish immigration. The British tried to reassure both sides, but their contradictory promises only deepened mistrust.

By the end of 1922, the map of the Middle East had been redrawn, but peace was fragile. The new borders were artificial, drawn by European diplomats who ignored the realities of local identities and rivalries. Communities that had coexisted under Ottoman rule were now divided by arbitrary lines, governed by foreign powers, or ruled by monarchs with little local legitimacy.

The long-term consequences were enormous. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire did not bring stability, but instead planted the seeds of ongoing conflict. The Arab-Israeli dispute, the struggles in Iraq and Syria, and the rise of nationalist and religious movements can all be traced back to this period.

The lesson of this history is clear: when powerful nations divide territories for their own gain, ignoring the people who live there, they create instability that can last for generations. The story of the Middle East in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is, in many ways, the story of broken promises made during and after World War I.

Just as the fall of the Roman Empire plunged Europe into centuries of chaos, the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire has left the Middle East in turmoil for over a hundred years. The decisions made by Britain and France, and the ambitions they pursued, continue to shape global politics to this day.

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