Two Betrayals, One Collapse: The Arab Revolt and the End of the Ottoman Middle East

Few episodes in the modern Middle East carry as much emotional weight as the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918. In Turkish memory, it is often framed as the “Arab betrayal”: a revolt by fellow Muslims while the Ottoman Empire fought for survival. In Arab nationalist memory, it was a struggle against centralization and repression, followed by betrayal at the hands of Britain and France.

The history is more complicated than either slogan. The revolt involved only part of the Arab population, had a limited but important military role, and ended not with the unified Arab state its leaders expected, but with European mandates and new borders.

Tensions had grown after the Young Turk Revolution of 1908. The Committee of Union and Progress strengthened central authority and promoted a more Turkish-centered vision of the empire. Some Arab elites feared the loss of local autonomy and political influence. In Greater Syria, wartime repression intensified resentment: Jamal Pasha executed Arab intellectuals and political figures accused of treason, while requisitions and blockade conditions contributed to devastating famine in Mount Lebanon.

Britain saw an........

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