Colonial Powers and the Middle East before 1920

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Foo.

After the Treaty of Versailles, colonial Britain and France arbitrarily divided up the defeated Ottoman empire.  This article is about the Sykes-Picot line of 1916 which was a secret agreement between the U.K. and France to divide up the territories into areas of control and influence.  About a year later, the U.K. followed with the never to be sufficiently damned Balfour Declaration that stated that the Jews merited a homeland in the middle east (currently Israel).  At the time the colonial powers were determined that the Semites (Arabs and Jews) would not have home rule.  After the end of the war in 1945 when many of the issues in Europe were settled, attention turned to the middle east and the Brits actually implemented the Balfour Declaration while the weakened French and British empires began dissolution.

Now look at the mess-o-potamia.

I've often wondered what would have happened if Persia had been reunited (Iran + Iraq), and the rest simply carefully returned to the people in charge before the Ottoman Turks created their empire.

Remember, Saudi Arabia was set up by the Brits in around 1920 and Iran at about the same time by appointment of royal houses.  Kind of a last gasp on the British Empire, and the mangy old lion finally had to go home.

The whole area has been full of intrigue, secret agreements and treaties that even Hitler might have envied.

[raynev1 1,886]

@A Nonny Moose That was an interesting read . Had the British not stepped in way back when , I wonder what it would be like there today . Histories mysteries huh .

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

If you look at what's going on new around the Med, you'll see Russia is the new France and the U.S. is the new Britain.  People who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.