Independence from the Ottoman Empire

In 1917 after World War 1, Syria had become tired with Ottoman rule. They planned underground revolts,¹ although they did not have the military power to rebel against such a major empire². During this time, Sharif Hussein, a tribal leader within the Arabian Peninsula, or present day Saudi Arabia,³ met with the British High Commissioner of Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon, and created the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence⁴ which was focused on an alliance to drive the Ottoman Empire away from the Middle East.This alliance sparked up the Arab Revolt⁵ where 70,000 men, both English and Middle Eastern began to fight against the Ottomans. In the year 1920, the fighting ended with the Ottomans being defeated and a new state of Syria being formed from Syria, Palestine, and Northern Mesopotamia through the Sykes-Picot Agreement under the rule of King Faisal⁶.