Syria and Lebanon are often in the news. Most people are at least vaguely aware that they are troubled countries in a troubled part of the world, but almost no one is aware of how these two countries came into existence.
The process was long, complex, repressive, violent, and full of broken promises and missed opportunities.
The mandate system which was imposed by the victorious Allies of World War I on the people of these two countries, along with the people of the countries which are now Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Palestine, was ostensibly to aid and assist them in making the transition from being almost ready for independence to being independent countries, and do so while taking into account the rights and wishes of the people in the mandated territories.
After almost two years of military occupation following World War I, the territories which are now Lebanon and Syria were placed under the Mandatory administration of the French Government and remained under this administration for more than 24 years.
During this time little was done to fulfill the stated objectives or observe the written terms of the mandate.
Instead the people of Syria and Lebanon were governed according to the whims of the French Government, which showed little interest in their making the transition to full independence.
This is a timeline of how Lebanon and Syria came to be independent but troubled countries under the mandate system.
By better understanding this period I believe that it is easier to better understand what has happened since the mandate era ended and is happening now in Syria, Lebanon and the region.
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The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Timeline 1918 - 1946 is quite long and complex,
so it will be in six installments:
• The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Timeline 1918 - 1946 Part I
- Introduction
- Terms
- Excerpts from Documents Relevant to the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
• The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Timeline 1918 - 1946 Part II
- The Sinai and Palestine Campaign at the End of World War I
- OETA North - From the end of the war to August 10, 1920
- OETA North - August 10, 1920 to January 7, 1922
• The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Timeline 1918 - 1946 Part III
- OETA West - From the end of the war to August 10, 1920
• The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Timeline 1918 - 1946 Part IV
- OETA East - From the end of the war to August 10, 1920
• The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Timeline 1918 - 1946 Part V
- Lebanon - August 10, 1920 to December 31, 1946
• The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Timeline 1918 - 1946 Part VI
- Syria - August 10, 1920 to April 17, 1946
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Please take the time to go over the ‘Terms’ section in Part I.
Understanding the information in it will make it easier to understand the timeline.
• OETA West - From the end of the war to August 10, 1920
OETA West included the Alexandretta District of the Province of Aleppo, the Latakia District of the Province of Beirut, the Tripoli District of the Province of Beirut, the District of Mount Lebanon, the city of Beirut, and most of the Sidon District of the Province of Beirut.
However, most of the events which occurred in OETA West in this period were centered in the District of Mount Lebanon and in Beirut, the capital city of the Province of Beirut.
September 30, 1918 - Ottoman forces in Beirut retreated as British and Arab forces moved northward and approached Damascus.
British and Arab forces had begun advancing northward after defeating the Ottoman forces in the areas around Haifa, the Sea of Galilee, Amman and Dera’a in the battles which came to be known as the Battle of Megiddo.
October 1, 1918 - The Governor of the Ottoman Province of Beirut resigned and was escorted out of its capitol, Beirut, by local residents. Supporters of Emir Faisal, the commander of the Arab forces, proclaimed a new government in Beirut and Emir Faisal sent a small contingent of his Arab forces to Beirut three days later.
October 7, 1918 - French sailors landed in Beirut without resistance. British forces began arriving the next day. More British and French forces continued to arrive during the following months.
October 8, 1918 - General Allenby appointed French Colonel de Piepape as the Military Governor of OETA West.
The government which had been proclaimed by supporters of Emir Faisal in Beirut was not recognized by the British forces, and Emir Faisal’s forces withdrew without incident or protest.
October 22, 1918 - The Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon, which had been abolished by the Ottoman Government in 1915, was officially reinstated by the British Occupying Forces.
The Ottoman District of Mount Lebanon had been semi-autonomous since 1864. Its Governor was appointed directly by the Ottoman Government in Istanbul but the district was administered by the locally elected Administrative Council in its capital, Baabda.
Mount Lebanon was a strip of land along the Mediterranean coast between the Tripoli and Sidon Districts of the Ottoman Province of Beirut and was about one third of the area of what is now Lebanon.
October 30, 1918 - The Armistice of Moudros was signed, ending hostilities between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies at noon on October 31, 1918.
October 31, 1918 - When the armistice came into effect much of OETA West had already been occupied by British and French forces. The unoccupied areas were quickly occupied.
Following the armistice with Germany on November 11, 1918 the number of French Occupation Forces in OETA West began to increase as more were sent by the French Government, and the French occupation and administration of OETA West became more effective.
November 6, 1918 - Georges Picot, who had been appointed the French High Commissioner in Syria and Armenia in April, 1917, arrived in Beirut and took over the civil administration of OETA West.
November 9, 1918 - British forces occupied the Alexandretta District of Aleppo on their way to occupying the southern cities of the Ottoman Province of Adana in OETA North.
December 1, 1918 - British Prime Minister Lloyd George and French Prime Minister Clemenceau reached an informal agreement that the French Government would give up its claims to Mosul, which was in the French sphere of influence according to the Sykes-Picot Agreement, in exchange for 25% of the oil in Mosul and British assistance for the French in Syria. The French also agreed to move the border of British occupied and administered Palestine (OETA South) farther to the north.
December 9, 1918 - The Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon passed a resolution which called for the expansion of Mount Lebanon into “its generally recognized historical and geographical borders in accordance with its legal and economic needs”, for its independence, for the establishment of a legislature in the independent country, and for French assistance in achieving independence.
December 27, 1918 - The first delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of the Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon departed Beirut by ship.
January 18, 1919 - The Paris Peace Conference officially opened.
January 30, 1919 - A preliminary decision was made by the delegates at the Paris Peace Conference to implement a system of mandates in the territories of the defeated Central Powers which were outside of Europe.
Progress on the mandates issue went slowly during the conference due to conflicts between the Allies and objections by Arab delegates to the mandates being proposed for the Arab territories of the Ottoman Empire.
The mandates being discussed were based on the Sykes-Picot Agreement (May 16, 1916) and the Balfour Declaration (November 2, 1917), while Arab objections to them were based on the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence (July 14, 1915 - January 30, 1916), the Declaration to the Seven (June 16, 1918) and the Anglo-French Declaration (November 7, 1918).
February 15, 1919 - The delegation of the Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon met with the Council of Ten and presented their December 9, 1918 resolution to the council. The delegation emphasized their desire for independence and stated that cooperation with Syria would be beneficial even though it was “a country deprived of Government traditions and much less advanced in its evolution”.
The delegation also submitted a Memorandum which contained information about the expanded borders of what the Administrative Council called Greater Lebanon. These borders included the Sidon District of the Province of Beirut which was south of Mount Lebanon, the southern half of the Tripoli District of the Province of Beirut which was north of Mount Lebanon, the city of Beirut, and the Beqaa Valley and the Anti-Lebanon mountains of the Province of Damascus which were east and northeast of Mount Lebanon.
March 22, 1919 - The first delegation of the Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon arrived back in Beirut after attending the Paris Peace Conference.
May 20, 1919 - The Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon declared Mount Lebanon’s independence in the expanded borders it had put forward at the Paris Peace Conference. The declaration was gently rejected and then ignored by the French High Commissioner in Beirut.
July 15, 1919 - The second delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of the Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon departed Beirut by ship. The delegation consisted of the Maronite Patriarch, and five Maronite and Greek Catholic Bishops. It was sent to promote the Administrative Council’s May 20, 1919 declaration of independence.
September 15, 1919 - ‘... the British and French agreed on the 15th instant, that the British garrisons in Syria west of the Sykes-Picot line in Cilicia and southern Armenia will be replaced by a French force; that the garrisons at Damascus, Homs, Hama, and Aleppo will be replaced by an Arab force; and that after the withdrawal of the British forces neither the British Government nor the British commander-in-chief shall have any responsibility within the zones from which the army has retired. (From a September 22, 1919 U. S. State Department report on the post-World War I peace process)
The Anglo-French Accord of September 15, 1919 was a result of the French Government’s insistence that it be allowed to send its forces into OETA East and the British Government’s desire to withdraw and demobilize its troops from OETA North, OETA West and OETA East. The British had grown tired of having to carry the financial weight of the occupation.
French Occupation Forces and British Occupation Forces had been occupying OETA West together but the French, in general, administered OETA West.
The French would now be solely responsible for occupying and administering OETA West.
October - November, 1919 - As British Occupation Forces withdrew from OETA West, more French Occupation Forces were sent to the region by the French Government.
October 2, 1919 - Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United States, suffered a serious stroke and the United States was essentially only an observer during the remainder of the post-war peace process.
November 21, 1919 - General Henri Gouraud became the French High Commissioner in Syria and Armenia. His administration was based in Beirut and he began building the strength of the French Occupation Forces and the administration under his command.
November 29, 1919 - The Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon passed a resolution reminding the French of Mount Lebanon’s long-standing autonomy. The resolution was prompted by French interference in Mount Lebanon’s affairs and provided a list of areas in which the French were not to interfere. At the same time the resolution welcomed France’s assistance but stated that this assistance did not mean Mount Lebanon was relinquishing its independence.
December 25, 1919 - The second delegation of the Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon returned to Beirut. They had not had meetings with the Council of Ten or the Council of Four but had had meetings with French Government officials and built support for their proclamation of the independence of Greater Lebanon.
January 10, 1920 - The League of Nations officially came into existence.
January 16, 1920 - The Council of the League of Nations met for its first session in Paris.
January 21, 1920 - The Paris Peace Conference officially ended.
February 11, 1920 - The third delegation of the Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon arrived in Paris to promote the independence of Greater Lebanon. The delegation had been sent by the Maronite Patriarch and the Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon.
February 12, 1920 - April 10, 1920 - At the Conference of London, which was an extension of the Paris Peace Conference, the Allied Supreme Council met to discuss mandates, the Ottoman Empire, and the completion of the peace treaty between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire.
March 22, 1920 - The Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon declared Mount Lebanon’s independence in its expanded borders again. This declaration had the tacit approval of the local French authorities to counteract the recent events in Damascus.
The declaration of independence of the Arab Kingdom of Syria on March 7, 1920 by the General Syrian Congress in Damascus included a clause which stated that Mount Lebanon would be preserved as a separate administrative region in the kingdom on the condition that it was not under any foreign influence.
Mount Lebanese supporters of the Syrian declaration of independence then asked the General Syrian Congress to accept that Mount Lebanon would be allowed to expand its borders and be independent, and the congress agreed.
This decision by General Syrian Congress and growing opposition in Mount Lebanon the increasingly harsh French occupation was causing support for the declaration of independence made by the General Syrian Congress to increase in Mount Lebanon.
March 13, 1920 - The High Commissioner issued a decree creating a Syrian national currency to replace the Egyptian Pound in the areas under his administration. The Egyptian Pound had been being used in the entire region as had been ordered by General Allenby. The Bank of Syria, owned primarily by the French, was established in Beirut to issue this currency.
April 25, 1920 - The French Republic was selected to be the Mandatory for Syria by the Principal Allied Powers during the San Remo Conference.
The San Remo Conference (April 18-26, 1920) was a meeting of the Allied Supreme Council. The conference was a continuation of the Paris Peace Conference and was held to finalize the terms of the peace treaty between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire.
Britain, France, Italy and Japan participated. The United States attended as an observer because the United States had not declared war on the Ottoman Empire and would not be a party to the peace treaty between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire.
The San Remo Conference was also held in response to the increasingly restive situation in OETA West and OETA East and the declarations of independence which had been made by the Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon and the General Syrian Congress.
During the conference the mandates for the Arab territories of the Ottoman Empire were finalized and assigned even though the territories still belonged to the Ottoman Empire and were only under Allied occupation.
Three conditions were placed on the mandate for Syria by the Allied Supreme Council at the San Remo Conference, they were listed in Article (b) paragraph 1 of the resolution.
“The High Contracting Parties agree that Syria and Mesopotamia shall, in accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 22, Part I (Covenant of the League of Nations), be provisionally recognized as independent States, subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The boundaries of the said States will be determined, and the selection of the Mandatories made, by the Principal Allied Powers.”
Even though the fourth paragraph of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations stated that “The wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory.” and essentially nothing had been done to determine the wishes of the communities in the mandated territories of Syria, France was chosen to be the mandatory for Syria at the San Remo Conference as was stated in Article (c) of the resolution.
"(c) [Translation] The mandatories chosen by the Principal Allied Powers are: France for Syria, and Great Britain for Mesopotamia and Palestine.”
The borders of Mandatory Syria were not defined at the San Remo Conference, but the Principal Allied Powers were given the authority to determine them.
May 1, 1920 - The Syrian Pound, issued by the Bank of Syria in Beirut by the decree of the High Commissioner, became the legal tender of the mandated territory. The Syrian Pound was tied to the French Franc and controlled by the French Treasury.
May 8, 1920 - The General Syrian Congress passed a resolution which rejected the San Remo Resolution and demanded independence.
June 2, 1920 - The High Commissioner appointed a fourteen-member commission to assist the thirteen-member Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon.
Resentment among some of the members of the Administrative Council was growing, caused by the heavy-handed French occupation, the refusal of the French Government to recognize Mount Lebanon’s independence, and the mandate which had been imposed on them.
July 10, 1920 - In a secret meeting the Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon discussed approaching the General Syrian Congress in Damascus with a proposal to establish an independent Greater Lebanon alongside the Kingdom of Syria.
Seven of the twelve councilors present at the meeting voted for the proposal and then left for Damascus to meet with the General Syrian Congress. They were arrested by the French on their way and charged with treason. These seven councilors were tried, convicted and deported by the French a short time later.
July 12, 1920 - The High Commissioner dissolved the Administrative Council of Mount Lebanon and appointed a committee to govern in its place.
August 10, 1920 - The Treaty of Sevres was signed by the Allies and the Ottoman Empire.
In the treaty the Ottoman Empire gave up all rights to its Arab territories, agreed to the creation of the mandates of Syria, Mesopotamia and Palestine, and agreed that the Principal Allied Powers would select their mandatories and determine their borders.
However, the treaty was never ratified by the Ottoman Parliament and never came into effect.
The Ottoman Parliament had become dominated by Members who sided with or participated in the resistance to the Allied occupation of Istanbul and large areas of Anatolia. Parliament was dismissed by Sultan Mehmet VI on April 5, 1920, and the growing resistance to the occupation made it impossible for a new parliament to be elected.
The Treaty of Sevres was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923.
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• The Series
The Arabian Peninsula during and after World War I
The Mandate for Mesopotamia Timeline 1916 - 1932 Part I
The Mandate for Mesopotamia Timeline 1916 - 1932 Part II
The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Timeline 1918 - 1946 Part I
The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Timeline 1918 - 1946 Part II
• Treaties, Resolutions, Etc.
The Sykes Picot Agreement - May 16, 1916
The Proclamation of Baghdad - March 19, 1917
The Declaration to the Seven - June 16, 1918
The Anglo-French Declaration - November 7, 1918
Memorandums by the Emir Feisal - January 1 and 29, 1919
The Faisal-Weizmann Agreement - January 3, 1919
Draft Resolutions in Reference to Mandatories - January 30, 1919
Council of Ten Meeting with Emir Faisal - February 6, 1919
The Covenant of the League of Nations - April 28, 1919
The King-Crane Commission Report - Syrian Congress - August 28, 1919
The Anglo-French Accord - September 15, 1919
Memorandum of Agreement at San Remo - April 24, 1920
The San Remo Resolution - April 25, 1920
The Draft of the Mandate for Mesopotamia - December 7, 1920
The Treaty of Ankara of 1921 - October 20, 1921
The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon - July 24, 1922
The Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of Alliance of 1922 - October 10, 1922
Council of the LoN Meeting Minutes - September 29, 1923
• Notes
I used many sources to collect this information and there is no way I can list all of them.
I have tried to present the information so that anyone who wants to look for more information can do searches easily.
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