Some of this is a repeat of Early 20th
Century Syrian History, but I wanted to set up the Yousef al-Azmeh story as a stand
alone post not contained in the history post.
Amidst the colonial turmoil of post
World War I, Emir Faisal – that guy who went across the desert with Lawrence of
Arabia – joined General Allenby in Damascus in October of 1918. The Emir began
establishing a government. At the same time, the French, demanding that the
English honor the Sykes-Picot agreement, arrived in what was becoming known as
Lebanon and took over. In November of 1919 the British left Damascus to avoid
conflict with the French, ending Syria’s hopes that the west would honor their sovereignty.
In March of 1920, after
negotiations with the French collapsed under Arab pressure for independence,
the Syrian Congress declared Faisal King of a new state: the Arab Kingdom of
Syria. The Europeans responded by holding the San Remo Conference, and
allocating governance of former Ottoman territories as they saw fit.
In July of 1920, according to the
French, tired of King Faisal trying to convince the League of Nations that he
had a better right to rule Arabs than the French and British did, the French
sent King Faisal the ultimatum “surrender or fight.” According to Syrians (who
have photographic evidence) the French bombed Damascus from the air, and
threatened to reduce it to rubble if King Faisal did not surrender immediately.
Syria had barely begun to form its military, and had no airplanes nor any
anti-aircraft defenses, so King Faisal surrendered to save his people and the
antiquities of his country, including the Umayyad Mosque and Straight Street, along
with other sites sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews in Syria.
The French say Yousef al-Azmeh,
King Faisal’s Chief of Staff and Minister of War, willfully disregarded his
King’s surrender and led his men into battle against the French ignoring the
fact they had no hope of winning against superior numbers, artillery, and
training.
The Syrians remember Yousef
al-Azmeh very differently. The young idealist knew what a blow surrendering to
the French would be to the pride and hope of the Syrian people as well as their
future bids for sovereignty. If they surrendered without a fight, it would be
as if the Kingdom of Syria had never existed. Azmeh decided to recruit and lead
a group of men in a fight against the French so history would reflect that the
Syrians had not given up without a fight. In one respect the Syrians agreed
with the French: they didn’t have the weapons, numbers, or training to prevail
against the French invaders. No man who followed Yousef al-Azmeh into the
Battle of Maysaloun Pass on 23 July 1920 expected to live. Azmeh died, as did
most of his men, and the next day, King Faisal’s forces in Damascus surrendered
to the French.
Today, Yousef al-Azmeh is remembered
in Syria as a martyr who died for the cause of Syrian Independence. A statue of
him is located at the center of a circle named after him in downtown Damascus,
near the Cham Palace Hotel and less than 600 metres (roughly 2000 ft.) from
Marjeh Square (a.k.a. Martyrs' Square) where the execution of Arab nationalists
originally prompted the start of the Arab Revolt.
You may use these links to access the bibliographies on wikipedia and track down primary source materials if you wish to learn more.
Battle of Maysalun
Arab Revolt
Marjeh Square
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