French Mandate of Syria
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{{Infobox Former Country
|native_name = Mandat français en Syrie
|conventional_long_name = French Mandate of Syria
|common_name = Syria
|
|continent = Asia
|region = Middle East
|country = Syria
|era = Interwar period
|status = League of Nations Mandate
|empire = France
|year_start = 1920
|year_end = 1946
|
|event_start = Mandate granted
|date_start = [[April 25]], [[1920]]
|event_end = [[Independence]]
|date_end = [[April 17]], [[1946]]
|event1 = [[Battle of Maysalun]]
|date_event1 = [[July 23]], [[1920]]
|event2 = Federation established
|date_event2 = June, 1922
|event3 = Unification of [[Damascus]] and [[Aleppo]]
|date_event3 = [[December 1]], [[1924]]
|event4 = [[Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence (1936)|Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence]]
|date_event4 = March-September, 1936
|event5 = Addition of [[Jabal el Druze (state)|Jabal el Druze]]
|year_event5 = 1936
|event6 = Addition of [[Alawite State]]
|year_event6 = 1937
|event7 = [[Alexandretta]] given to [[Turkey]]
|year_event7 = 1939
|
|p1 = Ottoman Empire
|flag_p1 = Ottoman Flag.svg
|s1 = Syria
|flag_s1 = Syria-flag 1932-58 1961-63.svg
|s2 = Lebanon
|flag_s2 = Flag of Lebanon.svg
|s3 = Hatay State
|flag_s3 = Flag of the Republic of Hatay.svg
|image_flag = Flag of the French Mandate of Syria.gif
|flag_type = Flag of the French Mandate of Syria (1920-1922)
|image_map = Mandate of Syria.png
|capital = Damascus
|currency =
|common_languages = [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[French language|French]]
}}
The '''French Mandate of Syria''' was a [[League of Nations Mandate]] created after the [[First World War]] and the [[partitioning of the Ottoman Empire]]. During the two years that followed the end of the war in 1918, and according to the [[Sykes-Picot Agreement]] which was signed between Britain and France during the war, the British held control of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] province of [[Mesopotamia]] ([[Iraq]]) and the southern part of the Ottoman province of [[Ottoman Syria|Syria]] ([[Palestine]] and [[Jordan]]), while the French controlled the rest of Ottoman Syria (modern [[Syria]] , [[Lebanon]], and [[Hatay]] province of [[Turkey]]).
During the first years of the 1920s, the British and French control of these territories became formalized by the [[League of Nations]]' mandate system, and [[France]] was assigned the [[mandate]] of Syria in September 29, 1923, which included modern [[Lebanon]] and Hatay (Alexandretta) in addition to modern [[Syria]].
The French mandate of Syria lasted until 1943, when two independent countries emerged from the mandate period, Syria and Lebanon, in addition to Hatay which had joined Turkey in 1939 following a referendum. French troops fled Syria and Lebanon finally in 1946.
==The Arab Kingdom of Syria==
With the defeat of Ottomans in Syria, British troops under Marshal [[Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby|Edmund Henry Allenby]] entered Damascus in 1918 accompanied by troops of the [[Arab Revolt]] led by [[Faisal]], son of [[Sharif Hussein]] of [[Mecca]].
Faisal established the first Arab government in Damascus in October 1918, and named [[Ali Rida Basha al-Rikabi|Ali Rida Pasha ar-Rikabi]] a military governor. The new Arab administration raised the Arab flag all over Syria, and hoped, with faith in earlier British promises, that it would include all the Arab lands stretching from [[Aleppo]] in northern Syria to [[Aden]] in southern [[Yemen]].
[[Image:Arab Revolt flag.svg|thumb|left|Arab Flag of Syria under [[Faisal I of Iraq|King Faisal]]. The colors of the flag were inspired from a late [[Abassid]] Arabic poem.]]
However, General Allenby, and in accordance with the secret [[Sykes-Picot Agreement]] between [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[France]], assigned to the Arab administration only the interior regions of Syria (the eastern zone), while [[Palestine]] (the southern zone) was reserved for the British.
The French debarked in [[Beirut]] on October 8 and occupied all the Syrian coastal region until [[Naqoura]] (the western zone) replacing British troops there. The French immediately dissolved the Arab local governments in the region.
The French demanded full implementation of the Sykes-Picot agreement and the placement of Syria under their influence. On November 26, 1919 the British withdrew from Damascus to avoid confrontation with the French, leaving the Arab government face to face with the French.
Faisal had voyaged several times in Europe, beginning in November 1918, trying to convince Paris and London to change their positions, but he did not succeed. Signifying the determination of France on its intervention in Syria was the naming of General [[Henri Gouraud]] as a high commissioner in Syria-[[Cilicia]].
[[Image:FeisalPartyAtVersaillesCopy.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Faisal with [[T.E. Lawrence]] and the [[Kingdom of Hejaz|Hejaz]]i delegation at the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919]].]]
At the [[Paris Peace Conference]], Faisal found himself in an even weaker position when the European powers decided to ignore the Arab demands.
In June 1919, the American [[King-Crane Commission]] arrived in Syria to inquire about the local public opinion regarding the future of the country. The commission's workspace extended from [[Aleppo]] to [[Beersheba]]. They visited 36 major cities, met with over than 2000 delegations from more than 300 villages, and received more than 3000 petitions. Their conclusions confirmed the opposition of Syrians to the mandate in their country as well as to the [[Balfour declaration]], and their demand of a unified [[Greater Syria]] encompassing Palestine. The conclusions of the commission were rejected by France and ignored by Britain.
In May 1919, elections were held for the General Syrian Congress. 80% of seats went to conservatives. However, the minority included dynamic Arab nationalist figures such as [[Jamil Mardam-Bey]], [[Shukri al-Kuwatli]], [[Ahmad al-Qadri]], [[Ibrahim Hanano]], and [[Riad as-Solh|Riyad as-Solh]].
Unrest erupted in Syria when Faisal accepted a compromise with the French Prime Minister [[Clemenceau]] and with the [[Zionist]] leader [[Weizmann]] over the issue of [[Jewish]] immigration to Palestine. Anti-Hashemite manifestations broke out, and [[Muslim]] inhabitants in and around [[Mount Lebanon]] revolted with fear of being incorporated into a new, mainly [[Christian]], state of [[Greater Lebanon]].
In March 1920, the Syrian national congress in Damascus, headed by [[Hashim al-Atassi]], adopted a resolution rejecting the Faisal-Clemenceau accords. The congress declared the independence of Syria in her natural borders (including Palestine), and proclaimed Faisal the king of Arabs. The congress also proclaimed political and economic union with neighboring [[Iraq]] and demanded its independence as well. A new government headed by Ali Rida ar-Rikabi was formed on May 9, 1920.
[[Image:SYRIAN 25 PIASTRES 1919.jpg|thumb|left|25 Syrian piastre banknote issued in Beirut by the Bank of Syria in 1919. The Bank of Syria was later renamed the Bank of Syria and Greater Lebanon, and it continued issuing currency for both Syria and Lebanon until the 1950's]]
On April 25, and in the course of the [[Treaty of Sevres]], the supreme inter-allied council granted France the mandate of Syria (including Lebanon), and granted the UK the mandate of Palestine and Iraq. Syrians reacted with violent demonstrations, and with the formation of a new government under Hashim al-Atassi on May 7, 1920. The new government decided to organize general conscription and began financing an army.
These decisions provoked adverse reactions by the French as well as by the [[Maronite]] [[patriarchate]] of [[Mount Lebanon]], which denounced the decisions as a "coup d'état." In [[Beirut]], the Christian press expressed its hostility to the decisions of Faisal's government. Lebanese nationalists profited of the crisis to convene a council of Christian figures in [[Baabda]] on March 22, 1920 that proclaimed the independence of [[Lebanon]].
On July 14, 1920, General Gouraud issued an ultimatum to Faisal giving him the choice between submission or abdication. Realizing that the power balance is not in his favor, Faisal chooses to cooperate. However, the young minister of war, [[Yusuf al-Azmah|Youssef al-Azmeh]], refuses to comply and faces the French at the [[battle of Maysaloun]] which was won by the French under General [[Mariano Goybet]] in less than a day. Azmeh died in the battlefield along with most of those who were with him, and General Goybet entered Damascus on July 24, 1920.
When first arrived in Lebanon, the French were received as liberators by the Christian community, but as they were entering Syria they were faced with a strong resistance. It took France three years from 1920 to 1923 to hold full control over Syria and to quell all the insurgencies that broke out, notably in the [[Alawite]] territories, [[Jabal ad-Duruz|Mount Druze]], and [[Aleppo]].
==The Mandate==
Following the [[San Remo conference]] and the defeat of [[King Faisal]]'s short-lived monarchy in Syria at the [[Battle of Maysalun]], the French genral [[Henri Gouraud]] subdivided the mandate of Syria into six states. They were the states of [[State of Damascus|Damascus]] (1920), [[State of Aleppo|Aleppo]] (1920), [[Alawite State|Alawites]] (1920), [[Jabal ad-Druze (state)|Jabal Druze]] (1921), the autonomous [[State of Hatay|Sanjak of Alexandretta]] (1921) (modern-day [[Hatay]]), and the [[State of Greater Lebanon]] (1920) which became later the modern country of [[Lebanon]].
[[Image:Flag of Syria French mandate.svg|thumb|left|Flag of the Syrian Federation (1922-24) and the following State of Syria (1924-30)]]
In July 1922, France established a loose [[federation]] between three of the states: Damascus, Aleppo, and the Alawite under the name of the Syrian Federation (Fédération syrienne). Jabal Druze, Sanjak of Alexandretta, and Greater Lebanon were not parts of this federation, which adopted a new federal flag (green-white-green with French canton). On December 1, 1924, the Alawite state seceded from the federation when the states of Aleppo and Damascus were united into the State of Syria.
In 1925, a [[Syrian Revolution|revolt]] in Jabal Druze led by [[Sultan Pasha el Atrash]] spread to other Syrian states and became a general rebellion in Syria. France tried to retaliate by having the parliament of Aleppo declare secession from the union with Damascus, but the voting was foiled by Syrian patriots.
[[Image:Syria-flag 1932-58 1961-63.svg|thumb|right|Flag of the Syrian Republic (1932-58, 1961-63)]]
On May 14, 1930, the State of Syria was declared the Republic of Syria and a new constitution was drafted. Two years later, in 1932, a new flag for the republic was adopted. The flag carried three red stars that represented the three districts of the republic (Damascus, Aleppo, and [[Deir ez Zor]]).
In 1936, the [[Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence]] was signed, a treaty that would not be ratified by the French legislature. However, the treaty allowed Jabal Druze, the Alawite (now called [[Latakia]]), and Alexandretta to be incorporated into the Syrian republic within the following two years. Greater Lebanon (now the Lebanese Republic) was the only state that did not join the Syrian Republic. [[Hashim al-Atassi]], who was Prime Minister under King Faisal's brief reign (1918-1920), was the first president to be elected under a new constitution adopted after the independence treaty.
In September 1938, France again separated the Syrian district of Alexandretta and transformed it into the [[Republic of Hatay]]. The Republic of Hatay joined Turkey in the following year, in June 1939. Syria did not recognize the incorporation of Hatay into Turkey and the issue is still disputed until the present time.
With the fall of France in 1940 during [[World War II]], Syria came under the control of the [[Vichy Government]] until the British and [[Free French]] occupied the country in July 1941. Syria proclaimed its independence again in 1941 but it wasn't until January 1, 1944 that it was recognized as an independent republic. Continuing pressure from Syrian nationalist groups and British pressure forced the French to evacuate their last troops in April 17, 1946.
==States Created During the French Mandate==
During the French mandate, several states were created in the once united Ottoman Syria. The drawing of those states was based primarily on exploiting the diverse sectarian make up of Syria. However, nearly all the Syrian sects were hostile to the French mandate and to the division it created. This was best demonstrated by the numerosity of revolts that the French encountered in all of the Syrian states.
Maronite Christians of Mount Lebanon, on the other hand, were a community that enjoyed old ties and good relations with France; therefore, Lebanon was the exception between the newly formed states.
===State of Greater Lebanon===
[[Image:Lebanese French flag.svg|thumb|150px|The flag of [[Greater Lebanon]] during the French mandate.]]On September 1, 1920, General Gouraud proclaimed the establishment of the [[State of Greater Lebanon]] (French: État de Grand Liban) (Arabic: دولة لبنان الكبير).
Greater Lebanon was created by France to be a "safe haven" for the [[Maronite]] population of the Mutasarrifia (Ottoman administrative unit) of [[Mount Lebanon]]. Mt. Lebanon, an area with a Maronite majority, had enjoyed variable degrees of unofficial [[autonomy]] during the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] era. However, Greater Lebanon included in addition to Mount Lebanon other mainly [[Muslim]] regions that were not part of the Maronite Mutasarrifia, and hence the word "greater." Those regions correspond today to [[north Lebanon]], [[south Lebanon]], [[Biqa' valley]], and [[Beirut]]. The incorporation of [[Tripoli]], the former major Syrian port, into Greater Lebanon was a big economic loss for Syria.
The capital of Greater Lebanon was [[Beirut]]. The new state was granted a flag merging the [[French flag]] with the [[cedar]] of Mt. Lebanon.
Muslims in Greater Lebanon rejected the new state upon its creation. They boycotted the general census in 1922, and refused to receive new identity cards before General Gouraud agreed to remove from the cards the part stating the Lebanese citizenship. The Muslim continuous demand for reunification with Syria eventually brought about an [[1958 Lebanon crisis|armed conflict between Muslims and Christians in 1958]] when Muslim Lebanese wanted to join the newly proclaimed [[United Arab Republic]], while Christians were strongly opposed to that.
Although most of the [[Lebanese]] sects were not enthusiastic for the new state, Maronites were the majority and they managed to preserve its independence; an independence that created a unique precedent in the Arab world. Lebanon was the first Arab country in which Christians were not a minority.
The State of Greater Lebanon existed until May 23, 1926, after which it became the [[Lebanese Republic]].
===State of Alawites===
[[Image:Latakiya-sanjak-Alawite-state-French-colonial-flag.svg|thumb|left|150px|The flag of the [[Alawite State]] during the French mandate.]]
The [[State of Alawites]] (French: État des Alaouites) (Arabic: دولة العلويين) was located on the Syrian coast and incorporated a majority of [[Alawites]], a branch of [[Shia]] [[Islam]]. The port city of [[Latakia]] was the capital of this state.
Initially it was an autonomous territory under French rule known as ''the Alawite Terretories.'' It became part of the Syiran Federation in 1922, but left the federation again in 1924 and became the ''State of Alawites.'' On September 22, 1930 it was renamed the ''Independent Government of Latakia.'' The population at this time was 278,000.
The government of Latakia finally joined the Syrian Republic on December 5, 1936.
This state witnessed several rebellions against the French. The most prominent of which were under [[Salih al-Ali]], an Alawite anti-French figure.
===State of Jabal Druze===
[[Image:Flag of Jabal ad-Druze (state).svg|thumb|150px|right|The flag of the [[State of Jabal Druze]] during the French mandate.]]
[[Jabal Druze]] was a French mandate from 1921 to 1936 created for the [[Druze]] population of southern [[Syria]]. It had a population of some 50,000 and had its capital in [[As Suwayda]].
===State of Aleppo===
[[Image:Flag of the State of Aleppo.svg|thumb|150px|left|Flag of the [[State of Aleppo]]]]
The [[State of Aleppo]] (1920-1925) (French: État d'Alep) (Arabic: دولة حلب) included a majority of [[Sunni]] [[Muslims]]. It covered northern Syria in addition to the entire fertile basin of river [[Euphrates]] of eastern Syria. These regions represented much of the agricultural and mineral wealth of Syria. The autonomous [[Sanjak of Alexandretta]] was added to the state of Aleppo in 1923.
The capital was the northern city of [[Aleppo]], which had large [[Christian]] and [[Jewish]] communities in addition to the Sunni Muslims. The state also incorporated minorities of [[Shiites]] and Alawites. Ethnic [[Kurds]], [[Syriacs]], and [[Assyrians]] inhabited the eastern regions alongside the Arabs.
The primarily Sunni population of the state of Aleppo was strongly opposed to the division of Syria. This resulted in its quick end in 1925, when France united the states of Aleppo and Damascus into the State of Syria.
===State of Damascus===
[[Image:Flag of the State of Damascus.svg|thumb|150px|right|Flag of the [[State of Damascus]]]]
The [[State of Damascus]] was a French mandate from 1920 to 1925. The capital was Damascus.
===Sanjak of Alexandretta===
The [[Sanjak of Alexandretta]] was autonomous from 1921 to 1923, under the French-Turkish treaty of 20 October 1921, due to the presence of an important [[Turkic peoples|Turkish]] community along with [[Arabs in Turkey|Arab]]s of various religious denominations: [[Sunni]] Muslims, [[Alawites]], [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox]], [[Antiochian Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]], [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholics]], [[Maronites]]. There were also communities of [[Jew]]s, [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Kurd]]s, [[Armenians]] and [[Greeks]]. In 1923 [[Alexandretta]] was attached to the State of [[Aleppo]], and in 1925 it was directly attached to the [[French mandate of Syria]], still with special administrative status.
The 1936 elections in the sanjak returned two MPs favoring the independence of [[Syria]] from France, and this prompted communal riots as well as passionate articles in the Turkish and Syrian press. This then became the subject of a complaint to the [[League of Nations]] by the Turkish government under [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] concerning alleged mistreatment of the area's Turkish populations. Atatürk demanded that Alexandretta become part of Turkey, claiming that the majority of its inhabitants were Turks. The sanjak was given autonomy in November 1937 in an arrangement brokered by the League. Under its new statute, the sanjak became 'distinct but not separated' from the [[French Mandate of Syria]] on the diplomatic level, linked to both France and Turkey for defence matters.
The allocation of seats in the sanjak assembly was based on the 1938 census held by the French authorities under international supervision: out of 40 seats, 22 were given to the Turks, nine for Alawi Arabs, five for Armenians, two for Sunni Arabs, and two for Christian Arabs. The assembly was appointed in the summer of 1938 and the French-Turkish treaty settling the status of the Sanjak was signed on 4th July 1938.
[[Image:Flag of the Republic of Hatay.svg|150px|left|thumb|Flag of the [[Republic of Hatay]] (1938-1939)]]
On [[2 September]] [[1938]] the assembly proclaimed the Sanjak of Alexandretta as the [[Republic of Hatay]], taking as an excuse that rioting had broken out between Turks and Arabs.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The Republic lasted for one year under joint French and Turkish military supervision. The name "Hatay" itself was proposed by Atatürk and the government was under Turkish control. The president [[Tayfur Sökmen]] was a member of Turkish parliament elected in 1935 (representing [[Antalya]] (Greek: Αττάλεια)) and the prime minister [[Dr. Abdurrahman Melek]], was also elected to the Turkish parliament (representing Gaziantep) in 1939 while still holding the prime-ministerial post.
In 1939, following a popular referandum, the [[Republic of Hatay]] became a Turkish province.
==References==
*[http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/III_-_Protmand_modifie_mandat.pdf Mandat Syria-Liban ... (1920-146)]
*[http://maaber.50megs.com/issue_august03/lookout2f.htm La Syrie et le mandat français (1920-1946)]
*[http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/article.asp?ln=fr&id=1010 Les Relations franco-libanaises dans le cadre des relations Internationales]
*[http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache:0uumjqryX5YJ:perso.orange.fr/pierre.gay/PagesFra/ColPrOFR+mandat+syrie&hl=fr&gl=fr&ct=clnk&cd=4&client=firefox-a Mandat français au Proche-Orient]
== See also ==
*[[Sykes-Picot Agreement]]
*[[British Mandate of Palestine]]
*[[History of Syria]]
*[[Ottoman Syria]]
*[[Roman Syria]]
[[Category:French mandate of Syria| ]]
[[Category:League of Nations mandates|Syria]]
[[Category:History of Syria]]
[[ar:انتداب فرنسي على سوريا ولبنان]]
[[fr:Mandat français en Syrie]]
[[nl:Frans Mandaat Syrië]]