Two September Weeks That Saved Damascus in 1918

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13169/arabstudquar.37.4.0367
• Published date: 01 December 2015
• Date: 01 December 2015
• Pages: 367-385
• Author: Sami Moubayed
• Subject Matter: Damascus,World War I,Great Arab Revolt,T. E. Lawrence,Lawrence of Arabia,Emir Abdelkader El Djazairi,Emir Said El Djazairi,Hashemite Family,Sharif Hussein,Sharif Faisal,Damascus notables

ASQ 37.4 Produced and distributed by Pluto Journals

Sami Moubayed, Senior Consultant, Emir Abdel Qader El Djazairi International Foundation for

Culture & Heritage; Research Fellow, Centre for Syrian Studies (CSS), University of St Andrews, UK.

TWO SEPTEMBER WEEKS THAT SAVED

DAMASCUS IN 1918

Sami Moubayed

Abstract: The final two weeks of September 1918 were crucial for the modern history of

Damascus. They marked exodus of the Ottoman Turks and entry of the Allied Forces, yet

they have received mediocre attention from World War I historians. Most literature on

the Great War in the Middle East covers British strategies in the Arab Revolt and Hash-

emite ambitions, revolving around the characters of T. E. Lawrence and Sharif Faisal. Most

cover the years 1916-18, or the British-backed Arab government that was established on

October 1, 1918, the day Lawrence entered Damascus. Never has scholarly attention been

given as to what happened inside the city itself during these two weeks that preceded

October 1, or to the community leaders who teamed up to protect Damascus from uncon-

trollable chaos that threatened to tear the city apart. This article looks at the two weeks

inside the city, namely through one protagonist, being the self-appointed governor of

Damascus, Emir Said El Djazairi.

Keywords: Damascus, World War I, Great Arab Revolt, T. E. Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia,

Emir Abdelkader El Djazairi, Emir Said El Djazairi, Hashemite Family, Sharif Hussein, Sharif

Faisal, Damascus notables

The once-mighty Ottoman Army began its gradual evacuation from Damascus on

September 13, 1918. The last Ottoman troops left the city minutes after midnight

on September 26, 1918. This was shortly before the empire totally collapsed at the

end of World War I and soon after, disappeared into the pages of history books. It

was a painful moment for the Ottoman Turks, parting ways with a city that they

had occupied since 1516, cherished, admired, and affectionately called “Sham

Sherif.” Roughly in English that translates into “Damascus the Noble.” As the

Ottomans sulked, the Damascenes reacted with mixed feelings. Some danced on

the streets, happy to finally get rid of the Turks, whom they considered culturally

and ethnically different, if not inferior, to Arab Syrians. Others, like Nasuh Babil,

the future dean of Syrian Journalists, watched the scene tearfully: “I was saddened

to see the demise of a grand Islamic Empire, brought down by conspiracy.”1

368 ARAB STUDIES QUARTERLY

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On September 19, British, Indian, and Australian units broke through Turkish

defenses in Palestine and pushed northwards toward Ottoman Damascus. Air

patrols were reporting no enemy for the next 24 km till the gates of the ancient

capital of the Umayyads. T. E. Lawrence, the famed British colonel fighting with

the Arabs during the Great War, wrote in his memoirs many years later: “When

Damascus fell, the Eastern War—probably the whole war—drew to an end.”2 He

added that Damascus was “more than a mere trophy” for the Allies, and actually

the “climax” of the Arab Revolt.3 The city’s Ottoman governor Djemal al-Mersini

(also known as Djemal al-Saghir) stayed on in Damascus during second half of

September to supervise the safe exodus of his troops. For 13 days, he ran what

remained of Ottoman affairs from the splendid Victoria Hotel overlooking the

Barada River. A gigantic stone hotel built in 1879; it looked like the old buildings

of Berlin and Paris and was frequented by Ottoman and German officers during

the war. Djemal Pasha preferred it to the Grand Serail, which was newer and only

a stone’s throw away. It was better guarded and safer for the besieged Ottoman

governor. He had actually been reduced to governor in all but name; 400 years of

Ottoman rule were coming to an end, and there was nothing he could do to end—

let alone slow down—the rapid collapse of the Turkish Army.

The story of what happened inside Damascus within these two weeks has been over-

looked by Arab and Western historians for an entire century. Most literature concen-

trates either on the Allied war effort or on broken British promises to the locals that led

to dashed Hashemite ambitions of ruling a united Arab World from Damascus. Much

trivia exists on who entered Damascus first: British troops or the Arab rebel army of

Sharif Hussein, the prince of Mecca. This article will delve into none of the above, all

of which has already been debated to death by Arab historians. Rather, it will concen-

trate on the political tug-of-war that transpired within the city itself and how locals

managed to pull their lives together after all manifestations of statehood crumbled. The

two weeks from September 13-30 are a great story of human survival, grossly under-

covered and almost absent from history books in Syria itself. In all official textbooks

printed by the Syrian government since 1919, these two weeks are usually summed up

in just two lines. Much of the story, however, revolves around the personal efforts and

noble spirit of one man, who self-proclaimed himself governor and played a pivotal role

in the safe passage of the city from Ottoman to Arab control.

The Djazairi Family and Damascus

“People are waiting for the city to fall (to the Allies),” wrote Emir Said El Djazairi,

a Damascus-based Algerian notable, in late 1918. Many contemporary works dis-

miss him as a “governor by accident” or an ambitious man with a narrow political

vision who does not merit serious academic study. Much of his demonization is due