In this series, we are discussing the events of World War I that led to the partition of the Ottoman Empire.
This is episode 5-24: Beersheba and Jerusalem.
Before we get into the episode, let’s do a brief recap of where we are so far:
- The Ottomans are fighting three different campaigns in the Middle East
- The Arab Revolt, which started off slowly, gets new life with the capture of Aqaba
- The Arab rebels are not aware of the Sykes-Picot Agreement giving the British and French control over most of the Middle East
- Using Aqaba, the British are now able to bring troops into Palestine and Transjordan by ship
- Despite losing Aqaba, the Ottomans still fight the British to a stalemate at Gaza
And with that, let’s begin our discussion of the Fall of Jerusalem.
Tanzimat
The Ottoman Empire had a problem most empires have. It had an identity problem.
What did it mean to be an Ottoman?
The Ottoman Empire was about 75% Muslim, 20% Christian, and 5% other religions.
It was also a melting pot of ethnicities including Turkish, Arab, Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, Kurdish, Serbian, and many more.
With so many different groups, Islam was the only thing uniting the Empire.