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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For Specialists only!, May 9, 2006
This review is from: The Great Syrian Revolt and the Rise of Arab Nationalism (Modern Middle East) (Paperback)
This is one of those books which perhaps has influence in academic understanding of a region, people, or issue, but probably shouldn't be picked up by the general public: the subject is way to obscure, the presentation too esoteric, for the average reader to follow what's going on. The result is a fascinating book that looks at an obscure incident in the Arab past which has an influence on modern events, but does so in such a fashion that it's probably only for those who have a good working knowledge of the region already.
The nation of Syria had been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for 400+ years when the British overran it at the end of the First World War and installed their client, Faisal, as King of the country. The same British had promised the French, several years earlier, that the region would fall to them at the end of the war, but now appeared to be reneging in favor of Faisal, who had helped capture Damascus. Faisal's reign was brief, however, in that the British retreated and left him to deal with the French, who didn't want him in power and in 1920 expelled him. The French then imposed a "High Commisioner" who proceeded to attempt to co-opt local leaders by appointing them to lower administrative posts in the country's administration. The idea was to get the elites invested in the status quo of French dominance, so that if there were any unrest those protesting would lack leaders. This was a good idea in theory, but in practice it didn't work: the elites thus recruited were mostly from the cities, and local regional sheikhs from the countryside stayed idle, and eventually rebelled.
The author makes the point that the rebellion incorporated several different elements of Syrian society, including not just Druze tribesmen but eventually more urbanized elites such as grain merchants and even a few community leaders. The result was a country-wide outbreak of banditry and violence, with inter-family feuds being resolved under the cover of the more pervasive violence that overwhelmed the counry. Many of the leaders of the rebellion were killed or exiled from the country for a decade, though a few were permanently expelled from the country, and didn't return at least until after the departure of the French.
This is an interesting book, made much more inaccessible by various academic conventions that are impenetrable to non-specialists. There are numerous pronunciation marks around the various names in the book, the author refutes various previously-held beliefs which are obscure to most people, and the heart of tbe book is a discussion of issues rather than an actual narrative. With those provisos, this is a good book, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a reference work, November 14, 2006
This review is from: The Great Syrian Revolt and the Rise of Arab Nationalism (Modern Middle East) (Paperback)
This is a reference work on the Syrian Revolt of 1925-27 and the Syrian history at large. Provence uses his academic training combined with his fluency in at least three languages (English, French and Arabic), to produce this great work in which he shakes some earlier traditional accounts on this revolt.
First, Provence recreates the Ottoman Empire context to show how the split between Syria's notables and its countryside people and the role of each of them in public life was reinforced by the Ottoman government. To start with, the sons of notables were sent to civil schools in the hope that they would become civil servants and eventually occupy leading positions in the state while the sons of the countryside and the less privileged were sent to the military school where they became military officers. This duality proved to be essential in the understanding of the Middle East region where half a dozen countries witnessed coups and the eventual creation of military dictatorships at the expense of the leadership of notable families. Provence also disputes earlier history records that show the notables as the heroes of the Syrian revolt where as in fact, the revolt was led by the more rural tribes.
Second, Provence rightly disputes the official version of the current Syrian regime about the revolt saying that the Alawite regime did not want to teach the history of this revolt as the alliance between the Sunnis and the Druzes in Syria while the Alawites of the north were relatively cooperating with the French. Instead, the Syrian regime account has it that the revolt was a number of mini revolts that occurred throughout Syria and in which the Alawites had a role.
Third, Provence very correctly depicts the Druze-Sunni alliance during the revolt as an alliance of interest. Unlike how the West views sects of the Middle East as monolithic blocs whose loyalties shift randomly, Provence proved that the Druze farmers of southern Syria had ties with the Sunni wheat merchants of Damascus, thus the political bond during the anti-French revolt in 1925 was the fruit of this trade bond.
Reading this book would certainly teach readers some lessons on current events, especially about the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon where sects drew alliances among themselves and with foreign powers in the same manner that Syrians of the 1920 did.
This is a great book and perhaps the best one on this issue in the market.
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2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Great Syrian Revolt and the Rise of Arab Nationalism., January 14, 2006
This review is from: The Great Syrian Revolt and the Rise of Arab Nationalism (Modern Middle East) (Paperback)
An understanding of the late Ottoman period, the First World War, and the War's aftermath is essential to understanding the modern Middle East. This is a good, accessable step in that direction. It should be mentioned that there were also revolts in the same general time frame against a similar British occupation in Iraq. And the informed reader will also see parallels with the present conflict in Iraq.
A book worth buying-
Cleve Shearer
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