ABSTRACT
The Ottoman Empire’s entry into the war directly affected the Levant by opening a front on the Suez Canal. During the same period, Middle Eastern countries were being affected by the ambitions of the European powers in the region. French ambitions began to take shape during a period when Syria and the Middle East in general were experiencing significant transformations, be it economically, by way of the region’s integration into the world economy, or politically, by the policies of the Tanzimat1 and the assertion of Arab nationalist ambitions, with the two developments being indirectly connected.1
