ABSTRACT
Life's Work Because of his position, Husayn's stance was important both to the Ottoman Empire and to the Allies, and, while he demurred when the Ottoman government asked him to proclaim a holy war, or jihad, against their opponents, he had come upon evidence that the Ottomans intended to depose him. The sharif sent Faisal on a mission northward, ostensibly to clarify the situation with the Ottoman authorities but also to inquire about the political leanings of the Arab provinces. In March, 1915, Faisal stopped over in Damascus, where he concluded that the situation was still confused and uncertain; after conferring with Ottoman leaders in Istanbul and protesting that his father remained loyal to the empire, he went back to Syria in response to an entreaty he had received from Arab nationalist organizations. In May, 1915, in Damascus, he was presented with a petition on behalf of local leaders, who offered their support should Husayn break openly with the Ottoman Porte. Although he also met with the commander of the Ottoman Fourth Army, Ahmed Cemal Pa§a, while the latter was in Jerusalem, and renewed his affirmations of allegiance to the Ottoman cause, Faisal later reported to Husayn that plans for a revolt should be prepared. Nevertheless it would appear that he preferred still to wait upon events; indeed, Faisal argued that the time would not be propitious until Ottoman armies had been weakened and active British support was assured. While the sharif himself began to correspond with British officials in Cairo, Faisal's beliefs in a policy of calculated ambivalence were rather rudely shaken during further visits to the northern Arab provinces. He met with Cemal for the apparent purpose of discussing military support for the Ottoman war effort. The Ottoman commander rather pointedly demonstrated to
his guest means that he had devised for the suppression of nationalist sentiment among the Arabs; a certain number of prominent local figures were hanged, and Cemal invited Faisal to attend the execution of some of them. Later, during the spring of 1916, after Faisal had made a return visit to Syria, increasing pressure was brought to bear upon the sharif to provide more definite assurances of his loyalty to the Ottoman Empire. Cemal was joined by Enver Pasha, the minister of war, and bargaining of a rather blunt sort went on between Damascus and Mecca. Faisal was in no position to oppose openly the demands of the authorities; when he departed, however, in May, 1916, tensions had risen markedly. The following month, Husayn openly defied his nominal overlords by announcing an Arab revolt. The insurgents captured Mecca and other cities soon thereafter.
