ABSTRACT
Abdullah's long-cherished goal, the creation of a Greater Syria which he envisaged as his empire, had shaped his policies since he appeared in the area. He based his claim on his family origin, his loyalty to the Allies throughout the Second World War and the fact that he was the ruler of part of the area known then as Southern Syria. Meanwhile, because of the rapid developments in Palestine towards the end of the British Mandate, Abdullah sought to ensure that the area allocated for the independent Arab State would become part of his sphere of influence. Abdullah had a common interest with the Nashashibi faction in Palestine, some of whom supported the idea of a unified geographical Syria. The Palestinians were doomed to be crushed beneath the cumulative pressure of the pragmatic interests of particular Arab rulers, British interests, their own disunity and weakness, and the outcome of the war.
