ABSTRACT
World War I was a watershed in the history of the Middle East and the Fertile Crescent. For four centuries most of these regions were ruled by the Ottoman Empire, though several countries of the Middle East were loosened from its grip before the war. Yet it was the First World War which finally brought an end to Ottoman rule over the Arab countries, and, in fact, to the Empire itself. After the war, with the capture of the Fertile Crescent by the British army, the boundaries of the modern Arab states were determined, and Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Transjordan were established. In August 1914 World War I broke out in Europe. The Ottoman Empire announced its armed neutrality, and signed a secret pact with Germany and in effect thereby joined the Central Powers. The pro-German position of the Empire found public expression later when it granted refuge to the German warships: Goeben and Breslau.
