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Title
The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Partition of the Middle East, 1879–1919
This collection is drawn from the personal papers of Mark Sykes (1879-1919), a politician and diplomatic advisor famous for his role in the partition of the Middle East around the period of the First World War. He is best known for his role in the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, which was a secret treaty between European powers that divided up the Ottoman Empire in the face of its impending collapse.
In addition to material related to the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the papers focus on Sykes’ experience in military intelligence and diplomacy in the Middle East, both before and during the First World War. This includes touching on such historic events like the Armenian genocide as well as international debates around Zionism and the creation of a Jewish homeland. As an avid explorer, of a more personal nature are his notebooks, which offer an insight into the experience of an aristocratic traveler in the Middle East during the early 20th century.
A miscellany of key documents shedding light on the historical context of, and thinking behind, the Sykes-Picot Agreement, comprising letters, telegrams, minutes, notes, drafts of speeches and other papers relating to Arthur James Balfour, the Palestine Mandate and the role of the United States, prominent Zionists including Dr Chiam Weizmann, Syria, Turkey, etc.
DDSY(2)/12/1: Copy ts. letter. Sykes to Lord Robert Cecil about the need for co-ordination; suggested formation of a sub-committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence; Mesopotamian Expedition starved of tackle and men but achieved success in face of extreme difficulties; Aden; future of Mesopotamia; suggested formation of a new department of the Near East to administer Egypt, Arabia and Mesopotamia; request for two advisers to establish an Islamic Information Bureau in Egypt; Russian decorations for Expeditionary Force in France; recommend Russian government give some "to soldiers and sailors here", and British decorations be awarded to Russian Army in the Caucasus.
DDSY(2)/12/1: Copy ts. letter. Sykes to Lord Robert Cecil about the need for co-ordination; suggested formation of a sub-committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence; Mesopotamian Expedition starved of tackle and men but achieved success in face of extreme difficulties; Aden; future of Mesopotamia; suggested formation of a new department of the Near East to administer Egypt, Arabia and Mesopotamia; request for two advisers to establish an Islamic Information Bureau in Egypt; Russian decorations for Expeditionary Force in France; recommend Russian government give some "to soldiers and sailors here", and British decorations be awarded to Russian Army in the Caucasus.
text
Semi - official private letter of 4 Oct. 1915
from Sir Mark Sylees To Lord RoberT Cecil
(later Assistant Foreign Secretary) on the need
for co-ordination in the Eastern Theatres of
war.
This letter envisages The future administration
of Jtak and seems To have influenced the
formation of The Arab Bureau in Cairo under
D.G. Hogarth, which was the directing office
giving British aid To The Arab RevolT, and of
which T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") was
a member.
