Britain, the House of Saud, and the Betrayal of the Ottoman Order.

Salim Mohamed Badat

The collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century reshaped the Muslim world. For centuries, the Ottomans had been the protectors of the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, as well as the political centre of Sunni Islam.

Yet when World War I erupted in 1914, the Ottoman Empire allied with Germany against Britain and France. What followed was a carefully engineered campaign of subversion, promises, and betrayal that saw Britain dismantle Ottoman rule and install pliant monarchies across the Middle East.

The British and the House of Saud.

Long before the Ottomans’ final collapse, Britain had cultivated relations with the emerging power of the House of Saud in central Arabia. The Saudis, allied with the puritanical Wahhabi religious movement since the 18th century, had ambitions to expand their control over the Arabian Peninsula. Britain, seeking to weaken Ottoman authority and secure its imperial trade routes to India, saw the Saudis as a useful ally.

British officials in the Persian Gulf signed treaties with the Al Saud in the 19th and early 20th centuries, providing them with recognition and, eventually, material support.

During the First World War, while the Ottomans were struggling on multiple fronts, the British saw in Abdulaziz Ibn Saud a potential partner to counterbalance the influence of the Hashemites of Makkah.

By the 1920s, with British arms and indirect backing, Ibn Saud conquered large swathes of Arabia, including the Hijaz, and laid the foundation for what would become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.

The Sharif of Makkah: Promises and Betrayal.

At the same time, Britain was courting another Arab leader: Sharif Hussein ibn Ali, the Hashemite ruler of Makkah and a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

In a series of letters exchanged with Sir Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner in Egypt, Sharif Hussein was promised an independent Arab kingdom if he launched a revolt against the Ottomans.

This correspondence, known as the Hussein–McMahon Correspondence (1915–16), assured him that after the defeat of the Ottomans, the Arabs would be free to rule over their own lands.

Believing these promises, Sharif Hussein launched the Arab Revolt in 1916, with British military support, including the famous figure of T.E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”).

His forces attacked Ottoman garrisons and played a crucial role in weakening Ottoman control in Arabia and the Levant.

Yet even as Britain was making promises to Sharif Hussein, it was secretly negotiating with France in the infamous Sykes–Picot Agreement (1916). This agreement divided the Ottoman Arab provinces into British and French zones of control, directly contradicting the assurances given to Hussein.

To make matters worse, Britain had also issued the Balfour Declaration (1917), promising a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, land Sharif Hussein believed would be part of his promised Arab kingdom.

When the war ended, Sharif Hussein discovered the extent of the betrayal. Instead of receiving an independent Arab state, the Middle East was carved up into artificial borders under British and French control. Palestine fell under British mandate, paving the way for the later creation of Israel.

The Hashemite Kings and British Engineering.

Although Sharif Hussein himself was cast aside, Britain did not abandon the Hashemites entirely. To maintain influence, the British installed his sons as monarchs in newly created states.

Faisal ibn Hussein was briefly made King of Syria in 1920, but after French intervention he was expelled. Britain then installed him as King of Iraq, a role he kept until his death in 1933.

Abdullah ibn Hussein was made ruler of Transjordan (later Jordan) in 1921, under British mandate. His reign established the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which continues to this day under his descendants.

Meanwhile, Sharif Hussein himself declared himself “King of the Arabs,” but he was eventually defeated by Ibn Saud, with Britain shifting its support decisively to the Saudi family.

By 1925, the Hashemites had lost the Hijaz, including Makkah and Madinah, to the Saudis.

The New Middle East Map.

The outcome of these maneuvers was the political map of the Middle East we know today , a patchwork of artificial states under monarchs and governments loyal to London and Paris.

Among them:

Iraq (Hashemite monarchy under King Faisal, later overthrown in 1958).

Jordan (Hashemite kingdom under Abdullah and his descendants, still ruling today).

Saudi Arabia (under Ibn Saud and the Wahhabi-Saudi alliance, heavily supported by Britain and later the United States).

Palestine (under British mandate, leading to Zionist colonization and displacement of Palestinians).

Syria and Lebanon (under French mandate at that time).

Conclusion.

The destruction of the Ottoman Empire was not merely the result of its own internal decline but also of calculated British and French strategies to dominate the region.

By playing Arab leaders against one another, making false promises, and installing compliant rulers, Britain ensured that the heart of the Muslim world remained fragmented and under Western influence.

The legacy of this betrayal is still felt today, in the partition of Palestine, the rise of the Saudi state, the survival of the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan, and the enduring artificial borders that continue to divide the Arab and Muslim world.

Salim Mohamed Badat

Writer exploring the intersection of faith, politics and justice.