Arab Nationalism in the Midle East: Arab Nationalism from the Ottoman Period to the First Years of the National Struggle and Turkish-Arab Relations

The Middle East has always been an important region in terms of world history. The region, which has an important strategic position in terms of world politics an economy. Regional and western powers were constantly interested in the region. The last sovereign power of the region before the First World War was the Ottoman State. The region where the Ottoman Empire was fully dominant while at the peak of its power, underwent warious occupations as it approached the First World War. During the First World War and afterwards, the divisions accompanying these occupations experienced significant confusion. After the occupation, with of the region, with the collaps of the Ottoman Empire, the region came out of the Ottoman rule. There are many factors in the exit of the Midlle East from the Ottoman rule. Arab nationalism has an important place among these factors. Arab nasionalism was a nationalist movement that was nurtured from many sources and thus operated around Arab independence. Arab nationalism has been a ground used by regional leaders in the process of Ottoman collaps. Arab nationalism also attracted the attention of western powers who want to dominate the region. In this respect, Western powers influenced Arab leaders through the idea of Arab nationalism and directed them to act with them and revolt against the Ottoman State. Local Arab leaders, who cooperated with western powers, contributed to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in order to gain their independence. Even if it’s late, the disappointment of those who were promised to them by the western invading forces did not come true, causing them to develop a different policy. But it is the Arab people who are forcing them into this policy. At the end of the war, Arab nationalists and Arab leaders had to act together with their peoples, who expressed loyalty to the Ottomans and therefore Turks. In this way, their struggle against Westerners has found a place in history as a very meaningful process. In these struggles, establishing a relationship with the Turks who started a great resistance against Western invaders in Anatolia contributed to the formation of very important and valuable collaborations.

Keywords

History of the Republic of Turkey, Ottoman Period, Arab Nationalism, Arab Revolt, Turkish Nationalism, Period of National Struggle, The Turks-Arab Relation.