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Coll 6/15 'Syria: Administration. Question of offer of throne to King Feisal of Iraq.' [186r] (371/497)
The record is made up of 1 file (247 folios). It was created in 13 Jun 1928-15 Dec 1939. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
Printed for the Committee of Imperial Defence. November 1931.
SECRET. Copy No. 33
r’X
M.E. (M.) 9.
COMMITTEE OF IMPERIAL DEFENCE.
STANDING MINISTERIAL SUB-COMMITTEE FOR QUESTIONS
CONCERNING THE MIDDLE EAST.
SYRIA.
Possible Establishment of a Monarchy by the French in Syria, and
Future Policy thereon.
Memorandum prepared by the Standing Official Sub-Committee.
1. On the 20th October, 1931, the Standing Official Sub-Committee for
Questions concerning the Middle East met to discuss the possibility of the
establishment of a monarchy in Syria and the proposals reported to have been
made by the French Government to King Faisal of Iraq and his brother, Ali,
ex-King of the Hedjaz.
2. In March 1920, at the time of the Arab revolt against the French
Administration in Syria, the Emir Faisal (now King Faisal of Iraq) was
proclaimed King of a united Syria. The French Government were not slow to
reject this solution of the Syrian problem, and an ultimatum to the Arab
Government was followed by an advance into the interior of Syria and by the
flight of the Emir Faisal.
3. Although the Mandate for Syria, which is described as “ a Mandate for
Syria and the Lebanon,” did not effectually come into force until December 1923,
the existing regime may be considered to have commenced with the French
advance into the interior of Syria in July 1920. At the present time the States
of the
Levant
A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
under French mandate consist of the following :—
The State of the Lebanon.
The State of Syria (including the autonomous Sanjak of Alexandretta,
a province of the State of Syria).
The State of the Alawites (or the State of Latakia).
The State of the Jebel-Druze.
These States enjoy varying degrees of independence, but may be divided into two
groups, namely, the States of the Lebanon and Syria, which have elected
Presidents and Constituent Assemblies, and the States of the Alawites (Latakia)
and the Jebel-Druze, which have Governors nominated by the French High
Commissioner.
4. For some time past, there has been reason to believe that the French
contemplate a change of policy in Syria, and this belief has been justified by a
statement made to the Permanent Mandates Commission at their 20th Session in
June 1931 by the French Accredited Representative. This statement is
described in the Commission’s report as follows :—
“ It (the Commission) recorded the Mandatory Power’s intention of
concluding in the near future treaties with the Governments of Syria and
the Lebanon, taking into account the evolution which has taken place and the
progress which has been achieved. The accredited representative informed
About this item
- Content
This file relates to the administration of Syria and the possibility of the French Government installing a King of Syria.
The file mostly contains copies of Colonial Office and Foreign Office correspondence, much of which consists of copies of the minutes, memoranda and correspondence of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, which discuss how the British Government should respond to rumours that the French Government has been approaching both King Feisal of Iraq [Fayṣal bin Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] and his brother, Ali [‘Alī bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī], as candidates for the throne of Syria.
Related matters discussed in the correspondence include:
- The British stance on whether Iraq and Syria should be ruled by one king.
- The possibility of Syria becoming a republic rather than a monarchy, with a Syrian as President (an outcome which is deemed to be more suited to British interests).
- Reports in the Turkish press that the ex-Khedive of Egypt, Abbas Hilmi [ʿAbbās Ḥilmī II] has aspirations for the Syrian throne, and that the Turkish Government also favours the ex-Khedive as a candidate.
- Reports that the French Government is contemplating ending its mandate over Syria and is negotiating a treaty with Syria, using the 1930 Anglo-Iraqi Treaty as a basis.
- Details of the Treaty of Alliance between France and Syria (signed on 16 November 1933), and of its suspended ratification.
- Details of the Franco-Lebanese Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, signed on 13 November 1936.
- Egypt's preference for Prince [Muhammad] Abdul Moneim to be installed as King of Syria.
- Ibn Saud's [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd's] concerns that the throne of Syria might be offered to a Hashimite candidate (i.e. a member of the Hāshimī family).
The principal correspondents are the following: His Majesty's Consul at Damascus (Edwyn Cecil Hole, succeeded by Gilbert Mackereth); the High Commissioner for Iraq (Sir Francis Henry Humphrys and his Acting Commissioner, Hubert Winthrop Young); His Majesty's Ambassador in Baghdad (Humphrys again, and later, Basil Cochrane Newton); the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the British Consul-General at Beirut (Harold Eustace Satow); the High Commissioner for Egypt (Percy Lyham Loraine, succeeded by Miles Wedderburn Lampson); His Majesty's Ambassador in Angora [Ankara] (George Russell Clerk, succeeded by Loraine); the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Reader William Bullard); His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Jedda (Alan Charles Trott); officials of the Colonial Office and the Foreign Office.
The French material in this file consists of several items of correspondence, a copy of the Franco-Syrian Treaty of 1933, a copy of the Franco-Lebanese Treaty of 1936, and copies of extracts from two French language publications (the Lebanese newspaper, L'Orient , and the Damascus newspaper, Les Échos de Syrie ).
The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (247 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 248; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An external leather cover wraps around the documents; the front inside of this cover has been foliated as f 1. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 12-247 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/15 'Syria: Administration. Question of offer of throne to King Feisal of Iraq.' [186r] (371/497), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2081, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049603987.0x0000ae> [accessed 18 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2081
- Title
- Coll 6/15 'Syria: Administration. Question of offer of throne to King Feisal of Iraq.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:15v, 17r:22v, 27r:49v, 51r:53r, 59r:70r, 73r:78v, 81r:84v, 86r:89v, 92r:97v, 99r:131v, 134r:144v, 146r:150v, 152r:153v, 156r:195v, 199r:211v, 216r:248v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence