McMahon–Hussein Correspondence

The McMahon–Hussein correspondance was a correspondance of ten letters in 1915 and 1916 between Sharif Hussein, the emir of Mecca, and British High Commissioner Sir Henry McMahon. In the exchange, McMahon, in the name of the British government, promised Hussein an independent Arab state in the area of Greater Syria. In return, Hussein would launch the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the ongoing First World War.

Despite unresolved questions concerning the precise boarders, the Arab Revolt began in Mecca on 10 June 1916. It was led by one of Sharif Hussein's sons, Emir Faisal, who was accompanied by T. E. Lawrence, better known as "Lawrence of Arabia", who was sent as a British agent.^[1]

Letters between Sharif Hussein and Sir Henry McMahon

Context

In their war against the Ottoman Empire, the British needed the help of the Arabs. Therefore, British officials devised a plan for the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans to separate the Ottoman troops in the Middle East from German troops in Africa.

That led to what is known as the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence, an exchange of letters between British High Commissioner Henry McMahon, who was stationed in Egypt, and the Emir of Mecca, Sharif Hussein, who was considered the legitimate leader of the Arab people because he belonged to the Hashemites, who claim descent from the Prophet Muhammad, and he had role as the official protector of the holy sites.

In ten letters, borders within large parts of Ottoman territory (Greater Syria) were drafted and discussed: The British promised an independent Arab state from the Mediterranean to present-day Iraq and from the Indian Ocean to Syria.^[1]