For hundreds of years the Arabs did not have a government of their
own. From the conquest of the Arab lands by the Ottoman Turks in
the early 16th century, they were not an independent people. Until
World War I most of the Arab world lay within the Ottoman Empire.
Other parts had become colonial territories of the European powers
during the 19th century as the Ottoman Empire began to shrink.
The Arabs yearned for a free and independent Arabic-speaking nation.
In the 20th century they were to become independent-yet not
one nation but more than 20. One great frustration for the Arab
world today is that there are 22 Arab countries and little immediate
prospect of Arab unity.
While subjects of the Ottoman sultan as the 20th century dawned,
the Arab world was at peace. Few would have guessed then how fundamentally
this region was to change in the next few decades. In the year
1900 the Middle East was indeed, as described in the introduction,
a "political backwater."
The catalyst that rearranged the regional map was World War I.
The assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo
on June 28, 1914, was the event that triggered the war. Within
weeks all the major powers of Europe were involved. Problems in
the Balkans had been building up as the Ottoman Empire declined
and retreated from its territories there. Nationalist sentiment
among the various ethnic groups was stirring up feelings against
foreign imperial rule, directed against the Austro-Hungarian Empire
as well as the Turks.
While subjects of the Ottoman sultan as the 20th century dawned,
the Arab world was at peace. Few would have guessed then how fundamentally
this region was to change in the next few decades. In the year
1900 the Middle East was indeed, as described in the introduction,
a "political backwater."