The Arab Revolt of 1916

Paper Summary:

The Arab Revolt of 1916 offers the critical scholar many different views of the representatives involved in the struggle, many of whom were seen to exhibit paradoxical behavior that is either purported against or denied by many historical scholars. This paper explains how the revolt itself is also paradoxical at times, considering differing interpretations of unified nationalism, imperialism, and tribal cohesion. It discusses how Sherif Hussein and T.E. Lawrence are two representative icons from the struggle that are also representative of the historical questions of paradox which it raises. On the surface, the Arab Revolt was a unification of Arab factions against Turkish power supported by France and England. Beneath the surface, it was much more complicated.

From the Paper:

"History is often thought of in terms of progress and unity; many historians tend to confer a certain unitizing theoretical paradigm when speaking of events, and especially individuals, of the past. The reality of the historical situation also may have been more of a continuation of progressing events than the sudden creation of a new impetus to which
some historians and scholars attribute historically "great" individuals. Examining the Arab Revolt of 1916, in which there was a unification of Arab factions against the Ottoman Turks (axis) supported by imperial England and France (allies), one can see many historical perspectives working at once, many of them seeking to confer different versions of greatness upon individuals who were crucial to the struggle. Chief among these historical personages were Sherif Hussein and T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). Examining different historical treatments of these representative figures, we can see how historians and scholars tend to confer unitizing elements of goals and progress to
often contradictory (and therefore essentially human rather than mythical) individuals."

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