What will I learn about: how the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the imperial ambitions of Britain and France birthed the volatile political landscape of the modern Middle East?

Understand how the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the imperial ambitions of Britain and France birthed the volatile political landscape of the modern Middle East.

What will I learn about: why the once-mighty Ottoman Empire became known as the 'sick man of Europe' due to its technological stagnation and decentralized, religion-based governance?

Discover why the once-mighty Ottoman Empire became known as the 'sick man of Europe' due to its technological stagnation and decentralized, religion-based governance.

What will I learn about: how a British advisor's false report claiming the Ottoman government was run by Jews inadvertently sparked Britain's strategic support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine?

Find out how a British advisor's false report claiming the Ottoman government was run by Jews inadvertently sparked Britain's strategic support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

What will I learn about: Learn how the Ottoman Empire's secret World War I alliance with Germany prompted Britain to abandon its protective policies and begin drawing up plans to carve up the Middle East?

Learn how the Ottoman Empire's secret World War I alliance with Germany prompted Britain to abandon its protective policies and begin drawing up plans to carve up the Middle East.

What will I learn about: Grasp how misguided British leaders, like Secretary of State for War Herbert Kitchener, relied on flawed intelligence and lofty ambitions to disastrously shape Middle Eastern policy?

Grasp how misguided British leaders, like Secretary of State for War Herbert Kitchener, relied on flawed intelligence and lofty ambitions to disastrously shape Middle Eastern policy.

A Peace to End All Peace

The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and Creation of the Modern Middle East

David Fromkin

★ 4.5 / 5(310 ratings)

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History

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Have you ever wondered why the borders of the modern Middle East seem to invite conflict rather than prevent it?
💡Did you know that the roots of today’s most intractable wars can be traced back to a series of secret decisions made during World War I?
💡Are you curious about how a handful of European politicians reshaped the world, creating a 'peace' that actually guaranteed decades of future violence?

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Key Takeaways from A Peace to End All Peace

✓Understand how the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the imperial ambitions of Britain and France birthed the volatile political landscape of the modern Middle East.
✓Discover why the once-mighty Ottoman Empire became known as the 'sick man of Europe' due to its technological stagnation and decentralized, religion-based governance.
✓Find out how a British advisor's false report claiming the Ottoman government was run by Jews inadvertently sparked Britain's strategic support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
✓Learn how the Ottoman Empire's secret World War I alliance with Germany prompted Britain to abandon its protective policies and begin drawing up plans to carve up the Middle East.
✓Grasp how misguided British leaders, like Secretary of State for War Herbert Kitchener, relied on flawed intelligence and lofty ambitions to disastrously shape Middle Eastern policy.

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A Peace to End All Peace

Ottoman Empire's Collapse+

British Miscalculations+

The Arab Revolt+

Carving Up the Middle East+

Zionism and Palestine+

Legacy of Conflict+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9

How was the Ottoman Empire primarily organized and identified by its people at the turn of the twentieth century?

A. As a highly centralized, technologically advanced nationalist state.
B. As a secular democracy modeled after Western European nations.
C. As an Islamic monarchy where identity was based on religion rather than nationality.
D. As a strict military dictatorship that forced ethnic assimilation.

Question 2 of 9

What false intelligence provided by British advisor Gerald Fitzmaurice deeply influenced Britain’s Middle Eastern strategy?

A. He reported that the Young Turks were a Jewish-led Freemason group.
B. He claimed that the Ottoman Empire had secretly amassed a massive stockpile of chemical weapons.
C. He stated that Arab nationalists had hundreds of thousands of troops ready to fight the British.
D. He warned that Germany was planning to install a puppet sultan in Constantinople.

Question 3 of 9

What was a major flaw in British Secretary of State for War Herbert Kitchener’s plan to unify the Arabic-speaking Middle East?

A. He relied entirely on French military intelligence to draw the region's new borders.
B. He fundamentally misunderstood the cultural and religious diversity of the Arabs, such as the difference between Sunnis and Shiites.
C. He assumed that the Arab populations would prefer direct rule by the French over a British mandate.
D. He believed that the Ottoman Sultan would willingly step down in exchange for financial compensation.

Question 4 of 9

What prompted the British to shift their strategy and agree to negotiate for an independent Arab state with Hussein, the Sharif of Mecca?

A. Hussein had successfully conquered Damascus without any European military assistance.
B. T.E. Lawrence provided photographic evidence of widespread Ottoman atrocities in Mecca.
C. An Arab officer named Muhammad al-Faruqi falsely claimed to command hundreds of thousands of Arab soldiers ready to rebel.
D. The French explicitly demanded that Britain establish an independent Arab state to secure the Suez Canal.

Question 5 of 9

What was the primary purpose of the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement?

A. To formalize the military alliance between the Ottoman Empire and Germany.
B. To divide the post-war Middle East into spheres of British and French influence and control.
C. To establish a unified, independent Arab state under the leadership of Hussein's son, Faisal.
D. To create a comprehensive peace treaty between the Turkish nationalist forces and the Allied Powers.

Question 6 of 9

Which of the following was a key reason why the British government officially supported Zionism with the Balfour Declaration?

A. Prime Minister Lloyd George's evangelical religious beliefs and the strategic hope that Jewish influence would aid the Allied war effort.
B. A formal petition signed by the majority of the indigenous Palestinian population requesting a British mandate.
C. The discovery of vast oil reserves in Palestine that the British wanted exclusively for Jewish settlers.
D. A direct military threat from the French, who were planning to establish their own Zionist state in the region.

Question 7 of 9

How did the post-war reality contradict the promises Britain had made to its Arab ally, Hussein?

A. Hussein was appointed the supreme caliph of a unified Middle East, but was denied military funding.
B. Hussein was eventually exiled by the British-funded Ibn Saud, and his son Faisal was denied power in Syria.
C. Hussein was forced to share power with the remaining Ottoman Sultan in a newly formed democratic parliament.
D. Hussein was given direct control over Palestine, but the British refused to let him rule over Mecca.

Question 8 of 9

How did the Ottoman Empire officially come to an end in 1922?

A. The British and French peacefully transitioned the empire into a series of independent democratic republics.
B. The League of Nations voted unanimously to dissolve the empire and distribute its lands to European powers.
C. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led a successful nationalist revolt against the occupying Allied Powers and deposed the Sultan.
D. The last Ottoman Sultan voluntarily abdicated the throne in order to prevent a full-scale civil war with Arab nationalists.

Question 9 of 9

According to the text, what is the primary root cause of the ongoing, seemingly perpetual conflicts in the modern Middle East?

A. The inherent inability of the region's diverse religious groups to coexist without a centralized caliphate.
B. The rapid industrialization of the region which disrupted traditional agricultural societies.
C. The technological superiority of the Ottoman Empire which left a power vacuum that local leaders could not fill.
D. The arbitrary borders drawn and unsuitable foreign rulers installed by European colonial powers after World War I.