The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq

This book, which concludes Professor Tauber's trilogy on the emergence of the modern Fertile Crescent, examines the impact of clandestine and overt political parties and societies in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq in the period after the First World War. It analyses Amir Faysal's short-lived state in post-war Syria in its struggle to preserve its independence against the French, and shows that the real power behind the scenes was the secret society al-Fatat, with its public mouthpiece, the Independence Party. Other powerful political groups, such as the extremist Committee for National Defence and al-Nadi al-Arabi, are also discussed. The book, which proves that in the post-World War I Fertile Crescent particularist national ideas prevailed over the general Arab idea, is based on many original documents, the contemporary press and the memoirs of leading Arab personalities.