A New World: Blood on the Sands (pt.1)
Through the 1950s, the situation in the Middle East developed into a multifaceted competition that would persist for decades. In particular, the decade saw the rise of pan-Arabism, the division of the Arab world between Republican and Monarchist forces, and the genesis of the State of Canaan.
These tensions developed as British influence over the Middle-Eastern region disintegrated. October 1951 saw the unilateral repudiation of the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty by Farouk's kingdom of Egypt, legally making the Suez Canal Zone occupied territory. The terms of the 1936 treaty had given Britain 20 year rights over the Canal Zone, and the British were entrenched in one of the largest military complexes in the world, garrisoned by 80,000 troops. On the 25th of January 1952, British forces attempted to disarm an auxiliary police barracks at Ismailia which had been linked to fedayeen that raided the Canal, leading to a firefight where 41 Egyptians were killed. Retaliatory attacks on the Suez Canal garrison troops was condemned by the monarchy, sparking major protests against the government, eventuating the 1952 Free Officers' Coup.
The Free Officers were a cell of anti-monarchist military officers, represented primarily by Mohammed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, who looked to overthrow the corrupt and inneffectual King Farouk. The Free Officers represented the middle-class, rather than the corrupt elite, and had significant prestige from the Egyptian intervention in Palestine. With minor assistance from the Muslim Brotherhood and the (Communist) Democratic Movement of National Liberation, the Free Officers captured loyalist army officers and forced Farouk to abdicate in favour of his infant son, Faud II. In 1953, the Free Officers abolished the monarchy, declaring a republic. Farouk fled with his family to Monaco, and his possessions were seized and largely auctioned by the Egyptian government, aside from his enormous pornography collection, which was documented, ridiculed and destroyed. Egypt was now ruled by the Revolution Command Council (RCC). Despite support from both America AND the Soviet Union, the RCC immediately began to isolate and weaken Communist elements. The RCC rapidly passed the Agrarian Reform Law, seizing all European-owned land in Egypt, whilst redistributing the nationalised land amongst peasant farmers. To avoid the concentration of land, the RCC limited land ownership to 200 feddans (approx. 200 acres). At the onset of 1953, the RCC outlawed all political parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, which was forced underground. In February, the RCC approved a secular constitution. After the abolition of the monarchy in July, General Naguib became the first President and Prime Minister, whilst Nasser was appointed Deputy Premier and Minister of the Interior. Political intrigues led to the eventual ousting of General Naguib, as Nasser became the true power in Egypt. Despite his prestige, he disagreed with most of the officers in the RCC, as he believed in the transition back to civilian rule. Nasser became RCC chairman and Prime Minister in 1955, Naguib being forced into a purely ceremonial role.
As parallel events would show, even after the retreat of the British, the fates of Egypt and the Sudan remained inextricably linked. The RCC, hostile to British regional presence, were anxious to remove the British presence to the South, in Sudan. Incapable of ousting the British presence militarily, the RCC instead took a diplomatic approach, noting that the British presence was largely based on the Anglo-Egyptian treaties. If Egypt revoked sovereignty over Sudan, there would be no legal justification for continued British presence. So in 1952, in the aftermath of the coup, Egypt discarded its claim on Sudan. The British began to make immediate provisions for withdrawal. As the 1st January 1956 independence day approached, tensions arose between the Muslim North and the Christian/Animist South.
In 1953, Ismail al-Azhari won local elections in the Sudan. Al-Azhari was a proponent of union between Egypt and Sudan, with little sympathy for the South Sudanese population, who he intended to control through military and police repression. This didn't sit well with the South Sudanese, and on 18 August 1955, the British-administered (but who answered to Khartoum) Sudan Defence Force Equatorial Corps mutinied in Torit, quickly seizing Juba, Yei and Maridi[34]. With independence so close, the British authorities refused to get involved, so Sudanese loyalist forces entered into bloody fighting with the mutineers. Although the mutineers were quickly evicted from Yei, the positions in Juba and Maridi managed to repulse the attackers under heavy casualties. Although sources remain murky, they suggest that the Sudanese loyalist forces that captured Yei engaged in a variety of atrocities, including rape and summary execution of civilians. This galvanised opposition to the Sudanese government, and many South Sudanese joined the resistance movement, which was led by Sudanese army defector Gordon Muortat Mayen. The regular forces of the mutiny were led by Joseph Lagu.
Fighting continued upon independence, and fearing the secession of the South, al-Azhari begged for assistance from the Egyptians[35]. The Sudanese-born Naguib supported the idea of intervention. For Nasser, the proposal was more complicated. Whilst Nasser was a pan-Arabist, he was wary to inherit the volatile Southern part of Sudan. Nevertheless, it was determined that a unstable Sudan was potentially more dangerous to Egypt, and in March 1956, the Egyptian Army intervened in Sudan, much to Britain's chagrin.
Palestine experienced instability on par with that of Egypt and the Sudan. As the forties rolled into the fifties, the compromise between the Hebrew and Arab communities proved unsustainable. Facing pressure from Palestinian Arabs, who were concerned at the integrity of their position due to the volume of Jewish immigration from Europe. The demographics suggested that time was distinctly in the Jews' favour. To avoid pogroms, al-Nashashibi desperately forced an immediate halt to Jewish immigration. This was poorly received by the Jewish community, which became increasingly insular and anti-government. Despite their priviledges, it had become clear that the Jews were still a minority in Palestine, and it was widely perceived that al-Nashashibi had forsaken the Jewish community in favour of the Arabs, who had always resented Jewish priviledges. These perceptions fueled support for the Canaanite Movement, a far-right pseudo-fascist political and social movement led by intellectuals, particularly the poet Uri'el Shelakh (better known by the pseudonym Yonatan Ratosh) and his brothers Gamli'el (AKA Avidan) and Uzi'el (Uzzi Ornan). The Canaanite Movement stressed a secular Hebrew identity, rather than a 'Jewish' identity. They saw Judaism as an improper basis for a nation. Instead, they viewed Jews as ethnic Hebrews that merely subscribed to Judaism as a faith. They also saw Arabs as fellow Hebrews, held back by belief in Islam, which they felt made them "medieval" and "backward". Initially supported by factions such as the Lehi, they became increasingly popular amongst the mainstream Jewish community, particularly the youth, who often distanced themselves from Judaism, and disapproved of the communal tension between Arabs and Jews, which they saw as being caused by religion. The binational state was seen as an inneffective compromise by Canaanite adherents[36]. Al-Nashashibi went into exile in Kuwait, whilst Einstein was overseas promoting scientific education in Europe, and who simply returned to the United States.
June 1954 saw a overthrow of the Nashashibi government by Canaanite militants. Having significant influence over the Jewish militias (which had been guaranteed their integrity by Nashashibi years earlier), Avidan took command of various militias, who were heavily influenced by Canaanism, and took over the police stations, government buildings and post office in Jerusalem. The heavily-armed and competent militias surrounded the small army barracks outside of Jerusalem, which quickly surrendered. The Canaanites declared a new government, immediately repealing the immigration laws and declaring the new state of Canaan[37]. Within a few months, the Canaanites had consolidated their hold on power.
The attitude towards Arabs by Canaanites was odd. They were harsh against Arab opposition, but ideologically supported the idea of "Hebrew (Semitic) unity". Nevertheless, they were very hostile towards Arab states, particularly Nasserist Egypt, seeing pan-Arabism as contradictory to pan-Semitism. This hostility made them a valuable ally of the British and French in the upcoming Suez Crisis. The Free Officers Movement had come to power in Egypt promising to restore the dignity of the nation, which had suffered under British domination. Despite marginalising European influence, it was still a national disgrace that the Canal was held by the British. In 1954, the Egyptians and British had struck a deal involving the evacuation of British troops by 1956, which was carried out. But in June 1956, Nasser nationalised the now-defenceless Suez Canal. As a response, Anglo-American financial and technical support for the Aswan Dam was rescinded, to be replaced by Soviet aid and technical expertise. Finally, after confidential meetings and political contention at home, British, French and Canaanite troops attacked the Suez Canal and the Sinai Peninsula. Royal Marines quickly seized Port Said, on the African side of the Canal, whilst French paratroopers captured Suez itself. Canaanite troops occupied the Sinai territory. Meanwhile, British troops in Uganda invaded the Southern half of Sudan, allying themselves with the native resistance against the Egyptians.
Militarily, the invaders had incredible success. In the Sinai, Canaan's army was almost unopposed, whilst the British and French had seized the Canal almost effortlessly. In Southern Sudan, the stretched Egyptian forces, barely adequate for anti-guerrilla operations, were incapable of standing up to the British force. Politically, however, it was more mixed. Both the United States and Soviet Union condemned the invasion, as well as the UN, and the British and French were pressured into a withdrawal from the Canal. Canaan managed to retain control over the Sinai after the brief war, and Southern Sudan gained independence as "Equatoria", headed by Mayen. Nasser would privately comment that it was "the best possible outcome", having seized the Canal, retained Arab Sudan, and "wiped [his] hands" of the troublesome and underdeveloped South. As it turned out, the South would shortly collapse into violence between the Dinka and Nuer peoples[38]. In the Arab world, Nasser was now seen as a hero for standing up to the West, and it is now known that his repulsion of the French and British greatly strengthened the morale of the ongoing Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN). Abroad and at home, Nasser was strong.
[34] In OTL, this wasn't a particularly large mutiny, and quickly disintegrated into little more than banditry. ITTL though, because of harsher treatment, it becomes a larger movement.
[35] Historically, al-Azhari was pro-union between Sudan and Egypt, but changed his tune when faced with significant opposition to this idea, partly from the South. ITTL, he doesn't really care what the mutinous South wants, and calls in Egypt.
[36] This was a real movement in OTL, although the flag I made and attached is not. Although it was a very small movement, its membership gave it influence beyond proportion. Nevertheless, events ITTL increase its support, making it a real threat to Nashashibi's power.
[37] "Israel" is clearly a name that highlights the Jewish aspect of the Hebrew state. "Canaan" is more religiously neutral, and favoured by the Canaanites, who had quite a fetish for anything related to the Ancient Middle East.
[38] Oh yeah, you guessed it. This is gonna get bad.
P.S. attached is the flag of the "State of Canaan". It incorporates the Star of Shumash, an ancient Middle Eastern symbol.
