WI: Earlier Arab Revolt Pre WWI?

What if Earlier Arab Revolt Pre WWI?

In OTL a number of large rebellions occurred in Yemen and Arabia in the lead up to WWI. These rebellions were intense affairs requiring, according to one source, 100,000 Ottoman soldiers to suppress. The revolts however seem to have been a localized affair. What if instead they had of spread throughout the Ottoman's arab provinces on a much greater scale? The Ottoman Empire mean distracted by Libya, Albania and Balkan Wars is unable to respond effectively. What is the result? What role do Western Powers play? Impact on WWI?

In the late 19th century, the Zaidis rebelled against the Turks, and Imam Mohammed ibn Yahya laid the foundation of a hereditary dynasty.[8] When he died in 1904, his successor Imam Yahya ibn Mohammed led the revolt against the Turks in 1904–1905, and forced them to grant important concessions to the Zaidis.[8] The Ottoman agreed to withdraw the civil code and restore sharia in Yemen.[8]

In 1906, the Idrisi leaders of Asir rebelled against the Ottomans. By 1910 they controlled most of Asir, but they were ultimately defeated by Turkish and Hejazi forces
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemen_Vilayet
 
The Ottomans could have dealt with this by divide and conquer as "Arab unity" is an oxymoron like "chaste whore". The Arab warriors charging Ottoman positions on horses/camels makes for great theater (Lawrence of Arabia), however against troops with machine guns this does not end well. The Ottomans can have machine guns, artillery, and even some aircraft. Without a Great Power "friend", the Arabs don't have much of this. Sure rebels in Yemen can make life difficult for the Ottomans, but in the end who cares much and the rebels came to a deal that left the Ottomans basically in charge. An Arab revolt will not push the Ottomans out of the Hijaz, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, etc.
 
In OTL a number of large rebellions occurred in Yemen and Arabia in the lead up to WWI. These rebellions were intense affairs requiring, according to one source, 100,000 Ottoman soldiers to suppress. The revolts however seem to have been a localized affair. What if instead they had of spread throughout the Ottoman's arab provinces on a much greater scale? The Ottoman Empire mean distracted by Libya, Albania and Balkan Wars is unable to respond effectively. What is the result? What role do Western Powers play? Impact on WWI?

The unrest in Yemen and Arabia had nothing to do with what is commonly referred to as the Arab Revolts. The latter was an Arab nationalist movement with heavy British backing, while the first two were, respectively, a local governor seeking independence from the distant Ottoman Emperor and yet another attempt by a particular Riyadh-based dynasty to impose their wacky sect on all of Arabia...with heavy British backing (it's worth noting, though, that the Saudis were supported by a different part of the British government than the Arab Revolt proper, and that British support for the Idrisi only came during WWI). It's also worth noting that one of the reasons why these revolts took so many troops to suppress is because they were in God-awful parts of the Empire, harsh desert and rocky badlands that were far from railroads and defied horses and donkeys, leaving human backs and camels as the main sources of transport, making the whole thing logistically difficult.

The Arab Revolt, in contrast, was mainly supported by educated urbanites who had become nationally conscious in a "Western" sense, mostly in Syria (including what is now Lebanon, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories) and Iraq; also a little bit Egypt, but Egyptian nationalism was mostly focused on Egypt until the advent of pan-Arabism per se, which happens later (as a reaction to the establishment of multiple Arab nationalist countries in Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, mostly).

Getting the Arab Revolt to happen earlier requires earlier penetration of Western ideas of nationalism into the Arab consciousness. This is far from impossible, though I'm not sure exactly how to do it. Syria sent a lot of immigrants to the US in the late 19th century; maybe having a few come back could work? That could pull things forward by 20 years or so, maybe. Maybe have the French leave a greater impression of better spread of Enlightenment ideals in Egypt and Syria during their time there?

Also, as sloreck points out, the Arabs are going to need some help. The Ottoman Empire may have been the "sick man of Europe", but it's still way stronger than a bunch of disorganized nationalist rebels. Even with covert support from France, Britain, or Russia, note that the Saudis and Yemenis were successful in large part due to the remoteness and difficulty of their terrain. Plus the fact that these were some of the poorest parts of the Empire, so it wasn't super worth it to crush the rebellions. But revolt in Damascus and Baghdad, two of the jewels in the Ottoman crown? And Arab nationalism OTL at the time of the revolts wasn't a popular movement; it was largely an "elite" one, so the sort of unrest we saw OTL in the 21st Century isn't likely to happen. So we'll probably want the Ottomans to be engaged in some other war at the time.

Maybe Russian incitement of Orthodox rebellions during Crimea? In large parts of Syria, mainly Orthodox Christians were large minorities or absolute majorities. I dunno.
 
Also, as sloreck points out, the Arabs are going to need some help. The Ottoman Empire may have been the "sick man of Europe", but it's still way stronger than a bunch of disorganized nationalist rebels. Even with covert support from France, Britain, or Russia, note that the Saudis and Yemenis were successful in large part due to the remoteness and difficulty of their terrain. Plus the fact that these were some of the poorest parts of the Empire, so it wasn't super worth it to crush the rebellions. But revolt in Damascus and Baghdad, two of the jewels in the Ottoman crown? And Arab nationalism OTL at the time of the revolts wasn't a popular movement; it was largely an "elite" one, so the sort of unrest we saw OTL in the 21st Century isn't likely to happen. So we'll probably want the Ottomans to be engaged in some other war at the time.

Maybe Russian incitement of Orthodox rebellions during Crimea? In large parts of Syria, mainly Orthodox Christians were large minorities or absolute majorities. I dunno.
The Ottoman Empire doesn't lack for pre-existing crises in the early 20th century. Time these revolts while the Ottomans are fighting Italy or the Balkan Wars and the rebels will have a better chance. And if it appears like the Ottomans are really coming apart at the seams, the wolves will be there to create protectorates from Ottoman Arab territory.
 
Arabs would nearly always rebel every other generation, as the House of Saud and Wahhabi clerics tried, and failed in the 19thC
 
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