WI: Kingdom of Greater Syria

(yes, this is a repost)

POD 1920: Sykes and Picot are less ambitious

Instead of backstabbing Faisal, the French and British more or less hold to the joint declaration put forth in November 1918. London gets naval bases in Haifa and Basra along with minor economic concessions elsewhere. Paris, seeing the writing on the wall in Turkey and having the Maronite Patriarch in their pocket; manages incorporate the old Ottoman Mutasarrifate of Lebanon as an Overseas Department after a plebiscite, promises of full citizenship rights for Muslims, and a massive payment to the Government in Damascus.

Needless to say the Balfour Declaration is quietly forgotten. Jaffa has a Azkhenazic suburb, the Hebrew University prospers, and multiple communes sprout up in the area on the basis of Faisal's own understanding with Weizmann; but a Jewish State is considered a pipe dream. In at least part to avoid the appearance of needless favoritism the offer of easy immigration and a degree of cultural autonomy are also extended to the Armenians and 'Giritli' (a Greek language college is actually in the works by the late 20s).

Unfortunately, In mid 1924 Faisal's viceroy in Baghdad Prince Zied made the critical mistake of appointing a Sunni to the head of the famous semanary in Najaf, then overreacted to the protests. When the smoke died down Lower Mesopotamia had declared it's own republic and the CHP regime in Turkey snatched up the old Ottoman Vilayet of Mosul leaving the area around Baghdad itself as a frontier province of Damascus by 1930.

Now what?
 
Probably belongs in post-1900.

A lot affects what happens there. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party with their views on things--how do they fit into this? And the Turks, of course. Ataturk IIRC had his hands tied with various rebellions at the time, but the Turks found room to seize Antioch/Antakya regardless.

But would a Greater Syrian state be competitive with the Turkish state in the late 1930s/early 1940s?
 
Probably belongs in post-1900.

A lot affects what happens there. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party with their views on things--how do they fit into this? And the Turks, of course. Ataturk IIRC had his hands tied with various rebellions at the time, but the Turks found room to seize Antioch/Antakya regardless.

But would a Greater Syrian state be competitive with the Turkish state in the late 1930s/early 1940s?

Not actually true in regards to Antakya. Turkey only gained it in 1939, after Ataturk's death. And they didn't seize the territory; France more or less gifted Antakya to Turkey via a rigged plebiscite in the hope of gaining Turkish support in WWII.
 

yourworstnightmare

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Not actually true in regards to Antakya. Turkey only gained it in 1939, after Ataturk's death. And they didn't seize the territory; France more or less gifted Antakya to Turkey via a rigged plebiscite in the hope of gaining Turkish support in WWII.
It's more complicated than that. Antakya, or as it was called by Turkey: Hatay, got it's own constitution in 1937 after negotiations between France and Turkey, with UK, Belgium and the Netherlands as witnesses. In september 1938 the Hatay republic was declared, and in July 1939 France ceded the province (over Syrian protests) to Turkey after a referendum.
 
A lot affects what happens there. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party with their views on things--how do they fit into this?
The POD is a bit before said party's formation, but Faisal would probably think an overarching multi-confessional nationalist movement useful in undercutting anything that would pull the place apart.

But would a Greater Syrian state be competitive with the Turkish state in the late 1930s/early 1940s?
Given the double-edged sword of North Mesopotamia, I doubt Turkey would want anything else that did not literally fall into it's lap.
 
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