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| date = 1925–1927
| caption = Statue of the Great Syrian Revolution in [[Majdal Shams]]
| result = French
*France maintains its mandate over Syria
*
*Rise in Syrian nationalism
| combatant1 = {{flagicon|France}} [[French Third Republic|France]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Syria French mandate.svg}} [[State of Syria (1925–1930)|Syria]]
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*[[Sunni Islam|Sunnis]]
*[[Druze]]
| commander1 = {{flagicon|France}} [[Maurice Sarrail]]<br/>{{flagicon|France}} Roger Michaud <br/>{{flagicon|France}} [[Maurice Gamelin]] <br/>{{flagicon|France}} [[Henry de Jouvenel]] <br/>{{flagicon|France}} Charles Andréa
| commander2 = [[Sultan al-Atrash]] <br/> {{nowrap|[[Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar]]}} <br/> [[Ayyash Al-Haj]]<br /> [[Hasan al-Kharrat]] <br/> [[Ibrahim Hananu]] <br /> [[Nasib al-Bakri]] <br /> [[Fawzi al-Qawuqji]]
}}
The '''Great Syrian Revolt''' ({{lang-ar|الثورة السورية الكبرى}}),
This revolution came in response to the repressive policies pursued by the French authorities under the [[Mandate for Syria and Lebanon]], in dividing Syria into several occupied territories. The new French administration was perceived as being prejudiced against the dominant [[Arab culture]] and of intending to change the existing character of the country. In addition resentment was caused by the refusal of the French authorities to set a timetable for the independence of Syria.
This revolution was an extension of the Syrian uprisings that had begun when French colonial forces occupied the coastal regions in early 1920, and continued until late June 1927. While the French army and local collaborators were able to achieve military victory, extensive Syrian resistance obliged the occupying authorities to establish a national [[Council of Ministers (Syria)|government of Syria]], under which the divided territories were reunited. In addition parliamentary elections were held as a preliminary step towards the final departure of the French from Syria in 1946.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mod.gov.sy/index.php?node=554&cat=1154|title=The results of the Syrian revolutions|last=|first=|date=|website=Ministry of Defense of the Syrian Arab Republic|
== The Arab region after the First World War ==
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Based on this, France took over Syria and [[Lebanon]], while the United Kingdom took [[Iraq]] and [[Mandatory Palestine]], and these countries are placed under the direct guardianship of these two countries with an official mandate from the League of Nations, with the task of insuring to these new countries the necessary means to enable them to reach a sufficient degree of political awareness and [[economic development]] qualifies them for independence and sovereignty. In the implementation of these plans, negotiations were held between France and the United Kingdom in October 1915 on the determination of the spheres of influence of both countries in the event of the partition of the Ottoman Empire. The secret agreement on the subject was called the [[Sykes–Picot Agreement]] after the names of the two negotiators, Britain's [[Mark Sykes]] and Frenchman, [[François Georges-Picot]].
Meanwhile, correspondence had been ongoing since 1915 between Sir [[Henry McMahon]] and [[Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz|Hussein bin Ali]], the [[Sharif of Mecca]] in the [[Hejaz]], and as a result of the negotiations between the two parties, The [[British Empire]] presented a written commitment, includes the recognition of the independence of the Arabs and support them, and in exchange for this initial promise, Hussein bin Ali is committed to launching a call for the [[Arab Revolt]] against the Ottomans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/ar/20160603-%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7-%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AB%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7
=== The Great Arab revolution ===
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# Punish of those involved in hostilities against France.
King Faisal gathered his ministers to discuss the matter
The [[Council of Ministers (Syria)|Syrian government's]]
[[File:Yusuf Al Azma.jpg|thumb|left|Minister of War, [[Yusuf al-Azma]]]]
Yusuf al-Azma wanted to preserve the prestige and dignity of Syria's military history, was afraid to record in the history books that the Syrian Army stayed away from fighting and that the military occupation of his capital had happened without resistance. He also wanted to inform the Syrian people that their army carried the banner of resistance against the French occupation from the first moment, and that they would be a beacon for them in their resistance against the military occupation.
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== The demands of the revolution ==
The most prominent demands of the revolution were:
#
# The establishment of a
#
#
== The course and events of the revolution ==
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Colonel Catro, who was dispatched by General Gouraud to [[Jabal al-Druze]], sought to isolate the Druze from the Syrian national movement, he signed on 4 March 1921 a treaty with the Druze tribes, which stipulated that Jabal al-Druze would form a particular administrative unit independent of the State of Damascus with a local governor and an elected representative council. In exchange for the Druze's recognition of the French mandate, the result of the treaty appointed Salim al-Atrash as the first ruler of the Jabal Druze State.
The Jabal Druze inhabitants were not comfortable with the new French administration and the first clash with it occurred in July 1922 with the arrest of [[Adham Khanjar]], who was coming to Sultan al-Atrash carrying a letter to him. The French arrested him for his involvement in the attack on General Gouraud in Hauran
The French destroyed the house of Sultan al-Atrash in [[Al-Qurayya]] in late August 1922 in response to his attack on their forces, then Sultan al-Atrash led the Druze rebels for a year in a guerrilla war against the French forces. France brought a large force to crush the rebels, that forced Sultan al-Atrash to seek refuge in Transjordan in the late summer of 1922. Under British pressure, Sultan al-Atrash gave himself up to the French in April 1923 after agreeing to a truce.
[[File:Adham Khanjar.jpg|thumb|[[Adham Khanjar]] (left) with Sadiq Hamza]]
Salim Al-Atrash died poisoned in Damascus in 1924; the French appointed captain Carbillet as governor of the Jabal Druze State, contrary to the agreement with the Druze, Where he abused the people and exposed them to forced labour and persecution
The Druze were fed up with the practices of captain Carbillet, which led them to send a delegation to Beirut on 6 June 1925 to submit a document requesting the [[High Commissioner of the Levant]], [[Maurice Sarrail]], to appoint a Druze governor of the Jabal Druze instead of captain Carbillet because of his practices against the people of the Jabal Druze State. Some of these practices, according to memoirs of Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar, are:
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To achieve this goal, Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar communicated with the leader Ibrahim Hananu in the northern region. Who was one of the first stragglers against the French colonial forces since 1920, where rebel operations in the northern region lasted until 15 April 1926, one of the most important battles that took place during this period was the battle of Tel Ammar, which was the last battles of the revolution in that region.
[[File:Hassan abed Alsalama.jpg|thumb|The moment of the execution of one of the revolutionaries of [[Deir ez-Zor]] in 1925 during the French occupation]]
Shahbandar also met with leader [[Ayyash Al-Haj#Mohammed Al-Ayyash|Mohammed Al-Ayyash]] in Damascus and agreed with him to extend the revolution to the eastern region. Mohammed Al-Ayyash was able to form revolutionary groups to strike the French forces in Deir ez-Zor, and the rebels succeeded in carrying out strikes against the French forces. One of these was killing of French officers in the [[The epic of Ain Albu Gomaa|Ain Albu Gomaa]] area on the road between Deir ez-Zor and [[Raqqa]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sabbagh|first=Rand|date=2017|title=Deir Ezzor a city on the banks of paradise|url=https://ia800606.us.archive.org/25/items/malayyash_yahoo_All/all.pdf |journal=Al-Quds Al-Arabi Newspaper|volume=8789|pages=34–35}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2009|title=Memoirs of Lawyer Fathallah Al-Saqqal|url=https://ia803002.us.archive.org/14/items/malayyash_yahoo_Idam/%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85%20%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A9%20-%20%D8%B5%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9%20%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA.pdf |journal=Al-Furat Magazine|pages=28}}</ref><ref name="Sheikh Khafaji 2018">{{Cite web|url=https://www.deirez-zor.com/2018/09/05/متحف-عياش/ |title=Abdelkader Ayyash in his folk museum|last=Sheikh Khafaji|first=Ghassan|date=2018|website=The Culture and Heritage of Deir Ezzor|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/
As a result of the operation, French planes bombed the villages of the city; it was a horrific and devastating bombardment where the houses were destroyed on the heads of children and women and killed the livestock and burned farms and crops, some civilians were killed. Many were wounded by bullets and shrapnel from the bombing.
Revolutionaries were tried in Aleppo and in August 1925, the French high commissioner in Beirut, Maurice Sarrail, issued Decision No. 49S / 5, which ordered the exile of all members of the [[Ayyash Al-Haj]] family to the city of [[Jableh]], [[Ayyash Al-Haj#Mahmoud Al-Ayyash (Abu Stita)|Mahmoud Al-Ayyash (Abu Stita)]] and 12 of his companions were sentenced to death. The execution was carried out by firing squad on 15 September 1925 in the city of Aleppo. Mohammed Al-Ayyash was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in the city of [[Tartus]] on the island of [[Arwad]].<ref name="archive.org">{{Cite journal|date=2015|title=Deir Ezzor in the Syrian National Social Party|url=https://archive.org/details/malayyash_yahoo_20170719 |journal=Al-Benaa Newspaper}}</ref><ref name="Fattouh 2017 153–159">{{Cite journal|last=Fattouh|first=Issa|date=2017|title=Abdul Qader Al-Ayyash Researcher and historian|url=https://archive.org/stream/AbedAlqaderAyyash/AbedAlqader%20Ayyash#page/n1/mode/2up |journal=Almarifa Magazine|volume=646|pages=153–159}}</ref><ref name="Morshed 2016">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sasapost.com/opinion/druze-and-syrian-revolution/ |title=Druze Unitarians and the Syrian Revolution|last=Morshed|first=Faisal|date=2016|website=Sasapost|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/
Shortly after, while the Ayyash Al-Haj family were living in Jableh, the French authorities assassinated Ayyash Al-Haj in a café outside the city by poisoning his coffee, and prevented the transfer of his body to Deir ez-Zor for reasons of public security, He was buried in Jableh in the cemetery of Sultan [[Ibrahim ibn Adham]] Mosque where the absent prayers held for the spirit of this martyr [[Mujahideen|mujahid]] in all the Syrian cities.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal|year=2015|title=Deir Ezzor in the Syrian National Social Party|url=https://archive.org/details/malayyash_yahoo_20170719 |journal=Al-Benaa Newspaper}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite journal|last=Fattouh|first=Issa|year=2017|title=Abdul Qader Al-Ayyash Researcher and historian|url=https://archive.org/stream/AbedAlqaderAyyash/AbedAlqader%20Ayyash#page/n1/mode/2up|journal=Almarifa Magazine|volume=646|pages=153–159}}</ref><ref name="sasapost.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sasapost.com/opinion/druze-and-syrian-revolution/ |title=Druze Unitarians and the Syrian Revolution|last=Morshed|first=Faisal|year=2016|website=Sasapost|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/
Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar was in contact with Commander [[Fawzi al-Qawuqji]], who was preparing to set up the revolution in the city of Hama. However, he was known for his intense loyalty to the French. Despite this, he received In their army a high rank and a position (the National Army Command in Hama) rarely held by other Syrians. However, according to Shahbandar's memoirs, Al-Qawuqji was upset with the humiliation of the elders and scholars of Hama, division of the country, improper appointments to high positions, raising of taxes on people, and stirring sectarian strife among the Syrian people.
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Al-Atrash started military attacks on French forces and burned the French Commission's house in [[Salkhad]], the second-largest city in the mountain after As-Suwayda and occupied it. In early September 1925, Atrash attacked a French force in the town of [[Al-Kafr]] under the command of Captain Norman and killed most of the soldiers, where the number of rebels did not exceed two hundred while the number of soldiers exceeded two hundred and sixty, including a large number of French officers, and killed 40 rebels, including Mustafa Atrash brother of Sultan al-Atrash.
The following morning, 117 came from As-Suwayda and joined by 400 rebels from [[Majdal Shams]], [[Najran, Syria|Najran]], [[
[[File:Damas en flamme.jpg|thumb|Damascus in flames after high commissioner [[Maurice Sarrail]] gave orders to shell the city]]
On 20 August 1925, the People's Party sent a delegation to meet with Sultan al-Atrash and discuss the accession of Damascus to the revolution; the delegation included Tawfiq al-Halabi, Asaad al-Bakri, and Zaki al-Droubi. The presence of the delegation coincided with the presence of Captain Reno, who was negotiating with the rebels on behalf of the French authorities to conclude a peace treaty, and the People's Party delegation managed to convince the rebels not to sign the treaty. In late August 1925, the leaders of the People's Party, including Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar, met with Sultan al-Atrash in the village of Kafr al-Lehaf and agreed to mobilize five hundred rebels to attack Damascus from three axis, but Al-Atrash could not mobilize this number. The military forces that General Ghamlan began to mobilize along the railway in [[Horan]] led the rebel leaders to abandon the plan to attack Damascus and devote themselves to the French campaign.
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The rebels agreed to march towards the village of [[Al-Musayfirah]] to confront the new French campaign. On 17 September 1925, they launched a night attack on the French troops quartered there, and victory would have been theirs if it had not been for the intervention of French aircraft that forced them to withdraw. The French casualties were more than 900 soldiers, In addition to destroying many equipment and vehicles, while the rebels lost less than 200 fighters. Then there were battles between the rebels and the creeping French forces towards As-Suwayda, and the French were forced after a temporary occupation of the city to withdraw after the revolutionary command decided to extend its scope to the north to relieve the pressure on Jabal al-Druze.
On 4 October 1925, Fawzi al-Qawuqji led the rebels and Bedouins of the Mawali tribe in and around [[Maarat al-Numan]]. He would have taken Hama, if it had not been for the intervention of French planes and the commitment of the leaders of the city to neutrality. They waited in their homes to see the result of the revolution. If it was successful they will be its founders, and if it fails they will be far from its consequences. This does not mean that the Hama revolution did not bear fruit, on the contrary, it led to the withdrawal of French forces from the city of As-Suwayda at the request of the French high commissioner
The revolution spread to the Ghouta of Damascus and there were fierce battles between the rebels led by [[Hasan al-Kharrat]] and the French. The first battles were in the village of [[Al-Malihah]], or what the rebels called the first battle of Al-Zour, in which several French soldiers were killed On 18 October 1925, the rebels entered Damascus, headed by [[Nasib al-Bakri]], they were joined by the rebels from [[Al-Shaghur, Damascus|Al-Shaghur]] rebels and [[Bab al-Salam]] led by Hasan al-Kharrat, The rebels remained for four days, crushing all the soldiers in the barricades of Al-Shaghur neighbourhood and [[Al-Midan]], and the French soldiers were forced to take refuge in the [[Citadel of Damascus]] with their families.
[[File:Druze warriors.jpg|thumb|Druze in [[As-Suwayda]] welcoming Sultan al-Atrash and other rebels back from exile in 1937]]
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=== Jabal al-Arab and Horan (Sultan al-Atrash) ===
[[Sultan al-Atrash]] was a prominent Syrian nationalist leader and commander general of the Syrian Revolution (1925–27), He fought against the Ottomans, the French, and even against the Syrian government during its dictatorship, One of the most influential figures in Syrian and Druze history, he played a major role in deciding the destiny of Jabal al-Druze and of Syria in general.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://geiroon.net/archives/64015
Al-Atrash was born in Al-Qurayya, a village south of As Suwayda known for the famous Druze family of , which had nominally governed the region since 1879, his father Zuqan led the [[Hauran Druze Rebellion]] against the Ottomans near [[Al-Kafr]] in 1910, where he faced the forces of Sami Pasha al-Farouqi. He was captured and later executed in 1911. His son, [[Mansur al-Atrash]] was an active member in the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Syrian Regional Branch]] of the [[Ba'ath Party]] until the [[1966 Syrian coup d'état]] led to the downfall of [[Michel Aflaq]], [[Salah al-Din al-Bitar]], [[Munif Razzaz]] and the classical Ba'athists in general. His granddaughter, [[Naila Al Atrash]], is a dramatist and activist against the [[Syria#Ba'athist Syria|Assad regime]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sultanalattrache.org/bio.php
In 1925 Sultan al-Atrash led a revolt which broke out in the Jabal al-Druze and spread to engulf the whole of Syria and parts of Lebanon, this is considered one of the most important revolutions against the French mandate, as it encompassed the whole of Syria and witnessed fierce battles between rebel and French forces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.swaidatoday.com/%D8%A3%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%88-%D8%A2%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1/20-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%89-%D9%88%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84
The rebel forces led by [[Sultan al-Atrash]] were supported by the [[Syrian-Lebanese Communist Party|Communist Party of Syria and Lebanon]] (CPSL). The CPSL broadcast in French, Arabic and Armenian languages that the rebellion was in support of "the great Syrian Revolution" and coordinated with "the international communist movement".<ref>{{cite book |title=Communist Parties in the Middle East: 100 Years of History |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |location=Oxford |isbn=9780367134457 |page=95}}</ref>
On 23 August 1925 Sultan al-Atrash officially declared revolution against France, and soon fighting erupted in Damascus, Homs and Hama. Al-Atrash won several battles against the French at the beginning of the revolution, notably the [[Battle of al-Kafr]] on 21 July 1925, the [[Battle of al-Mazraa]] on 2 August 1925, and the battles of Salkhad, [[Battle of al-Musayfirah|al-Musayfirah]] and As-Suwayda. The Druze were defeated in the last two battles. After rebel victories against France, it sent thousands of troops to Syria and Lebanon from Morocco and Senegal, equipped with modern weapons, compared to the few supplies of the rebels. This dramatically altered the results and allowed the French to regain many cities, although resistance lasted until the spring of 1927. The French sentenced Sultan al-Atrash to death, but he had escaped with the rebels to Transjordan and was eventually pardoned, He returned to Syria in 1937 after the signing of the Franco-Syrian Treaty the year before.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.alriyadh.com/221561|title=Sheets of memory history "1-2"|last=|first=|date=|website=Al-riyadh newspaper|language=ar|
Al-Atrash participated actively in the [[Levant Crisis]], that led to Syrian independence. In 1948 he called for the establishment of a unified [[Arab Liberation Army]] of Palestine, for which hundreds of young people had already volunteered and sent to participate in during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljumhuriya.net/ar/656
During the reign of [[Adib Shishakli]], Al-Atrash was often harassed because of his opposition to government policy, he left the Jabal al-Druze for [[Jordan]] in December 1954 and came back when Adib Shishakl's regime fell, Al-Atrash supported the [[United Arab Republic]] of [[Egypt]] and Syria in 1958, and firmly opposed the process of separation in 1961. He is also known for his contributions to social life and development in the Jabal al-Druze.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://alalamsyria.com/news/2933
Al-Atrash died on 26 March 1982 from a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]], His funeral was attended by more than a million people, and the president of Syrian Arab Republic, [[Hafez al-Assad]] issued an individual letter mourning Al-Atrash as the General Commander of the Great Syrian Revolt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marefa.org/%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%B4|title=Sultan Al Atrash|last=|first=|date=|website=Marefa|language=ar|
=== Damascus (Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar) ===
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After serving 18 months of his sentence, the French sent him into exile, where he joined the activities of the Syrian-Palestine Congress based in [[Cairo]]. The French allowed him to return to Syria in 1924. The following year Shahbandar guided the formation of Syria's first nationalist party, the [[People's Party (Syria)|People's Party]]. He then helped organize the spread of the Syrian Revolution from Jabal Druze State to the rest of Syria. He eluded the French authorities and moved to Jabal al-Druze for the duration of the revolt. There he and Sultan al-Atrash formed a provisional government. When the revolution collapsed in 1927, Shahbandar fled to [[Emirate of Transjordan|Transjordan]] and from there to Egypt.
In 1937 a French amnesty allowed him to return from exile, and he directed his supporters to oppose the Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence because it granted France privileges that detracted from Syrian sovereignty. He was joined by powerful Syrian politicians such as [[Munir al-Ajlani]]. He also directed a political campaign to discredit the [[National Bloc (Syria)|National Bloc]] government of Prime Minister [[Jamil Mardam Bey]]. During the [[World War II|Second World War]], the French considered cooperating with Shahbandar because of his opposition to the National Bloc and because of support for him from Britain and the [[Hashemites]]. In June 1940, he was assassinated in Damascus. The French accused several prominent National Bloc figures, including Jamil Mardam and Saadallah al-Jabiri, of plotting the murder, and they fled to Iraq. While Shahbandar was one of Syria's most popular leaders, he never built up an organization that would perpetuate his political legacy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://alarab.co.uk/%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85
===Ghouta of Damascus (Hasan al-Kharrat)===
[[File:Hasan Kharrat cropped 1925.jpg|thumb|right|[[Hasan al-Kharrat]]]]
[[Hasan al-Kharrat]] was one of the principal Syrian rebel commanders of the Great Syrian Revolt against the French mandate. His main area of operations was in Damascus and its Ghouta countryside. He was killed in the struggle and is considered a hero by Syrians. <ref>{{
As the ''qabaday'' (local youths boss) of the Al-Shaghur quarter of Damascus, al-Kharrat was connected with Nasib al-Bakri, a nationalist from the quarter's most influential family. At al-Bakri's invitation, al-Kharrat joined the revolt in August 1925 and formed a group of fighters from Al-Shaghur and other neighbourhoods in the vicinity. He led the rebel assault against Damascus, briefly capturing the residence of French High Commissioner of the Levant, Maurice Sarrail before withdrawing amid heavy French bombardment.
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[[File:Ayash Alhaj 1.jpg|thumb|[[Ayyash Al-Haj]]]]
[[File:Mohammed Alayyash 22.jpg|thumb|[[Ayyash Al-Haj#Mohammed Al-Ayyash|Mohammed Al-Ayyash]]]]
The [[Ayyash Al-Haj]] family was subjected to the brutality of the French military authorities after accusing them of preparing for the revolution of the Euphrates valley in conjunction with the outbreak of the Great Syrian Revolution. The struggle of the family began with the meeting of Mohammed Al-Ayyash, the eldest son of leader Ayyash Al-Haj, with Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar, leader of the People's Party in Damascus and they agreed to extend the revolution to the Euphrates region and open a new front against the French to disperse their forces and ease the pressure on the rebels of Ghouta and Jabal al-Druze.<ref name="Al-Shaheen 2009 753"/><ref>{{Cite journal|year=2009|title=Memoirs of Lawyer Fathallah Al-Saqqal|url=https://ia803002.us.archive.org/14/items/malayyash_yahoo_Idam/%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85%20%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A9%20-%20%D8%B5%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9%20%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA.pdf |journal=Al-Furat Magazine|pages=28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://saidagate.com/Home/BlogDetails/11594
After Mohammed Al-Ayyash returned from Damascus he started to rouse the enthusiasm of the people of Deir ez-Zor and encourage them to fight. He agreed with his brother Mahmoud Al-Ayyash (Abu Stita) to go to the villages of the Albu Saraya clan that were living west of Deir ez-Zor, and which had a strong friendship with his father Ayyash Al-Haj, to form revolutionary groups with them to strike the French forces.<ref name="Al-Shaheen 2009 753"/><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2009|title=Memoirs of Lawyer Fathallah Al-Saqqal|url=https://ia803002.us.archive.org/14/items/malayyash_yahoo_Idam/%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85%20%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A9%20-%20%D8%B5%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9%20%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA.pdf |journal=Al-Furat Magazine|pages=28}}</ref><ref name="Sheikh Khafaji 2018"/>
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The revolutionaries managed to carry out strikes against the French, and the last attack was on a car carrying officers and their driver in the Ain Albu Gomaa area, on the road between Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa. The revolutionaries attacked and arrested the officers and took them with their car, first taking their weapons, to a desert called Al-Aksiyya, and threw them, with their driver, in one of the abandoned wells where they died.<ref name="archive.org"/><ref name="Fattouh 2017 153–159"/><ref name="Morshed 2016"/>
The French, concerned over losing their officers, began a search campaign, including planes. When they found their bodies and inquired from the informants about the names of the revolutionaries,
French planes began bombing the villages of the clan. Some civilians were killed and among them were Hanash Al-Mousa Al-Ani, Ali Al-Najras, and a woman who was pregnant, many were wounded by bullets and shrapnel., All of this was to pressure on the people to surrender the revolutionaries.<ref name="Sheikh Khafaji 2018"/><ref name="Al-Shaheen 2009 753"/>
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[[Ibrahim Hananu]] was born to a wealthy family in [[Kafr Takharim]] and raised in Aleppo. There is dispute on his birth date: one source<ref>{{cite book |title=Being Modern in the Middle East: Revolution, Nationalism, Colonialism, and the Arab Middle Class |last=Watenpaugh |first=Keith David |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-691-12169-7 |location=New Jersey |pages=175}}</ref> mentions he was born in 1879, while another<ref>{{cite book |title=Steel & Silk: Men and Women who Shaped Syria 1900–2000 |last=Moubayed |first=Sami |publisher=Cune Press |year=2006 |isbn=1-885942-41-9 |pages=376}}</ref> mentions he was born in 1869. He studied at the Imperial High School in Aleppo, and continued his studies at the Ottoman Law Academy of the prestigious [[Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University|Mülkiye school]] in [[Constantinople]]. As a student, he joined the Committee of Union and Progress, the political organ that later took stage following the [[Young Turk Revolution]] of 1908.<ref>{{cite book |first=Keith David |last=Watenpaugh |title=Being Modern in the Middle East |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton and Oxford |date=2006 |pages=174–184}}</ref>
Breaking out in the autumn of 1919 in the countryside surrounding Aleppo, when the French army had landed on the Syrian coast and was preparing to occupy all of Syria, [[Hananu Revolt|Hananu launched his revolt]], bringing Aleppo, [[Idlib]] and [[Antioch]] into a coordinated campaign against French forces. Hananu was responsible for the disarmament of many French troops, the destruction of railroads and telegraph lines, the sabotage of tanks, and the foiling of French attacks on Aleppo. On 23 July 1920, when the French army successfully attacked Aleppo, Hananu was forced to retreat to his village of [[Kafr Takharim Subdistrict|Kafr Takharim Nahiyah]] and began to reorganize the revolt with Najeeb Oweid. The rebels decided to form a civilian government based in [[Armanaz Subdistrict|Armanaz Nahiyah]], and sent Hananu to Turkey as a representative of the new civilian government to request for aid in fighting against the French.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.discover-syria.com/news/13629
In 1922 Ibrahim Hananu was arrested and presented to the French military criminal court on criminal acts. The first session of the court was on 15 March 1922. One of the best lawyers at that time, [[Fathallah Saqqal]] defended Hananu, advocated for Hananu's innocence, and argued that Hananu was a political opponent, not a criminal.
On 25 March 1922, the French Attorney General requested the execution of Hananu, and he said, "if Hananu has seven heads, I will cut them all," the French judge ultimately released Hananu following an agreement between Hananu and the French government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.esyria.sy/eidleb/index.php?p=stories&category=characters&filename=2008082000150427|title=Ibrahim Hananu|last=Kanafani|first=Adnan|date=20 August 2008|website=Idleb website|access-date=18 July 2016|archive-date=2 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402225359/http://www.esyria.sy/eidleb/index.php?p=stories&category=characters&filename=2008082000150427|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Hama (Fawzi al-Qawuqji) ===
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During the French Mandate, he became commander of a cavalry company in Hama, later defected from the Syrian Legion set up by the French in Syria to participate in the Great Syrian Revolution against the French, and on October 4, 1925, he led a revolution in Hama against the French occupation, which he planned jointly with Saeed Al-Termanini and Munir Al-Rayes. The Syrian revolutionaries took control of the city, the third-largest city in Syria, with about 80,000. The revolutionaries cut the telephone lines and attacked and burned the Government House, where they captured some French officers and then besieged the French military positions.<ref>Laila Parsons,''The Commander: Fawzi al-Qawuqji and the Fight for Arab Independence, 1914–1948'' 2017 pp.27-31.</ref>
The next day, France bombarded the city with aircraft and artillery for three days. After negotiations, some of the city's notables persuaded al-Qawuqji to withdraw to save the population's blood, and the battles continued in its vicinity. The bombing of Hama resulted in 344 deaths, the vast majority of them civilians, although France claimed that the death toll did not exceed 76, all of whom were revolutionaries. Some sources estimate the number of civilian casualties at about 500, the losses of the French as 400 dead and wounded, and the losses of the rebels 35; the material losses were also great, as 115 shops were destroyed. He was later assigned to lead the revolution in the Ghouta area of Damascus.<ref>Shay Hazkani, [https://
== The results of the revolution ==
[[File:Fakhri Kharrat execution, 1925.jpg|thumb|Rebel commander Fakhri al-Kharrat, son of [[Hasan al-Kharrat]], hanged by the French in January 1926]]
The revolution achieved
# The revolution led to the resurrection of the movement calling for the establishment of a royal government in Syria, as supporters of this project see it as the only guarantee for the establishment of sincere and continuous cooperation to implement the Mandate. Ali bin Al Hussein was the candidate for this throne, but the project failed due to the Syrians’ rejection.
# The revolution forced France to reunify Syria after dividing it into four states (Damascus, Aleppo, Jabal Alawites, and Jabal al-Druze).
#
# France
# Syrian nationalists began to look for an alternative method to achieve independence and were forced to change its tactics political form.
# Damascus was bombed by air for 24 continuous hours, and some villages in Jabal al-Druze were emptied of their residents as a result of their destruction and burning.
# The revolution led to an increase in Syrian nationalism and unity after previous sectarian divisions.
== Casualties ==
The death toll of the Great Syrian Revolution reached 4,213 people, distributed in the following Syrian governorates:<ref>[http://sdusyria.org/?p=20706 Who is Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, an article published on the website of the Union of Syrian Democrats, 14/10/2015.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425123359/http://sdusyria.org/?p=20706 |date=25
* 315 dead in [[Aleppo Governorate|Aleppo]] and [[Idlib Governorate|Idlib]]
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The edifice of the Great Syrian Revolution is located in the town of Al-Qurayya, {{cvt|15|km}} south of the city of As-Suwayda which is the birthplace of the leader of the revolution, Sultan al-Atrash. The edifice's construction began in 1987, and was opened in 2010 with an area of {{cvt|6,200|m2}}, and includes the construction of the edifice and its annexes on a site of {{cvt|2800|m2}}. The building of the edifice consists of in its ground section the General Museum of the Great Syrian Revolution edifice, which is considered a living witness to the revolutionaries’ exploits and heroism in the face of French colonialism.<ref>[http://www.sana.sy/?p=213399 10 Hatoum Suhil، ten mosaic paintings in the middle of the Great Syrian Revolution edifice in Al-Qurayyat, An article published on the SANA website, 18/5/2015.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917102341/http://www.sana.sy/?p=213399 |date=17 September 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ortas.online/index.php?p=20&id=59104 Monument of the Great Syrian Revolution, An article published on the website of the Syrian Ministry of Culture، 15/4/2010.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512163015/http://www.rtv.gov.sy/index.php?p=20&id=59104 |date=12 May 2016}}</ref>
Next to the museum is located in the centre of the edifice a central hall that houses the remains of the commander in chief of the Great Syrian Revolution, the Mujahid Sultan al-Atrash, in addition to a mosaic panorama embodying the battles of the revolution and paintings documenting the names of the battles and the martyrs who were killed in them, in addition to an administration room, a library, and a special museum for the commander in chief containing the Arab dress. His complete cloak, dress, waistcoat, jacket, hat, weapons and military equipment, including a military rifle, a machine gun that he used, a hunting rifle, four machine guns, a French rifle, a leather belt to store bullets, a wooden stick in the form of a pin and some bullets, in addition to [[National Order of the Cedar]] that he was awarded, as well as two French swords, one of which belongs to a campaign leader. Blasphemy General Norman, a third sword sheath, two field phones, a signal pistol, three bullets, a detonator, a machine gun, and aircraft counters.<ref>[http://tishreen.news.sy/tishreen/public/print/285129 The Museum of the Monument of the Great Syrian Revolution in As-Suwayda, an article published on the website of the Syrian Tishreen newspaper, 16/04/2013.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/
== See also ==
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{{Middle East conflicts}}
{{Syria topics}}
{{Arab nationalism}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:French colonisation in Asia|Mandate for Syria]]
[[Category:Sykes–Picot Agreement]]
[[Category:Wars of independence]]
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