End of Mandates in the Middle East

The modern conflict between Arabs and Israelis in the Middle East has roots in the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. Some Ottoman possessions in the Middle East became mandates - territories under the control of the League of Nations. Great Britain and France administered these mandates for the League with the eventual goal of granting these territories independence.

A Brief History of the Middle East in the 20th Century

Some of the events that took place since World War I influenced the current state of the Middle East. In this interactivity, examine the timeline to explore the Middle East in the 20th century. Click the player to begin.

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Leaders of the Middle East

Golda Meir of Israel and Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt were important leaders in the modern history of the Middle East. In the sections below, take a brief look at their achievements and see why they were important to the people of that region.

Golda Meir

Golda Meir was one of Israel’s best known early leaders. When she served as prime minister from 1969 to 1974, she was one of the first women to hold that position in the world. She also was the first and only woman in Israel to do so.

Meir was not born in the territory that would become Israel; she was born in Kiev, Russia in 1898. Shortly thereafter, her family relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1903. Later on, she became a teacher and an active Zionist, and in 1921, she and her young family moved to Palestine in the hopes of creating a Jewish homeland.

Meir helped to create the Jewish state of Israel in her position as one of the negotiators between Palestine Jews and the British mandate government. After Israel became independent, Meir held many important positions in the Israeli government such as ambassador to the Soviet Union, Minister of Labor, and Foreign Minister. Finally, in 1969, she became prime minister. During her term, she forged close relations with the United States, seeking its support on a number of issues including military weaponry.

In October 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur. They attacked on this holiday since most of the country would be praying and fasting as is traditional on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Meir and her government were criticized because they had not anticipated the Arab attack. Although Israel was initially caught off guard, within days its armed forces put the aggressors on the defensive. The war was over within three weeks. A few months after the end of the war, Meir resigned from her post despite winning the election for another term.

Gamal Abdul Nasser

Gamal Abdul Nasser was an extremely influential figure in Egypt and much of the Middle East for his attempts to modernize Egypt and to unify the countries of the Arab world. As a young colonel in the Egyptian army, he was appalled by what he considered to be Great Britain’s interference in the internal affairs of Egypt, which was a free nation. On July 23rd 1952, Nasser helped to organize a coup d'état against the Egyptian Royal Family. After a few days of bloodless rebellion, King Farouk was overthrown and a president was installed in his place. Two years later, Nasser had the president placed under house arrest and installed himself as leader.

Nasser’s immediate goal was to modernize Egypt. He wanted to improve the economy and lessen poverty, increase education, and fix the country’s infrastructure. He built the Aswan High Dam to help regulate the Nile River's annual flooding. He also built over 2,000 new factories to promote economic growth.

One of his most famous actions was to nationalize the Suez Canal, which he took over from British and French control in 1956. This meant that the canal came under the authority of Egypt. In 1957, the French, British, and Israelis took control of the canal by force, but gave it up after coming under pressure from the world community. Although Egypt had not technically won the war, Nasser became a hero in the Arab world for standing up to the Israelis and the West.

Nasser used his popularity to spread the message of pan-Arabism; the idea that Arab nations should unite politically, or at least work closely together to resist the perceived enemies of the Arab world. As part of his strategy, he forged closer relations with the Soviet Union, which supported his efforts to limit the influence of the United States and Europe in the region.

Israel’s easy victory over Egypt and the other Arab nations in the Six-Day War of 1967 diminished Nasser’s standing in the region, although he remains a popular figure for restoring pride to the Arab world.

Modern Middle East History Review

Now that you have explored the Middle East's important people and events of the 20th century, review what you have learned in this interactivity. Click the player to get started.