page_title: Arab Kingdom of Syria
section_title: Determining the status
hierarchical_section_title: Arab Kingdom of Syria / Determining the status
caption_attribution_description: English: Feisal party at Versailles Conference. Left to right: Rustum Haidar, Nuri as-Said, Prince Faisal (front), Captain Pisani (rear), T. E. Lawrence, Faisal's slave (name unknown), Captain Hassan Khadri.Français&#160;: Le prince Fayçal à Paris http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:FeisalPartyAtVersaillesCopy.jpg
context_page_description: The Arab Kingdom of Syria was a self-proclaimed, unrecognized state that began as a "fully and absolutely independent... Arab constitutional government" announced on 5 October 1918 with the permission of the British military, gained de facto independence as an "Emirate" after the withdrawal of the British forces from OETA East on 26 November 1919, and was proclaimed as a Kingdom on 8 March 1920.
  As a "Kingdom" it existed only a little over four months, from 8 March to 25 July 1920. During its brief existence, the kingdom was led by Sharif Hussein bin Ali's son Faisal bin Hussein. Despite its claims to the territory of Greater Syria, Faisal's government controlled a limited area and was dependent on Britain which, along with France, generally opposed the idea of a Greater Syria and refused to recognize the kingdom. The kingdom surrendered to French forces on 25 July 1920.
context_section_description: After the war, at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Faisal pushed for Arab independence. At the Conference, the victorious Allies decided what was to become of the defeated nations of the Central Powers, especially who was to control their territories, such as the Ottoman Empire's Middle East possessions. The status of the Arab lands in the Middle East was the subject of intense negotiations between the French and British. In May 1919, the French and British Prime Ministers met in Quai d’Orsay to decide between them their respective claims to territories or spheres of influence in the Middle East.  The meeting decided that in return for a British guarantee of French control in Syria, the British would be given a mandate over Mosul and Palestine.
  At about the same time, an American compromise resulted in an agreement to set up a commission to determine the wishes of the inhabitants. Even though they initially supported the idea, Britain and France eventually backed out leaving the King–Crane Commission of 1919 solely American. The findings of the commission, not published until 1922 after the vote on the mandates in the League of Nations, indicated strong Arab support for an independent Arab state and opposition to a French presence.
caption: Faisal with T. E. Lawrence and the Hejazi delegation at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference
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