Shukri Pasha Al-Ayyubi

Shukri Pasha Al-Ayyubi (; 1851 – 1922) was a Syrian military officer who took part in the Arab Revolt. He was a major general.

Early life and work
Al-Ayyubi was born in Damascus in the Al-Ayoubi family. He studied at the Ottoman Military College in Istanbul, graduating in 1871. He worked there as a tutor before returning to the Military College in Damascus, where he eventually became the manager. He was later promoted to the rank of Major general and received the title of Pasha.

He was one of the founders of the Arab Brotherhood Association, started in Istanbul on 2nd September 1908. He then secretly joined the Arab nationalist organization al-Fatat. 

Together with Ahmed Kadry and Nasib al-Bakri, they opened an office for al-Fatat in Damascus. 

On 2nd May 1916, he was arrested after letters urging an Arab revolt were found in his home. 

He was imprisoned at the Khan Pasha prison in Damascus.. He was severely tortured by the Ottomans. His son, Khaled al-Ayyubi, also a military officer, was arrested, and beaten, and pressured to reveal the people that were working with his father in the revolt against the Ottoman rule. 

During a visit from his youngest son, Fasih, al-Ayyubi instructed him to contact Shukri al-Quwatli to arrange an escape to Jabal al-Druze. The Ottomans, following Fasih, captured Shukri al-Quwatli after knowing his whereabouts. He was imprisoned too. 

Al-Ayyubi remained in prison, refusing to reveal who the other al-Fatat members were despite promises of release.

After the Capture of Damascus, rebels Muhammad al-Ashmar and Ahmad Maryud freed al-Ayyubi. Al-Ayyubi then joined the new government led by Muhammad Said al-Jazairi and met with Ottoman inspector Bahjat Bey to take control of all prisons and military barracks. 

Later, British officer T. E. Lawrence held a meeting with local leaders at the Vitoria Hotel, and decided to make al-Ayyubi the co-governor of Damascus. He ended up being appointed governor of Beirut. However, the French, seeking direct control over Greater Lebanon, persuaded the British to convince King Faisal I to remove al-Ayyubi from his leadership position in Beirut. Meanwhile, on 11th October 1918, Edmund Allenby reported to the War Office:

Al-Ayyubi was subsequently transferred to Aleppo by Faisal I, where his inauguration as governor took place. 

After the monarchy in Syria dissolved in 1920, he decided to retire. 

He died in Damascus in 1922.

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Category:1851 births
Category:1922 deaths
Category:People from Damascus