Karak Revolt
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The Karak revolt was an uprising against Ottoman authority in the Transjordanian town of
Al-Karak Al-Karak ( ar, الكرك), is a city in Jordan known for its medieval castle, the Kerak Castle. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria. Al-Karak is the capital city of the Karak Governorate. ...
, which erupted on 4 December 1910. The revolt came after Sami Pasha, the
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of Damascus, wanted to apply the same measures of conscription, taxation, and disarmament to the inhabitants of Al-Karak that previously provoked the
Hauran Druze Rebellion The Hauran Druze Rebellion was a violent Druze uprising against Ottoman authority in the Syrian province, which erupted in 1909. The rebellion was led by the al-Atrash family, in an aim to gain independence, but ended in brutal suppression of th ...
. Al-Karak rose in revolt days after the arrival of an Ottoman census team, and insurgency quickly spread to neighboring towns of
Ma'an Ma'an ( ar, مَعان, Maʿān) is a city in southern Jordan, southwest of the capital Amman. It serves as the capital of the Ma'an Governorate. Its population was approximately 41,055 in 2015. Civilizations with the name of Ma'an have existe ...
and Tafila and a number of stations along the Hejaz Railway. Sami Pasha's forces ended the revolt with a random massacre, hundreds of people were imprisoned and ten revolt leaders were executed. The brutal suppression of the revolt had greatly angered the Karakis and is thought to have contributed to their support of the 1916 Great Arab Revolt.


Background

After the rise of Young Turks to power through their 1908 revolution, they began imposing a more centralized system of rule across the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. This meant to put an end to local particularism, which was seen first in the violent suppression of the
Hauran Druze Rebellion The Hauran Druze Rebellion was a violent Druze uprising against Ottoman authority in the Syrian province, which erupted in 1909. The rebellion was led by the al-Atrash family, in an aim to gain independence, but ended in brutal suppression of th ...
in Syria in 1909. During the Syrian rebellion, the Ottomans succeeded in suppressing the Jabal Druze revolt after conquering the villages, forcibly registering villagers and disarming them, collecting taxes in cash or cattle, and conscripting 1000 men into the Ottoman army. Ottoman governor Sami Pasha wanted to apply same measures in Transjordan: villages in
Ajlun Ajloun ( ar, عجلون, ''‘Ajlūn''), also spelled Ajlun, is the capital town of the Ajloun Governorate, a hilly town in the north of Jordan, located 76 kilometers (around 47 miles) north west of Amman. It is noted for its impressive ruins of t ...
were encircled by 400 Ottoman soldiers who disarmed the villagers and took 85 conscripts. Governmental troops in
Al-Salt Al-Salt ( ar, السلط ''As-Salt'') is an ancient salt trading city and administrative centre in west-central Jordan. It is on the old main highway leading from Amman to Jerusalem. Situated in the Balqa (region), Balqa highland, about 790–1, ...
and
Madaba Madaba ( ar, مادبا; Biblical Hebrew: ''Mēḏəḇāʾ''; grc, Μήδαβα) is the capital city of Madaba Governorate in central Jordan, with a population of about 60,000. It is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especi ...
issued identity papers as a prelude to conscription. Sami Pasha sent a telegram on 6 November 1910 from Jabal Druze to the Al-Karak
Mutasarrıf Mutasarrif or mutesarrif ( ota, متصرّف, tr, mutasarrıf) was the title used in the Ottoman Empire and places like post-Ottoman Iraq for the governor of an administrative district. The Ottoman rank of mutasarrif was established as part of a ...
Muhemet Tahir Pasha, requesting that the residents of the town demonstrate their loyalty to the Empire by ceding their weapons and submitting to personal registration. This was seen differently by the local population; measures of disarmament and conscription. The Mutasarrıf conveyed the message to the residents, who responded by requesting that they be allowed to keep their weapons for protection against Bedouin raiders. Sami Pasha assured them that the state would only conduct registration of people and lands but sent a large number of troops into the area, undermining his credibility.


Rebellion

The Ottoman troops arrived in Al-Karak and conducted a census as if they had no intention of conscripting, while the Karakis went along with the census as if they had no intent on rebelling. Ottoman census teams conducted registration for 15 days without collecting weapons. At the same time, Qadr Majali, Karak's leading sheikh, began to go around the town advocating rebellion. Ottoman census teams were attacked and killed on 4 December, Al-Karak rose in revolt by the dawn of the next day. The revolt reached the neighboring towns of Tafila and
Ma'an Ma'an ( ar, مَعان, Maʿān) is a city in southern Jordan, southwest of the capital Amman. It serves as the capital of the Ma'an Governorate. Its population was approximately 41,055 in 2015. Civilizations with the name of Ma'an have existe ...
and a number of stations along the Hejaz Railway. Petty merchants from Damascus and
Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
opening their shops were the first to be attacked. The noise alerted the Ottoman troops, who retreated into the Karak Castle; those far from the safety of the citadel were killed. Insurgents broke into the saray (Ottoman headquarters) and distributed all the weapons they found in its arsenal. The rebels burnt records, governmental buildings, an
Ottoman Bank The Ottoman Bank ( tr, Osmanlı Bankası), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (french: Banque Impériale Ottomane, ota, بانق عثمانی شاهانه) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank ...
branch, prisons, courts, the homes of Ottoman figures, and even the mosque. The rebels acted without strategy: they only wanted to eliminate any Ottoman presence in their lives, almost temporarily ignoring the fact that behind the local government lay a large empire. Sami Pasha arrived at Al-Karak from Damascus with an army ten days later, intending to free the besieged officials in the castle and to restore Ottoman rule. The revolt in Al-Karak revealed the limits of Ottoman rule in Transjordan; measures of registration and conscription accepted in the northern towns of Ajloun and Al-Salt, provoked a large scale rebellion in the southern towns. Ajloun and Al-Salt had been Ottoman
kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...
s for 43 years, while Al-Karak had only been so for 17 years..


Aftermath

Sami Pasha's forces suppressed the revolt with an indiscriminate massacre, and the leaders of the revolt were executed; 5 in Damascus and another 5 in Al-Karak as an example to their fellow villagers. The inhabitants of Al-Karak were forced to pay compensation for all the damage done to state property. Hundreds of Karakis were imprisoned in Damascus and given harsh sentences ranging from years of hard labour to lifetime imprisonment. The demographic and economic recovery of Al-Karak was further undermined by the brutal suppression of the uprising. A general amnesty in 1912 ended the matter and released the prisoners from the revolt. The brutal suppression of the revolt greatly angered the locals and is thought to have contributed to their support of the 1916 Great Arab Revolt.


See also

* Shoubak Revolt (1905) * Great Arab Revolt (1916)


References

{{Rebellions in the Ottoman Empire Conflicts in 1910 Rebellions against the Ottoman Empire Rebellions in Ottoman Syria 1910 in Ottoman Syria 1910 in the Ottoman Empire Mass murder in 1910