Abdul Rahman Shahbandar (;

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ''‘Abd al-Raḥman al-Shahbandar''; November 6, 1879 – July 6, 1940) was a Syrian statesman and prominent nationalist figure during the

French Mandate of Syria The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (; , also referred to as the Levant States; 1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate founded in the aftermath of the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, concerning the territories ...

. He was a leading opponent of compromise with the French colonial authority in Syria, and his devotion to

Arab nationalism Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

dated to the days of the

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

and its "Turkification" policies. Shahbandar supported the

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and briefly headed the foreign ministry under Emir

Faisal Faisal, Faisel, Fayçal or Faysal () is an Arabic given name. Faisal, Fayçal or Faysal may also refer to: People * King Faisal (disambiguation) ** Faisal I of Iraq and Syria (1885–1933), leader during the Arab Revolt ** Faisal II of Iraq (19 ...

Life

When France occupied Syria in July 1920 he fled the country. Shahbandar returned in 1921 and organized the Iron Hand Society to agitate against French rule. This was the first Syrian nationalist group to emerge in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

during the Mandate and Shahbandar organized its spread to

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

and

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

.In

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

a similar organization called the Red Hand Society also agitated against French rule. In April 1922, the French arrested him and other Iron Hand leaders for incitement against their rule. The arrests triggered several days of demonstrations and bloody confrontation between protesters and French forces in Damascus. Nonetheless, the French tried Shahbandar for subversive activities and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment. After serving 1½ years of his sentence the French sent him into exile where he joined the activities of the Syrian-Palestine Congress based in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. 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. He then helped organize the spread of the

Syrian Revolution The Syrian revolution, also known as the Syrian Revolution of Dignity, was a series of mass protests and civilian uprisings throughout Syria – with a subsequent violent reaction by the Ba'athist regime – lasting from 15 March 2011 to 8 De ...

from

Jabal Druze Jabal al-Druze (), is an elevated volcanic region in the Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria. Most of the inhabitants of this region are Druze, and there are also significant Christian communities. Safaitic inscriptions were first found in ...

to the rest of Syria. He eluded the French authorities and moved to Jabal Druze for the duration of the revolt. There he and

Sultan al-Atrash Sultan al-Atrash (; 5 March 1891 – 26 March 1982) was a Syrian nationalist revolutionary who led the Great Syrian Revolt against the French colonial administration in Syria. One of the most influential figures in Syrian and Druze history, he ...

formed a provisional government. When the revolt collapsed in 1927 Shahbandar fled to

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom o ...

and from there to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. In 1937 a French amnesty allowed him to return from exile and he directed his supporters to oppose the Franco-Syrian Treaty on the grounds that it granted France privileges that detracted from Syrian sovereignty. He was joined by powerful Syrian politicians such as

Munir al-Ajlani Munir al-Ajlani (Dr. Munir Ajlani, منير محمد علي العجلاني) (August 1912 or 1914 – 20 June 2004) was a Syrian politician, writer, lawyer, and scholar. He made history as the youngest Syrian minister. He received his doctor ...

. He also directed a political campaign to discredit the National Bloc government of Prime Minister

Jamil Mardam Bey Jamil Mardam Bey (; ; 1895–1960), was a Syrian politician. He was born in Damascus to a prominent aristocratic family of Turkish origins. He is a descendant of the Ottoman general, statesman and Grand Vizier Lala Mustafa Pasha and the penulti ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 The Hashemites (), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921–1958). The family had ruled the city of Me ...

Death

In July 6, 1940, Shahbandar was killed in

. The French accused several prominent National Bloc figures, including Jamil Mardam and

Saadallah al-Jabiri Saadallah al-Jabiri (; 1893–1947) was a Syrian statesman and politician who served as the two-time prime minister and a two-time Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Syria. Jabiri was exiled by the French authorities to the village ...

, of plotting the murder and they fled to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. While Shahbandar was one of Syria's most popular leaders he never built up an organization that would perpetuate his political legacy.

Notes

References

* Commins, David Dean. ''Historical Dictionary of Syria'', pp. 142, 236-37. Scarecrow Press, 2004, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Shahbandar, Abd Al Rahman 1879 births 1940 deaths Syrian nationalists Foreign ministers of Syria 20th-century Syrian people Assassinated Syrian politicians People murdered in Syria People's Party (Syria) politicians People of the Great Syrian Revolt Syrian Arab nationalists Arab independence activists Politicians assassinated in the 1940s Syrian exiles

Life

Death

Notes

See also

References