Ending the Mandates: Syria, Lebanon and Jordan

After World War I the League of Nations gave Britain and France 'mandates' over former Ottoman Arab lands, in theory to guide them toward self-government. France held Syria and Lebanon; Britain held Iraq, Transjordan and Palestine. Iraq became nominally independent in 1932 but kept close treaty ties to Britain.

In World War II the Free French promised independence to Syria and Lebanon in 1941 but tried to keep control. In November 1943 French authorities arrested Lebanon's president and prime minister after they removed French privileges from the constitution; mass protests and British pressure forced their release on 22 November, now Lebanon's Independence Day.

In May 1945 French forces shelled Damascus, and Britain intervened. The last French troops left Syria in April 1946 and Lebanon by the end of 1946. Transjordan became the independent Kingdom of Jordan in 1946 under King Abdullah. These states won sovereignty relatively quickly, but inherited borders drawn by outside powers.