Middle Eastern theatre of World War I began to push the Russians back. The Russians were successful along the southern shoulders of the offensive, where Armenian volunteers were effective and took Karaköse and Doğubeyazıt. By the end of November, the Russians held a salient into Ottoman territory along the Erzurum-Sarikamish axis. Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah, the ruler of Kuwait, sent a force to Umm Qasr, Safwan, Bubiyan, and Basra to expel Ottoman forces from the area. In exchange the British government recognised Kuwait as an "independent government under British protection." There is no report on the exact size and nature of Mubarak’s attack, though Ottoman forces did retreat
Rise of the Ottoman Empire judge ("Kazasker") was created, indicating an increasing level of social stratification between the emerging military-administrative class ("askeri") and the rest of society. Murad I also instituted the practice of appointing particular frontier warriors as "Lords of the Frontier" ("uc begleri"). Such power of appointment indicated that the Ottoman rulers were no longer merely "primus inter pares" but sat at the top of a hierarchy of leadership. As a way of openly declaring this new status, Murad became the first Ottoman ruler to adopt the title of sultan. Beginning at the latest by the 1430s, but most likely earlier, the Ottomans