McMahon–Hussein Correspondence
In the war against the Ottoman Empire, the British needed the help of the Arabs. Therefore, British officials devised a plan whereby an Arab uprising against the Ottomans would separate Ottoman troops in the Middle East from German troops in Africa. This led to what is known as the Hussein-McMahon correspondence: an exchange of letters between the British High Commissioner Henry McMahon, who was stationed in Egypt, and the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali. Sharif Hussein was considered the legitimate leader of the Arab people because of his alleged descent from the Prophet (the Hashemites) and his role as the official protector of the holy sites. In ten letters, borders within large parts of Ottoman Territory (Greater Syria) were drafted and discussed: the British promised an independent Arab territory from the Mediterranean to present-day Iraq and from the Indian Ocean to Syria.