1918

In 1918, Arab armies under Faisal I entered Damascus with the aid of British troops, ending four centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule in Syria. Earlier during World War I, Sherif Hussein of Mecca, father of Faisal, started a revolt against the Ottomans, which won strong support from Britain. A General Syrian Conference was held in Damascus in March 1920 and declared the independence of the 'Syrian Kingdom' under King Faisal I.