Why was T.E. Lawrence disappointed by events in Damascus after the Arab victory?

T.E. Lawrence was deeply disillusioned by the events in Damascus in October 1918 because he witnessed the collapse of his aspirations for an independent Arab nation at the very moment of military triumph.1

His disappointment stemmed from two primary factors:

• Incurable Factionalism: Lawrence observed that the Arab forces were plagued by internal divisions and factionalism, which he believed rendered them incapable of successfully forming a unified nation.1
• Anglo-French Duplicity: Lawrence was acutely aware that the Arabs had already been betrayed by the Sykes-Picot Agreement. This secret wartime arrangement between Britain and France cynically divided the region into spheres of influence, contradicting the promises of independence that Lawrence had used to encourage the Arab Revolt.1

Exhausted by the physical and emotional toll of the war, Lawrence left Damascus shortly before the Armistice, feeling that the political reality had undermined the sacrifices made during the campaign.1