Britannica Sources used in this answer

What did the Hussein-McMahon correspondence promise Arab leaders during World War I?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Panoramic view of a small valley with a stream, olive trees, and terraced hillsides in the countryside near Ramallah, Palestine, under a sky with scattered clouds. — Palestine View from a small valley with a stream between large hills of olive groves.

The Hussein-McMahon correspondence consisted of a series of letters exchanged between 1915 and 1916 during World War I. In these letters, the British high commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon, and Hussein ibn Ali, the emir of Mecca, negotiated a partnership against the Ottoman Empire.1

In exchange for Arab assistance in the war, the correspondence generally promised British support for the establishment of an independent Arab state. However, the arrangement was highly ambiguous and never constituted a formal treaty. Disagreements persisted regarding specific territories, particularly those McMahon claimed fell within the French sphere of influence—such as modern Lebanon and coastal areas of Syria—as well as British interests in Baghdad and Basra.1

Ultimately, these promises were contradicted by the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Balfour Declaration, leading to post-war confusion and significant contention regarding the status of Palestine.12