Yusuf al-Azma

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General Yusuf al-'Azmah in his Syrian uniform.

Yusuf al-'Azmah (يوسف العظمة /: Yūsuf al-'Aẓmah ; * 1883 in Damascus ; † July 24, 1920 in Maysalun ) was Syrian Defense Minister and Chief of Staff under Faisal I between 1918 and 1920.

Life

Al-'Azmah came from a notable family from Damascus . He graduated from the Ottoman Military Academy with distinction in 1906 and was seconded to Germany for a two-year course . On his return in 1909 he was appointed Ottoman military delegate in Cairo . At the beginning of the First World War he took over a troop command in Bulgaria . In the course he served as an adjutant for General Enver Pasha . After the end of the war and the subsequent collapse of the Ottoman Empire, he returned to Damascus and entered the service of the Syrian King Faisal I.

The League of Nations granted France control of Syria, as the great powers France and Great Britain had agreed in the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement . As an unrecognized state, Syria was not represented in the League of Nations in order to assert its interests. The French general Henri Gouraud gave the Syrian government an ultimatum to disarm his troops and submit to French rule. The Syrian government reluctantly agreed, largely because of French military superiority. Yusuf al-'Azmah then refused the order and raised a small, militarily inferior force. Knowing that he was hopelessly inferior to the modern and trained French armed forces, al-Azma went into battle to send the message that he would not surrender without a fight.

In Khan Maysalun, about 20 kilometers west of Damascus, the battle of Maysalun took place on July 24, 1920 . Al-'Azmah's force lost and he fell in that battle. On July 25, the French entered Damascus.

In Syria, Yusuf al-'Azmah is considered a national hero and inspiration. Yusuf-al-Azma Square in Damascus is named after him. There is a statue of him there. Numerous schools and places in Syria bear his name.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sami Moubayed: Steel on Silk. Men an Women who shaped Syria 1900-2000. Seattle 2006, pp. 89-91.
personal data
SURNAME Azma, Yusuf al-
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 'Azmah, Yusuf al-; 'Aẓmah, Yūsuf al
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Syrian Defense Minister and Chief of Staff
DATE OF BIRTH 1883
PLACE OF BIRTH Damascus
DATE OF DEATH July 24, 1920
Place of death Maysalun