Yusuf al-'Azma

Yusuf al-' Azmah ( يوسف العظمة /: Yūsuf al-' Aẓmah; * 1883, † July 24, 1920 ) was a Syrian defense minister and chief of staff under Faisal I, between 1918 and 1920.

Life

Al-' Azmah received officer training in the army of the Ottoman Empire, to which Syria belonged to the end of the First World War. He reached the rank of general and fought in World War I for the Ottoman Empire in the Caucasus. In 1918 he took part in the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

The League of Nations said France rule over Syria, and there the great powers France and Britain had agreed in secret Sykes- Picot Agreement. Syria was not represented as a non- recognized state in the League of Nations, to enforce its interests. The French General Henri Gouraud introduced the Syrian government an ultimatum to disarm his troops and to submit to French rule. The Syrian government agreed reluctantly agree, especially because of the French military superiority. Yusuf al-' Azmah refused then the command and lifted out a small, militarily superior force. To be hopelessly inferior in the consciousness of the modern and trained French army, took al - Azma in the fight to put the characters to want to give without a fight.

In Khan Maysalun, about 20 kilometers west of Damascus came on July 24, 1920, Battle of Maysalun. Al-' Azmahs troops lost and he fell in this battle. On July 25, the French marched into Damascus.

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

• Of Defense (Syria )
• Syrian
• Born in 1883
• Died in 1920
• Man