Jerusalem 1917: The Surrender That Ended Ottoman Rule

On a cold December morning in 1917, two British generals stood at the Jaffa Gate, waiting for the mayor of Jerusalem to hand over the keys to the city. This episode unpacks the week that led to the Ottoman surrender: General Allenby's lightning campaign from Beersheba, the broken German-Ottoman defense lines, the role of the Jewish Legion and Arab irregulars, and the fateful decision by Izzat Pasha to retreat rather than see the Holy City destroyed. We also examine the famous photograph of Allenby entering on foot — a deliberate piece of propaganda designed to contrast with the Kaiser's 1898 entry through a specially cut gate. And we ask: did Allenby actually promise the French a joint administration, or was the Balfour Declaration already shaping what came next? This is the story of how four centuries of Ottoman rule in Jerusalem ended not with a bang, but with a formal letter written in French.

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