The First World War According to the Memories of ‘Commoners’ In The Bilād al-Shām

Abstract

In Syrian collective memory, among those generations who have consciously lived through it, the First World War is remembered as Safar Barlik or al-tajammu.Since the end of the 19th century and the Balkan Wars of 1912 / 1913, this term became a popular synonym for the march of the recruits from the Bilad al-Sham who had been drafted into the Ottoman army, to the Ottoman theatres of war. Professional historians have only recently begun systematically discussing the importance of the First World War for the Bilad al-Sham. But the perspective of the common people is missing in these discussions, partly because it is rarely reflected in the available sources archival material and published memoirs. This chapter aims at closing this gap by presenting oral narratives and memories of the First World War as those who lived through the war told them in Syria. Keywords: Bilād al-Shām; First World War; Ottoman army; Syrian collective memory