T.E. Lawrence And How He Became Lawrence Of Arabia I WHO DID WHAT IN WW1? 

"was beaten ..thrown in prison, where a Dr. helped him escape"...isn't that the origin story of Ironman?

i've somehow managed to use learning history to procrastinate

I just want to say it was an absolute pleasure working with you guys. Thank you for inviting me to be in one of your videos and I'm so happy to see that your community are just passionate about history as mine are. You have built something very special with your channel and I also wish to do the same with mine :)

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did. -T.E. Lawrence

AS THE DARKNESS FALLS AND ARABIA CALLS ONE MAN SPREADS HIS WINGS AS THE BATTLE BEGINS MAY THE LAND LAY CLAIM ON TO LAWRENCE' NAME SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM LIGHTS THE FLAME

SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM LIGHTS THE FLAME

He died in a motorcycle accident when he hit a tree after swerving to miss pedestrians... How anti-climactic.

"The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is useful as a handbook for training and advising guerrilla forces and is still obligatory reading in many special forces units around the world.

"Nothing is written." - Peter O'Toole, Lawrence of Arabia(1962) One of the greatest lines of dialogue ever written from one of the greatest movies ever made.

Saw a reprint of the 70mm film "Lawrence of Arabia" it was visually possibly one of the most visually stunning movies I have ever seen. Amazing.

A side note about T.E. Lawrence. Lawrence died 6 days after crashing on his 8th af final Brough Superior motorcycle (All of which were named George) as a result of getting his head quite torn up by the crash. One of the doctors attending him was the neurosurgoen Hugh Cairns, who began a long study on the deaths of motorcycle riders as a result of head injuries. These studies lead to the creation of the crash helmet which have saved thousands of lives of motorcycle riders all around the world. So in my humble opinion, the best thing Lawrence ever did was die, since his death have saved so many lives.

"we don't want a powerful and united Arabian kingdom". seems policy on the matter hasn't changed one bit since then.

I love that this channel sponsors other historical channels. This channel is the reason I started watching History Buffs and Extra History

5:08 Machiavelli would have agreed. He wrote in The Prince that if an army consisting of Italians faced a foreign army they would probably lose. But if an Italian faced a foreigner in duel, the Italian would probably win. Seems much like the Arab warriors in early 20th century Renaissance era Italians also were individualistic in combat.

"Lawrence of Arabia's War," by Neil Faulkner and "Lawrence in Arabia," by Scott Anderson, are two great books, very detailed, regarding not only Lawrence, but other personalities and specific battles. These books get rid of misconceptions, rumors, etc. about how the middle east campaign was waged.

The video repeats unfounded and unsupported criticisms of Lawrence’s account in the pillars... ignoring that General Allenby attested that the book was accurate. I often hear people claim that Lawrence brags and exaggerates his role in his book, and I can only say that that is perfect proof they never actually read it. Thru the entire book, Lawrence goes to great lengths to point out that he was just ONE of the many British operatives. He explains that although he conducted raids on the Hejaz, that he neither came up with the tactic, nor was he even involved with the vast majority of them, and he credits the men who did. He was tortured by the bey, who had no idea who he really was, but thought him an ordinary British deserter. And the man who let him go, thought he was letting go an ordinary British deserter. I.e. no threat to the Turkish army. He let him go because he had seen the bey do this to many men, and never bother to ask what became of them the next day. All in all, reading the unabridged version of the book, Lawrence comes across and extremely intelligent, with penetrating insight into the war, the Arab revolt, and his place in it... as well as his having all the prejudices that were common to the English officer class of his era. Far from exaggerating his importance, he constantly plays down his efforts as being anything more than a sideshow... and about the only act he takes genuine credit for is the plan of how to approach Aqaba... without being discovered. Aqaba was not just a small garrison...it was a port that could supply the turks... but also a port that could supply the advancing british. Lawrence does not claim it as an important victory for the allies, rather, he cites it as important only to the morale of the Arab revolt, and the reputation of Faisal. Far from his book being a story of his ability to endure whatever the bedouin could, he plainly details his crippling saddle sores and personal doubts. His own feelings of guilt over the promises he made that he knew to be false. He stated outright that his book might seem to focus on him, but that that was only because the only things he could attest to true;y were the things he himself had experienced. He was not writing a book about the war, nor the overarching campaign, but of the experience of one man serving in a very unusual capacity in that war. Lawrence was not a prima Donna, despite the news stories of him... he wrote his book to settle some massive debts, and then refused republication several times. He spent the rest of his life hiding from the press and public acclaim, even going so far as to change his name and try to join an army unit. All in all, it’s a great read.

I wish teachers in school would teach using videos like this instead of reading from a text book to prepare for a standardized test

So your saying the mess we are in now in the middle east was the British and French fault?

Anyone coming here because of Sabaton song "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom"?

The Great war and History Buffs crossover, I like it!

Such an interesting guy, the whole Arab uprising is so interesting to me. Doesn't hurt that Lawrence of Arabia is such a great movie

I love History Buffs good channel!

🎵 As the darkness falls and Arabia calls One man spreads his wings, as the battle begins May the land lay claim onto Lawrence name Seven pillars of wisdom lights the flame 🎵

The book "Lawrence In Arabia" states that the Turkish governor of Deraa, Hajim Bey, who Lawrence said abused him sexually, actually survived the war and died in 1965 in Smyrna. If only some journalist had looked him up and asked him about the story! His relatives, though, still around, called the story absurd, because Hajim was extremely well-educated, spoke multiple languages, and was a well-known womanizer. One of those great missed journalistic opportunities...

David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia is my most favourite film of all time, truly a masterpiece. Totally recommend it to any of those desert-loving Europeans.

I think you forgot to mention how Lawrence denied many of the accolades he was offered, and tried to give the Arabs their free Arabia. Anyway, great video.

Lawrence had multiple years of archeological experience in the Middle East prior to the war when he obtained an officer's position in the British army. In rainy seasons he dissapeared into the deserts and Arabic communities, which explained his rather earthy command of Arabic. His lifestyle, shall we say, is thought to have made it difficult for him to remain in Britain. The relationships developed during his archeological trips with the bedouin laid the foundation for his rapport with them later.

i remember liking the 'Nothing is written' story for battlefield 1 because it showed him really well how he was for the Arabians

Isn't there a link between the British actions against the Ottomans, and the desire to create an Israeli state, or at least a Jewish homeland?

I wish you gave information about horrible things done to Ottoman soldiers by arab tribes. One of the incidents for example , a tribe was convinced by the English that the Ottoman soldiers retreating from the city swallowed all the gold in the city, so the tribes caught them at night and opened the unarmed soldiers' stomachs with knives and swords.

Most of the anti-Arab sentiments of Ataturk were based in his experience fighting in the middle east and seeing how the Turkish soldiers were treated by the populace and the enemy, and the atrocities they committed against the Turkish officers sometimes with the hopes of collecting pay from the Allies. This probably helped cemented his later goals of distancing the new Republic from the Arab world by many means including alphabet and culture.

One of the most significant takeaways from this most excellent series is how, more than one hundred years later, we are still living in the world that was shaped by The Great War.

Teacher: "Ok, kids. Today we're going to learn about T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt." Me: *"AS THE DARKNESS FALLS, AND ARABIA CALLS, ONE MAN SPREADS HIS WINGS, AS THE BATTLE BEGINS!"*

I'm a big fan of HISTORY BUFFS thanks to this channel!!! Watched two episodes the other day and loved them!

Just love this channel

History buffs is how I found this channel

Thanks Indy - that was wonderful. You guys supplied a lot of photos and some that were truly original. The Scottish clan story at the end was way wild. So original and very interesting. I've been waiting for this since you guys started and you did a fabulous job!!!!

Thank you for an absolutely fantastic series on WW1. Another extraordinary person was Gertrude Bell and English woman that explored much of the Arabian area often on camel back prior to WW1 and drew many of the maps. Bell was appointed an officer in British military intelligence and was part of the British armies "Arab Bureau" based in Ciaro. Bell was sent to India to convince the Vice-Roy to collaborate with the Arabs with the British "Indian Army" fighting the Turks in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) she convinced the Vice - Roy who then sent her to Basra to advise the British Generals she ultimately became the British Chief political advisor in Baghdad. Bell founded the Baghdad achelogical museum and is still well respected in Baghdad to this day.

I was watching History Buff when Indy appeared, since then I knew this episode was coming.

Great work, Indy and the others! However, the reason why the Sykes-Picot treaty caused so much trouble is not that the borders disregarded ethnic lines. It was because it disregarded popular will in the Arab world. The Arabs wanted complete independence, unity and no Zionist colonisation of Palestine. The Sykes-Picot treaty, together with the Balfour declaration, meant they actually got the opposite - foreign rulers, divided Arab territories and Zionist colonisation of Palestine. These are the roots of the current mess in the Middle East.

I love how The Great War is interconnecting different channels.

Little did Indy know that he'd one day come to play Lawrence of Arabia in a Power Metal Music Video

I think the head of the British India Office said that an independent Arab state could be worse than a Turkish Empire.

Its great that you're still doing collaborations! Great job as always Great War! Pfff that was a close one. Could've broken my tongue with that one.

What a great video to watch in the wake of the new Sabaton album today.

Great anecdote at the end! In a way, it kind of reminds me of Idi Amin, who claimed to be the last King of Scotland. Goes to show the Scots have quite some prestige around the world xD

Now that TGW has discussed the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Arab Revolt, it is time to discuss the role of the House of Saud in Britain's plan for the Middle East. The House of Saud originated in Riyadh, which is part of the Nejd (the eastern part of the peninsula). The House of Saud created a kingdom in the 18th along with its Wahhabi (extreme Sunni clerics) supporters. That was crushed, first by the Ottomans and later in 1818 by the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, Mohammed Ali Pasha. A much smaller second "Saudi state", located mainly in Nejd, was established in 1824. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the Al Saud contested control of the interior of what was to become Saudi Arabia with another Arabian ruling family, the Al Rashid, which ruled from the northern city of Ha'il. By 1891, the Al Rashid were victorious and the Al Saud were driven into exile in Kuwait. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire continued to control or have a suzerainty over most of the Arabian Peninsula. Subject to this suzerainty, Arabia was ruled by a patchwork of tribal rulers, with the Sharif of Mecca having pre-eminence and ruling the Hejaz (the western part of the Peninsula where Mecca and Medina are located). In 1902, Abdul Aziz-later to be known as Ibn Saud-recaptured control of Riyadh bringing the Al Saud back to the Nejd. Ibn Saud gained the support of the Ikhwan, a tribal army inspired by Wahhabism and led by Faisal Al-Dawish, and which had grown quickly after its foundation in 1912. With the aid of the Ikhwan, Ibn Saud captured Al-Ahsa from the Ottomans in 1913. Ibn Saud continued its war against the Al-Rashid, and later turned against Kuwait. Eventually the British forced Ibn Saud to sign the Treaty of Darin, whereby the lands of the House of Saud became a British protectorate. The British aim of the treaty was to guarantee the sovereignty of Kuwait, Qatar and the Trucial States. Ibn Saud agreed not to attack British protectorates, but gave no undertaking that he would not attack the Sharif of Mecca. This treaty opened the door to the British to play Ibn Saud against the Sharif of Mecca. In 1916, with the encouragement and support of Britain (which was fighting the Ottomans in World War I), the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali, led a pan-Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire to create a united Arab state. After two years of fighting, the Sharif of Mecca entered Damascus in October 1918. Meanwhile, Ibn Saud avoided involvement in the Arab Revolt, and instead continued his struggle with the Al Rashid. The Sharif of Mecca had agreed to the Arab Revolt with Britain, in exchange for an independent Arab Kingdom that would encompass Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula. However, the he was double crossed by the British. The British and the French had already signed their secret Sykes-Picot Agreement dividing the Middle East among them, and granting Jews the right to return to Palestine as agreed with British Zionists (which would later become the Balfour Declaration of 1919). The British always knew that they had to look for a way to get rid of the Sharif of Mecca. So in 1918-1919, Saud forces (with the help of the British) attacked the Hejaz and almost conquered it. A truce was negotiated by the British, which allowed the Saud forces to concentrate in conquering Al Rashid lands. Following the final defeat of the Al Rashid in the conquest of Ma'il in 1921, Ibn Saud took the title Sultan of Nejd. After his near defeat at the hands of Ibn Saud, the Shariff of Mecca was in no position to demand compliance of the original agreement from the British. Hence, during the Cairo Conference of 1921 he was only recognized as King of the Hejaz, while Ibn Saud was recognized as King of the Nejd. In addition, as a consolation price, the Shariff's son Abdullah was recognized as King of Jordan, while his other son Faisal was recognized as King of Iraq. Syria was kept under French control, and Palestine was to be administered by a Jewish British Commissioner Herbert Samuel. However, the Saud had already granted the British oil concessions in 1923 in exchange for their help in conquering the Hejaz. Hence, in 1924-1925, Ibn Saud, with British help, restarted the war against the Shariff of Mecca. With the help of the Ikhwan and the British, the Hejaz was conquered in 1925. On January 10, 1926, Ibn Saud declared himself King of the Hejaz. After the conquest of the Hejaz, the Ikhwan leadership's objective switched to expansion of the Wahhabist realm into the British protectorates of Transjordan, Iraq and Kuwait, and began raiding those territories. This met with Ibn Saud's opposition, as he recognized the danger of a direct conflict with the British. In 1927 Ibn Saud singed the Treaty of Jeddah with the British, where the United Kingdom recognized the sovereignty of Ibn Saud over both Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd. In return, he would stop Ikhwan forces from attacking and harassing neighboring British protectorates. As a result, the Ikhwan turned against Ibn Saud and, after a two-year struggle, were defeated in 1929 at the Battle of Sabilla, where their leaders were massacred. In 1932 the two kingdoms of the Hejaz and Nejd were united as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As shown, the British played the Shariff of Mecca against the Ottoman Empire, and then played Ibn Saud against the Shariff of Mecca, in part due to the oil concessions granted to them by Ibn Saud, and in part because they needed to get rid of the Shariff.

It's really amazing how much he really does look like Peter O'Toole in the movie.

Very interesting biography. Well done. In your list of Lawrence’s accomplishments, you left out one of the most important ones: that he was a brilliant writer, and considered one of the greatest Man of Letters of the 20th century. Seven Pillars of Wisdom was a brilliant work of literature, and his letters of correspondence with George Bernard Shaw’s wife, of whom he had a very close friendship, are brilliantly written and fascinating to read. His legendary status is well deserved.

"Lawrence In Arabia," by Scott Anderson is a pretty good read if you're interested in T.E. Lawrence. What piqued my attention was the extent the US was already involved in the region, via Standard Oil.

Lawrence of Arabia was also serialised in a Japanese manga back in 1984. You can say he is popular even outside Europe.

People are likening the events in Syria and Afghanistan a century ago to what is happening now, and claiming the 'Arab peoples' struck first in what is perceived as one continuous conflict. People are saying that the rebels armed and coerced by Britain were terrorists just like 'ISIS' and deserved to be betrayed. These people need to think out side of what they see on T.V. and realise no one deserves to be killed like they were in that or any war, and no one deserves to be lied to and denied freedom.

Great episode. "Lawrence of Arabia" one of my favorite movies as a kid. I always thought it a shame how post WWI the European powers (Britain, France) sliced up the former Ottoman territories so haphazardly with so little thought to peoples that lived there. It is a shame that the Kurds had to suffer so much as a people due to this action.

This is very nicely done. And as a retired US Army colonel, and been to the middle east a few times, I appreciated the view on history, which many do not know. You should get an award for this.

He wasn't a liar, just exaggerated some of his adventures a little and downplayed some of them a little. Great channel by the way!

Thank you so much, WW1 has always been such a brow raiser for me. Particularly Laurence. Thank you for the “crash course”. Cheers 🤙🏼

better call saul you look like, great story you tell

I've read the book and I had the feeling he was telling an enhanced, ornate version of what he as well as others actually lived through.

"When the legend becomes fact...print the legend."

Thank you..Colonel Lawrence may have been a bit of a schmoozer, but he was a really tough little man..A real British hero who made history.

Jesus the way they put it, the Ottoman should have stayed in power to keep tg3 middle east from ripping itself apart.

Its so weird, I was already part of this circle of history channels and now they are meeting each other and making these links! Its great to see this kind of inter-connectivity between some of my favorite channels on RU-vid!

T E Lawrence was a mentally disturbed British officer who happened to be useful to Allenby. Lawrence of Arabia was the product of Lowell Thomas. Surprised that Thomas was not mentioned in this episode.

Though I've been a fan for months now, It was Nick Hodges/ History Buffs that got me over here! TYVM to both of you for doing what you do/ sharing fans! Since then I am constantly bringing friends over here (got 3 so far that are hooked watching this like me). The 4 of us love your work!

Apparently the Australian lighthouse (mounted infantry) arrived at Damascus city hall and accepted the surrender a couple of hours before Faisal and Lawrence arrived to do the same thing, thus stealing Lawrence's thunder.

It's amazing when channels do a collaboration like this! Keep its up guys!

Kinda cool that I’m almost directly related to him, whoever he really was

He got "discovered" by Lowell Thomas, became a smash media superstar of the day and the rest as they say, is world and movie history.

Read T.E. Lawrence "The Road" (sons of thunder) an awesome account of hisalmost mythical race with a air-plane on a motorcycle, on roads I know well, of my home city.To think that such a great individual rode his bike on the same roads as I ride mine just fills me with glee... he also was a nutter :D

I have been waiting for this coverage of T.E. Lawrence since your series started! Great job, thanks.

Does the T.E. stand for Turk exterminator?

I was so excited when I saw Nick Hodges pop up. I love both "History Buffs" and "The Great War", kudos to both channels and keep up the good work!

how about Sgt York? I've only heard of him because of the movie(like Lawrence of Arabia)

This may be the best thing Lawrence ever wrote: To S.A. I loved you, so I drew these tides of men into my hands and wrote my will across the sky in stars To gain you Freedom, the seven pillared worthy house, that your eyes might be shining for me When I came Death was my servant on the road, till we came near and saw you waiting: When you smiled, and in sorrowful envy he outran me and took you apart into his quietness So our love's earnings was your cast off body to be held one moment Before earth's soft hands would explore your face and the blind worms transmute Your failing substance Men prayed me to set my work, the inviolate house In memory of you, But for fit monument I shattered it, unfinished and now The little things creep out to patch themselves hovels In the marred shadow of your gift.

This is an awesome fucking channel

I know this comment probably comes up a lot, but I can't stress enough how much I love this channel. I've been on a shameless binge. It blows my mind that this caliber of historical series is available to all of us for free.

Nice Django Unchained reference

In turkish there is saying ‘neither the sweets of damascus nor the face of arab ‘ this summaries everything from turkish perspective. I think it should be always remembered as well.

A couple of things Indy and Crew, if I may ;) 1. Another great episode !! Well done guys. You continue to put out top quality product every week. 2. Lawrence was a gratuitous self promoter. His legend was largely invented by himself 3. The 'Arabs' did bugger all in their revolt. They, as you report - attacked lightly or undefended targets and celebrated great victories. In actual battles they ran, came late (once the battle was decided) or not at all. 4. Australian Light Horse were ordered NOT to take Damascus and instead go around it so that Lawrence and a few Arabs could 'capture' the city in grand style. Unfortunately for history, an Australian Light Horse patrol from the 10th Light Horse Regiment got lost in the streets trying to skirt around and ended up in the City Center and the City Leaders surrendered to Major Arthur Olden ( a dentist from Ballarat in regional Victoria) the officer in charge. Lawrence came in several hours later with some hand picked Arabs, waving their guns around ... only to find out the city had already surrendered to the Aussies. Pissed off would be a massive understatement - so he chose to ignore it and try and re-write history instead, with himself the hero 5. Allenby's Desert Column were the only effective fighting force in the region and was indeed the army that fought and pushed the Turks out of the region. The Arabs contributed absolutely nothing to the war effort or defeat of the Turks. The credit for actually fighting and defeating the Turks has outrageously been stolen from those brave blokes. 6. And this is 'the big one' and extremely important to today, one you guys failed to mention - Lawrence's 'Arabs' were from Saudi Arabia NOT local Arabs. The British gave thrones to these outsiders in whats now Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Iraq. None of these regions existed before as separate entities and all were drawn up without any thought as to regional, religious, societal, cultural or historical differences. 7. Everything that has gone on in the Middle East from late 1918 till today can be laid directly at the feet of Lawrence and the British and their utter stupidity in that carve up of the region and giving power to complete muppets, who did nothing to earn it, from outside the region. TE Lawrence invented his own myth, based on his own self promotion and stole the honour from those brave men who actually earnt it and its been allowed to fester long enough.

Of historical interest is Gertrude Bell, the British anthropologist-historian who explored the region several years before Lawrence and was simply disappeared from this story. She had crossed the Negev desert several times before Lawrence and Lawrence knew this fact, unlike what was shown in the movie. The disturbing fact is that she is hardly even mentioned in his book when she was actually the pioneer.

T.E. Lawrence was a British agent, his aim was to revolt the Arabs against the Ottoman Empire, and the Arabs, who felt like captives and wanted their freedom back, believed this man. The Arabs thought that this was done for their own benefit, but it did not happen. The aim was to completely destroy the Ottoman empire. After the events were over, Lawrence of Arabia somehow escaped from there. The Arabs realized later that they were playing a big game. The British and the French got their share of the pie. So what happened to the Arabs? They paid dearly for the consequences of believing a liar.

Gertrude Bell is a fascinating player in this story

It’s been confirmed, Indy is Lawrence of Arabia

Ive been waiting for you to do an episode on Lawrence, Thanks Indy!

totalbiscuit spoke about this channel, after the first video i''ve seen, i became a subscriber

Its so awesome that I discovered both your channels around the same time. I really appreciate the collaboration between two of my favorite channels.

the film was awesome though

I love your collaboration with History Buffs. That guy could post something everyday and it wouldn’t be enough for us fans.

The modern Robin Hood that aftermath betrayed the same people that he helped in favour of the nobles.

I was waiting for this episode ever since I the History Buff episode about Lawrence of Arabia. Great collaborations you guys built across RU-vid :-)

History Buffs sent me. Not disappointed. Subbed..

It is really funny in hindsight to hear Indy talk about T.E. Lawrence (and later Adrian Carter De Wiart), not knowing that he will later play these same characters in Sabaton video clips.

I would like to ask you to do a bio video on Harry Patch, the last surviving British soldier of WWI.

Can’t really use “mythical” to describe Lawrence of Arabia. He was the real deal. He was *_Legendary_*

What about Neidell of India?

I knew this episode was just around the corner after I watched Historybuffs and how you guys made a collaboration with him :D

Thought I'd let you know that I went over to the "History Buffs" channel, liked it and signed up. Thanks for the heads up.

yay random cameo of history buffs, i was going to watch their video after this one without knowing you had colaborated

OMG! this guy mention Palestine instead of Israel! what a true historian

As a Turk, I respect everyone's right to have an own state. To live in freedom and be independence. Even we had to fight for our indepence after WW1. But we never accepted any help from other countries such as the league of nations mandate.. instead of being a mandate, we knew that the "Independence of the nation can be saved only by determination and faith of it." (third article of the "Amasya Circular") To me the arab revolt seems to be a "fight for freedom" that was simply given, not taken.