did lawrence of arabia really exist?

Question

did the arabs really get invaded by turkey?

calm down generalist its only a happy face!

Answer 1

Colonel Lawrence was indeed a historical figure. The original book, from which the movie was made was written by Lowell Thomas (published in 1925), a war correspondent and author, and is titled "With Lawrence in Arabia". The book includes photographs of Lawrence and various military actions during the war. I received my copy of the book from my Father's, who received it when he was a boy. As luck would have it, it was reprinted in 1994 in paperback. Amazon also have other books on Lawrence and his campaign, including several authored by Lawrence himself.

The setting is World War I and much of the Middle East was still under the rule of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, which was allied with Germany. The British sent Lawrence to tie the Turkish forces down and to prevent them from blocking the Suez Canal. Lawrence enlisted various Arabian Sheiks to fight the Turks with the promise that they would be winning their independence. What happened after the war was that the British took control over the region, drawing arbitrary political borders, and creating much of the mess that we see going on in the Middle East today.

Answer 2

Yes. He was T. E. Lawrence who worked in the Middle East originally as an archeologist.
During WW1 he was one of those chosen by the British Army to liaise with the Arab tribes in the Hejaz which was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time with a view to forming a rebel army to harass the Turks on the right wing of the British Forces.
Lawrence was very successful at this as he could speak fluent Arabic and was prepared to live with the arabs wearing their dress and share the hardships of their way of life thus gaining their respect although he was an infidel.
He greatest feat was to unite the different tribes into some sort of disciplined force because they had blood feuds going back centuries and usually fought each other.
He used his rebel army to cut the Hejaz railway many times to isolate the Turkish troops at Mecca and Medina and eventually was able to fight the Turks in battles in what is now Jordan.
In one of these battles he managed to shoot his own camel in the head but they were usually successful in winning against the better armed Turks.
In the last months of the war this Arab army was invincible and in 1918 they entered Damascus in triumph with Lawrence at their head. He was by this time a Colonel.
Politically he tried to obtain independence for all the arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire and the British Government promised this if they won the war.
But, unknown to Lawrence, the government had already agreed to split the provinces between themselves and the French ( the Sykes/Picot Agreement) and after the war this made him very disillusioned and depressed. He refused any military honours and a knighthood.
He joined the RAF at the lowest rank under an assumed name and when this was discovered joined the army under another assumed name.
He was killed in a motor cycle accident in 1937

Answer 3

Turkey controlled the more urban parts of the Middle East (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Mesopotamima) since around 1300 or so. The British invaded Mesopotamia and T. E. Lawrence led the Arab tribes to attack the Turkish Army in Palestine and Syria.

Answer 4

Yes, he really existed. T E Lawrence was an archaeological scholar, military strategist and author famous for leading the Arabs to revolt during The First World War.

Lawrence was the son of Sir Thomas Chapman and his mistress, Sara Maden, who masqueraded as Mr and Mrs Lawrence.

A condensed version of his life is at this link.

Answer 5

T.E. Lawrence really existed. The Arab Revolt was started by a descendent of the prophet, Faisal's father, I think.

If you've seen the David Lean film, the reporter depicted is supposed to be Lowell George, who created a slide show of some kind to tour the US and try to encourage public interest in the conflict.

Answer 6

Yes
Thomas Edward (T.E.) Lawrence was born on August 16, 1888 at Tremadoc in North Wales. He was the second of five sons of Sir Thomas Chapman and Sarah Junner. Popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia, Lawrence became famous for his exploits as British Military liaison to the Arab Revolt during the First World War.

Lawrence had been fascinated by archaeology since childhood. After graduating with honors from Oxford in 1910, he served as an assistant at a British Museum excavation in Iraq (then known as Mesopotamia). When war broke out with Germany in 1914, Lawrence spent a brief period in the Geographical Section of the General Staff in London, and was then posted to the Military Intelligence Department in Cairo. In 1916 the Arabs rebelled against the Turkish empire. Lawrence was sent to Mecca on a fact-finding mission, ultimately becoming the British liaison officer to the Arabs. His account of the revolt is chronicled in his classic books, "Seven Pillars of Wisdom, A Triumph" and "Revolt in the Desert."

After the war Lawrence served in the British Delegation at the Paris Peace Conference, where he promoted the cause of Arab independence. Despite his efforts Syria, Palestine and Iraq were mandated to France and Britain. Lawrence returned to England exhausted and disappointed. By the end of 1920, British attempts to impose a colonial rule in Iraq had provoked an open rebellion. Winston Churchill was appointed by the British Colonial Office to find a solution, and persuaded Lawrence to join him as adviser. By the summer of 1922 Churchill, with considerable aid from Lawrence, had achieved a settlement of the situation.

In 1922 Lawrence resigned his position with the Colonial Office and enlisted in the RAF under an assumed name. After four months he was discovered by the press and discharged. With the help of a highly-placed friends he re-enlisted in the Tank Corps as 'Thomas Edward Shaw'. Between 1922 and early 1927 Lawrence revised "Seven Pillars" for publication, and edited an abridgement of the book called "Revolt in the Desert." Half way through this work he succeeded in transferring back to the RAF.

In March 1935 his twelve-year enlistment came to an end and he retired to "Clouds Hill " (the name of his cottage) in Dorset, England. Two months later he was thrown from his motorcycle while on a local errand. He suffered severe head injuries and died some days later without regaining consciousness.

Answer 7

T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)
British Soldier and Author
1888 - 1935

Answer 8

Yes and yes. The movie is pretty accurate, historically!

Answer 9

You have no reason to put a smiley on, if you ask questions like that.