In defence of Britain's Middle Eastern empire : a life of Sir Gilbert Clayton / Timothy J. Paris.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

[I] Preparation -- Introduction: Following the Furrow -- Vectensian : Youth, 1875-95 -- The Lion and the Sphinx : The British Empire and the Middle East -- A Smack at the Khalifa : The Sudan Campaign, 1898 -- Bimbashi : Clayton in the Egyptian Army -- It A'int all Violets Here : Inspector in southern Sudan, 1902-3 -- Master : Private Secretary to Wingate, 1907-13 -- Sudan Agent : Cairo, 1913-14 -- [II] War -- Intrusive : Organizing a Middle Eastern Intelligence, 1914-15 -- Our Friends Across the Water : Origins of the Anglo-Arab Alliance -- Clayton and the Pledge : The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence -- Like Permeating Oil : Counter-intelligence -- Reorganizing the Intelligence, 1916 -- Egypt's Little Wars : the Conflicts in Libya and Darfur -- Revolt! : The Arab Rising, 1916 -- Between the Upper and the Nether Millstone : The End of Intrusive, 1916 -- Chief of Staff, Hejaz Operations, 1917 -- A Very Deep Game : Anglo-French Rivalry in the Middle East -- [III] Diplomacy -- Jacob and Esau : Arabs and Jews in Palestine, 1918-19 -- A Nest of Intrigue : Allied Disputes in the Levant -- The Shadow and the Substance : The Egyptian Revolution, 1919 -- Peace and Empire : The Middle Eastern Settlement -- A Witch's Cauldron : Egypt, 1920-2 -- Palestine Revisited : Chief Secretary in the Mandate, 1923-5 -- Trouble in Transjordan : Clayton and Abdullah, 1923-5 -- Desert Diplomat : The Arabian Treaties, 1925-6 -- Rome and Jeddah : Eastern Diplomacy, 1927-8 -- The Attack of the Ikhwan : The Arabian Threat to Iraq, 1928 -- Final Posting : High Commissioner for Iraq, 1929 -- Conclusion: Friend of the Arabs -- Appendix: Biographies.

"T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) described his war-time chief as 'the perfect leader,' a man who 'worked by influence rather than by loud direction ... He was like water, or permeating oil, creeping silently and insistently through everything. It was not possible to say where Clayton was and was not, and how much really belonged to him.' This is the first biography of General Sir Gilbert Clayton (1875-1929), Britain's pre-eminent 'man-on-the-spot' during the formative years of the modern Middle East. Serving as a soldier, administrator and diplomat in ten different Middle Eastern countries during a 33-year Middle Eastern career, Clayton is best known as the Director of British Intelligence in Cairo during the Great War (1914-16), and as the instigator and sponsor of the Arab Revolt against the Turks. Dedicated to the preservation of Britain's Middle Eastern empire, Clayton came to realize that in the transformed post-war world, Britain could ill afford to control all aspects of the emerging nation-states in the region. In his work as adviser to the Egyptian government (1919-22), he advocated internal autonomy for the Egyptians, while asserting Britain's vital imperial interests in the country. As chief administrator in Palestine (1923-5), he sought to reconcile the Arabs to Britain's national home policy for the Jews, and, at the same time, to solidify Britain's position as Mandatory power. In Arabia, Clayton negotiated the first post-war treaties with the emerging power of Ibn Saud, (1925, 1927), but curtailed his designs on the British Mandates in Iraq and Transjordan. And, in Iraq, where Clayton served as High Commissioner (1929), he backed Iraq's independence within the framework of the British Empire"-- Provided by publisher.

Description based on print version record.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest, 2016. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest affiliated libraries.