The Sykes-Picot Agreement (May 1916)

The Sykes-Picot Agreement of May 1916, was a secret agreement that was concluded by two British and French diplomats (Sir Mark Sykes and Georges Picot). The Sykes-Picot Agreement involved itself with the partition of the Ottoman Empire once World War I had ended. The Sykes-Picot Agreement effectively handed over control of Syria, Lebanon and Turkish Cilicia to the French and Palestine, Jordan and areas around the Persian Gulf and Baghdad to the British. While neither France nor Britain actually ‘owned’ these territories, they were to effectively control them at a governmental and administrative level. Northern Syria and Mesopotamia were also considered to be an area of French influence while Arabia and the Jordan Valley were considered to be a sphere of influence of the British. Jerusalem was to be governed by an international administration.