Political and Economic changes

General John Greer Dill, General Officer Commanding British forces in Palestine, watching a parade of British troops. October 5th, 1936

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

A changing region:

"During the years that followed WWI, Egypt and Iraq have be­come independent kingdoms. The Sudan and Cyprus have developed as colonial possessions of Great Britain. King Ibn Su'ud has started to modernize Northern Arabia. A powerful soldier has founded a new dynasty in Iran. [Lebanon has emerged as a separate entity, too.] After the war, Great Britain was given the Mandate over Palestine, which became the stage upon which one of the strangest dramas of history has been acted."

Annual Report Of The President Of The American University Of Beirut For The Seventy-Third Year 1938 - 1939

Oil field pipes under construction, ca. 1939

Archives and Special Collections, Jafet Library, AUB

Rise of the oil in the region

"After the war, petroleum became the principal source of wealth in the Southern Near East. Iran, 'Iraq, East Arabia and Bahrayn have come to enjoy generous royalties from their oil wells."

Annual Report Of The President Of The American University Of Beirut For The Seventy-Third Year 1938 - 1939