War by Revolution. Germany and Great Britain in the Middle East in the Era of World War I

158 WARBYREVOLUTION

absencesfromthecapital,andthedivisionoftheregent'scouncilof
ministersintopro-Germanandpro-Britishfactions."Attheendof
theyear, IyasushippedweaponstoSomalilandandits chief,the"Mad
Mullah."ButBritishofficialsinAbyssinia,BritishSomaliland,and
alongtheSudanesefrontierthwartedtheconclusionofatreatybe-
tweenAbyssiniaandtheSomalileadertoattacktheItalians.
Also,Thesiger'scloserelationshipwiththepro-Britishprimemin-
isterofAbyssinia,HabteGiorgis,forcedtheGermanlegationin Addis
AbabatoawaitthereturnofIyasutothecapitaltolearnwhetheror
not,asSyburginformedtheforeignministrythroughYemen,the
princewasinclinedtowardcooperationwithGermany."Forthe
momentatleast,anddespitepotentialproblems,boththeBritish
andItalianpositionsregardingAbyssiniaappearedsafe.

Oppenheim,Sykes,and Britain'sAgreementswith the Arabs and French

ThemostvividsymboltotheBritishofwhattheyviewed as a wide-
spreadGermanmenaceintheMiddleEastwasthecontinuedpres-
ence inTurkeyofthenotoriousReichagentFreiherrvonOppenheim.
HisactivitiesprovidedCairowithfurtherammunitionfor itsbelief
thatBritainshouldconcludeanalliancewiththeArabs.TheBritish
hadfirstreceivedinformationaboutOppenheim'smissiontoTur-
key in May1915,shortlyafterhisarrivalthere.
ApparentlytheBritishhadnotyetlearnedofhismeetingwith
Faysal,theSharifofMecca'sson.IntelligencereportsreachedCairo,
however,thatOppenheim,alongwithotherGermanofficialsin
Haifa,Aleppo,andnorthernSyria,hadencouragedtheTurkishmas-
sacreofArmenians."Simultaneously,Britain'sambassadorinRome,
SirRennellRodd,receivedinformationthatOppenheimhadleft
ConstantinopleforPersiaandAfghanistanonapan-Islamiccrusade,
"wellsuppliedwithcash."24FromthenontheCairoresidencyand
severalotherBritishofficescarefullymonitoredOppenheim'smove-
ments.InformationonhimreachedtheGovernmentofIndia,which
notifieditsembattledarmedforcesinMesopotamiathattheGer-
managentwas a"privatespyoftheEmperorandis verydangerous.

.. .IfhemanagedtoenterAfghanistanorPersiahe iscapableof
doinginfiniteharrn.?"