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

BRITAINASWARTIME"REVOLUTIONARY" 195

mentsofweaponsto the"MadMullah."Inresponse,theBritish
brokeredapeacetreatybetweentheSomalitribesmenin British
Somaliland(theIshaak)andAbyssinia(theOgaden)thatendedthe
intertribalraidingandcounter-raidingofthepreviousyears.Report-
ingtoLondontheagreementandtheresultingtranquillityin
Somaliland,thelocalBritishcommissioner,G.F.Archer,assessed
"thatthenewsofeventsatMeccahasmetwithamostfavourable
receptionhere,"ashadBritishassertionofcontrolin Libyaand
Darfur.!"
WhenIyasu leftAddisAbabaandremovedhismostpowerfulchief-
tainandrival,TafariMakonnen,asgovernorofHarerge,theheavily
MuslimprovinceofeasternAbyssinia,rumorscirculatedthatIyasu
favoredavictorybytheCentralPowers,thatheintendedto ridEast
Africaofcolonialism,andthathe wasarmingnon-Christiansagainst
theEuropeans.Thesiger,Colli,andtheirFrenchcounterpartencour-
agedthegossipandmetrepeatedlyinthecapitalwithHabteGiorgis
andothermembersofthecouncilofministersopposedto Iyasu.On
12 SeptembertheAlliedrepresentativesassistedintheformationof
ananti-Iyasuconspiracy,dispatchinganotetotheAbyssinianfor-
eignministryaskingfor anexplanationforIyasu'sbelligerenceand
announcinganarmsembargoagainstthecountry.Theprince'smany
enemiesamonghisministersandtribalchieftainsfearedthathis
continuedleadershipwouldplungeAbyssiniaintoawarwiththe
Alliesandalsointocivilstrife.
Thecrisis inAddisAbabagreatlyalarmedtheBritishgovernment
inLondon.GreyassociatedtheupheavalinAbyssiniawiththefailed
GermanandTurkishmissionledbyStotzingen.Thelatter,Grey re-
mindedCairo,hadaimedat"provokingan outbreakinAbyssinia
andtheadjacentcountriesfroma base inArabia."BothGreyandthe
militaryleadershipinLondonopposedarmedinterventionin Abys-
sinia;theforeignsecretarysuggestedas analternativeusingtheSharif
ofMeccatoinfluenceLij Iyasu.Britain,GreyproposedtoMcMahon,
mightpersuadeHusayn"topronounceagainstLijIyasu'sclaimto
descentfromFatima"andtherebyunderminetheprince'sassertion
thathebelongedtothefamilyoftheProphet."?
Arevolutionin AddisAbabaon 27 Septembermadethisplanmoot.
Anassemblyoftheanti-IyasufactionintheAbyssiniangovernment