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1-Page Summary of Lawrence in Arabia

Overview

It’s said that one man can change the world. So imagine what happens when you multiply that by four. During and after World War I, imperial powers divided the Middle East into countries as we know them today, and there have been lingering conflicts in the region ever since then. In this period of turmoil, four men – T. E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), Curt Prüfer (a German spy), Aaron Aaronsohn (an agronomist) and William Yale (a representative for Standard Oil) – played a critical role in shaping history through their actions during the war; each had his own agenda and motivations while on different sides of it all.

The following key points tell the stories of these four men and their endeavors in the Middle East during World War I. They also reveal why the region is so politically volatile today.

This passage tells us how Prüfer’s connections in the Ottoman Empire swayed the Turks’ allegiances. It also talks about why Lawrence’s capture of Aqaba turned out to be a bittersweet victory and what happened after Sykes-Picot Agreement was signed.

Big Idea #1: Thomas Edward Lawrence’s deep fascination with history led him to the Middle East.

Thomas Edward Lawrence was a man who played an important role in the Middle East during World War I. He was made famous by the classic movie “Lawrence of Arabia”. But most people know less about his formative years and how he became such an influential figure in that region. Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in 1888, and as a teenager at Oxford University, he developed an early curiosity about European and Egyptian history. He spent most of his free time at the Ashmolean Museum studying medieval castles to determine whether Christians or Muslims had influenced their design more.

During his time in the Middle East, Lawrence was treated very well and quickly fell in love with the culture. He had a great relationship with Oxford University and ended up staying for a while to work on an archeological dig at Ashmolean Museum. During his time there, he learned about the different cultures of the region because he was working closely with people from all over. Eventually, he became one of the heads of excavating Carchemish, which is located on Turkey’s border with Syria. As someone who knew a lot about history and worked hard during long days under harsh conditions, Lawrence earned respect from locals as well as colleagues.

Lawrence spent the next three years working in Carchemish. During that time, Europe and the Middle East came close to a World War I.

Big Idea #2: Three other men from different walks of life were also hard at work in the Middle East prior to WWI.

One of them was a 33-year-old German spy.

Prüfer was interested in languages, which led him to become an interpreter at the German embassy in Cairo. However, he wanted more than this and met influential people who were looking for ways to change Egypt’s politics.

Egypt was controlled by the British in the 1880s. Prüfer, a German spy, began to stir up the Muslim population so they would revolt against their British rulers.

In 1913, the British government fired Prüfer from his job as an embassy official. However, he would continue to work in the Middle East for a while longer.

Another prominent figure in the area was Aaron Aaronsohn, who worked just across the Suez Canal.

Aaronsohn was a Jewish agronomist, or agricultural expert. He built an impressive research facility that helped turn Palestine into the fertile land it once had been. However, Aaronsohn also dedicated much of his work to creating a self-sufficient area for the Jewish population of the world to return to and call home. Therefore, when he wasn’t planting seeds, he appealed to Western governments so they could help Israel become self-sufficient.