Arriving in
Lebanon, the French were received as protectors by many Maronite Christians, who saw their rule as a step toward autonomy, but in the rest of Syria, the French faced widespread resistance. The mandate region was subdivided into six states. They were the states of
Damascus (1920),
Aleppo (1920),
Alawites (1920),
Jabal Druze (1921), the autonomous
Sanjak of Alexandretta (1921, modern-day
Hatay), and the
State of Greater Lebanon (1920), which became later the modern country of Lebanon. While these divisions were partly were based in part on the sectarian demographics, they also reflected French colonial strategy. By encouraging localized identities, the French sought to weaken nationalist movements prevent the emergence of a unified identity. Many of the different Syrian sects were hostile to the French mandate and to the division it created, as shown by the numerous revolts that the French encountered in all of the Syrian states. The
Maronite Christians of
Mount Lebanon, on the other hand, were a community with a dream of independence that was being realized under the French. Therefore, Greater Lebanon was the exception among the newly formed states. It took France three years from 1920 to 1923 to gain full control over Syria and to quell all the insurgencies that broke out, notably in the
Alawite territories,
Mount Druze and
Aleppo. Although there were uprisings in the different states, the French deliberately gave different ethnic and religious groups in the
Levant their own lands in the hopes of prolonging their rule. The French hoped to fragment the various groups in the region, to mitigate support for the
Syrian nationalist movement seeking to end colonial rule. The administration of the state governments was heavily dominated by the French. Local authorities were given very little power and did not have the authority to independently decide policy. The small amount of power that local leaders had could easily be overruled by French officials. The French did everything in their power to prevent people in the Levant from developing self-sufficient governing bodies.
State of Greater Lebanon On 3 August 1920,
Arrêté 299 of the
Haut-commissariat de la République française en Syrie et au Liban linked the cazas of Hasbaya, Rachaya, Maallaka and Baalbeck to what was then known as the Autonomous Territory of Lebanon. Then on 31 August 1920, General Gouraud signed Arrêté 318 delimiting the State of Greater Lebanon, with explanatory notes stating that Lebanon would be treated separately from the rest of Syria. On 1 September 1920, General Gouraud publicly proclaimed the creation of the
State of Greater Lebanon (, ) at a ceremony in Beirut. Greater Lebanon was created by France to be a "safe haven" for the
Maronite population of the
mutasarrifia (Ottoman administrative unit) of
Mount Lebanon. Mt. Lebanon, an area with a Maronite majority, had enjoyed varying degrees of
autonomy during the
Ottoman era. However, in addition to the Maronite Mutasarrifia other, mainly
Muslim, regions were added, forming "Greater" Lebanon. Those regions correspond today to
North Lebanon,
South Lebanon,
Biqa' valley, and
Beirut. The capital of Greater Lebanon was Beirut. The new state was granted a flag, merging the
French flag with the
cedar of Lebanon. Maronites were the majority in Lebanon and managed to preserve its independence; an independence that created a unique precedent in the Arab world, as Lebanon was the first Arab country in which Christians were not a minority. The State of Greater Lebanon existed until 23 May 1926, after which it became the
Lebanese Republic. Most Muslims in Greater Lebanon rejected the new state upon its creation. Some believe that the continuous Muslim demand for reunification with Syria eventually brought about an
armed conflict between Muslims and Christians in 1958 when
Lebanese Muslims wanted to join the newly proclaimed
United Arab Republic, while
Lebanese Christians were strongly opposed. However, most members of the Lebanese Muslim communities and their political elites were committed to the idea of being Lebanese citizens by the late 1930s, even though they also tended to nurture Arab nationalist sentiments.
State of Alawites On 19 August 1920, General Gouraud signed Arrêté 314 which added to the autonomous sandjak of Alexandretta the cazas of Jisr el-Choughour, the madriyehs of Baher and Bujack (caza of Latakia), the moudiriyeh of Kinsaba (caza of Sahyoun) "with a view to the formation of the territories of Greater Lebanon and the
Ansarieh Mountains"; where the "Ansarieh Mountains" area was to become the Alawite State. On 31 August 1920, the same day that the decree creating Greater Lebanon was signed, General Gouraud signed Arrêté 319 delimiting the
State of Alawites, and Arrêté 317 adding the caza of Massyaf (Omranie) into the new State. The
State of Alawites (, ) was located on the Syrian coast and incorporated a majority of
Alawites, a branch of
Shia Islam. The port city of
Latakia was the capital of this state. Initially it was an autonomous territory under French rule known as the "Alawite Territories". It became part of the Syrian Federation in 1922, but left the federation again in 1924 and became the "State of Alawites". On 22 September 1930, it was renamed the "Independent Government of
Latakia". The population at this time was 278,000. The government of Latakia finally joined the Syrian Republic on 5 December 1936. This state witnessed several rebellions against the French, including that of
Salih al-Ali (1918–1920). On 28 June 1922, Arrêté 1459 created a "
Federation of the Autonomous States of Syria" which included the State of Aleppo, the State of Damascus and the State of the Alawis. However, two and a half years later on 5 December 1924, Arrêté 2979 and Arrêté 2980 established the Alawite State as an independent state with Latakia as its capital, and separately unified the States of Aleppo and Damascus into a single State called "État de Syrie" ("State of Syria"), formally established on 1 January 1925. In 1936, both Jebel Druze and the Alawite State were incorporated into the State of Syria.
State of Syria crossing through al-Khandaq street on 13 September 1920,
Aleppo On 1 September 1920, the day after the creation of Greater Lebanon and the Alawite State, Arrêté 330 separated out of the previous "Gouvernement de Damas" ("Government of Damascus") an independent government known as the "Gouvernement d'Alep" ("Government of Aleppo"), including the autonomous sandjak of Alexandretta, which retained its administrative autonomy. The terms "Gouvernement d'Alep" "Gouvernement de Damas" were used interchangeably with "l'État d'Alep" and "l'État de Damas" – for example, Arrete 279 1 October 1920 stated in its preamble: "Vu l'arrêté No 330 du 1er Septembre 1920 créant l'État d'Alep". The
State of Aleppo (1920–1925, , ) included a majority of
Sunni Muslims. It covered northern Syria in addition to the entire fertile basin of river
Euphrates of eastern Syria. These regions represented much of the agricultural and mineral wealth of Syria. The autonomous
Sanjak of Alexandretta was added to the state of Aleppo in 1923. The capital was the northern city of
Aleppo, which had large Christian and
Jewish communities in addition to the Sunni Muslims. The state also incorporated minorities of
Shiites and Alawites. Ethnic
Kurds and
Assyrians inhabited the eastern regions alongside the Arabs. The General Governors of the state were
Kamil Pasha al-Qudsi (1920–1922)
Mustafa Bey Barmada (1923) and
Mar'i Pasha Al Mallah (1924-1925). The
State of Damascus was a French mandate from 1920 In 1923,
Alexandretta was attached to the
State of Aleppo, and in 1925 it was directly attached to the French mandate of Syria, still with special administrative status. The sanjak was given autonomy in November 1937 in an arrangement brokered by the League. Under its new statute, the sanjak became 'distinct but not separated' from the French Mandate of Syria on the diplomatic level, linked to both France and Turkey for defence matters. In 1938, the Turkish military went into the Syrian province and expelled most of its Alawite Arab and
Armenian inhabitants. Before this, Alawi Arabs and Armenians were the majority of Alexandretta's population. The republic lasted for one year under joint French and Turkish military supervision. The name
Hatay itself was proposed by
Atatürk and the government was under Turkish control. In 1939, following a popular referendum, the
Hatay State became a Turkish province.
State of Jabal Druze On 24 October 1922, Arrêté 1641 established the "" ("
Autonomous State of Jabal Druze") It was created for the
Druze population of southern
Syria. It had a population of some 50,000 and its capital in
As-Suwayda. In 1936, both Jebel Druze and the Alawite State were incorporated into the State of Syria. ==Demands for autonomy not granted by the French Mandate authorities==