Ottoman Empire · 1914-1923

The end of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire entered the First World War in 1914 and did not survive it. Britain and France divided its Arab lands into mandates, and from the ruins rose new states. Students compare the 1914 and 1920 maps of the Middle East and test the promises made during the war.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1914 to AD 1920
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

The Ottoman Empire entered the First World War in 1914 and did not survive it. Britain and France divided its Arab lands into mandates, and from the ruins rose new states. Students compare the 1914 and 1920 maps of the Middle East and test the promises made during the war.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why the Ottoman Empire joined the First World War and what it lost.
  • Compare the maps of 1914 and 1920 for the Middle East and name the mandates of Britain and France.
  • Describe how promises made during the war clashed with each other.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1914

The empire in 1914

Open the map in 1914. Find the Ottoman Empire, from Constantinople to Baghdad, Jerusalem and the Red Sea coast. Which parts of the Arab world did it still rule?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1920

The mandates

Move the slider to 1920. Which areas are now marked as British or French? Find Syria, Mesopotamia and Mandatory Palestine. Who drew these borders?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1920

What was left

Still in 1920, zoom in on Anatolia and Constantinople. Ask the atlas: "What was the Treaty of Sèvres?" How much land did it leave the sultan?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did the Ottoman Empire join Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1914?
  2. During the war Britain made promises to Arab leaders, to France (Sykes-Picot) and to Zionists (the Balfour Declaration). Could all three be kept?
  3. In 1915-1916 the Ottoman government deported the Armenians of Anatolia. Historians estimate that 600,000 to 1.5 million died, and most call it a genocide. Why does naming it matter?
  4. The League of Nations called the new British and French territories mandates. How were they different from colonies, and how were they the same?
  5. Many borders in the Middle East were drawn by outsiders after 1918. What problems can that cause?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Suleiman the Magnificent, when the Ottoman Empire was at its strongest. Then compare: what had changed by 1918, and which choices were left to the last sultan, Mehmed VI?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.