Aid to the Syrians (1916–17): A Failure

Aid to the Syrians (1916–17): A FailureSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/ZMMNG9U5/tei

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2024-08-15-04:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.FlorenceHellot-BellierAid to the Syrians (1916–17): A Failurehttp://syriaca.org/cbss/ZMMNG9U5https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/ZMMNG9U5https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/ZMMNG9U5AlbertoMelloniGiovanniCavagniniGiuliaGrossiBenedict XV: A Pope in the World of the ‘Useless Slaughter’ (1914–1918)1TurnhoutBrepols2020439-458In 1915, the Ottoman province of Syria, especially the Lebanese mountain area inhabited by the Maronite Christians, was isolated, on the one hand, by the armies of Djemal Pasha and on the other, by the naval and economic blockade established by the British and the French. Locusts also ruined the crops in the same year and famine ensued; this famine would lead to the death of about 500,000 Syrian people. Relief organizations tried to take supplies to Syria. They had to organize transport of supplies and to obtain permission to distribute them. They appealed to the representatives of the neutral nations in vain. From 1916, there were many who hoped that Pope Benedict XV would intercede. The latter lent an ear to them for humanitarian reasons, to protect the Holy Places and to be in a position to negotiate the status of the Vatican after the war. He encouraged apostolic nuncios and delegates to find the way to take the humanitarian aid to the Syrian population through contact with the Ottoman authorities and by means of Spanish representatives. However, the Ottomans refusal to recognize the emergency situation, the strategic and military imperatives of the belligerents and the underlying wish of the papal diplomacy to be recognized after the war caused every attempt to fail. Hellot-Bellier, Florence. “Aid to the Syrians (1916–17): A Failure.” In Benedict XV: A Pope in the World of the ‘Useless Slaughter’ (1914–1918), edited by Alberto Melloni, Giovanni Cavagnini, and Giulia Grossi, 1:439–58. Turnhout: Brepols, 2020. Florence Hellot-Bellier, Aid to the Syrians (1916–17): A Failure, in Benedict XV: A Pope in the World of the ‘Useless Slaughter’ (1914–1918), ed. Alberto Melloni, Giovanni Cavagnini, and Giulia Grossi, vol. 1 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2020), 439–58.LebanonMaronitesOttoman empireRoman CatholicWestern missionXIX-XXI CEXX CEpolitics