The actor Peter O’Toole, who died on Saturday at the age of 81, defined the role of Lawrence of Arabia just as, half a century before, the man he portrayed had defined the Arab revolt for the English-speaking world. Lawrence of Arabia, released in 1962, still holds a place in the hearts of cinema-goers and many would struggle to imagine it without Peter O’Toole at its centre, just as historians have tended to see T E Lawrence at the heart of the revolt that ended Ottoman rule in Arabia.
Yet the Arab revolt did not, as both the film and the received history in the West suggests, begin and end with the Englishman in the Arab kaffiyeh. It began decades before, as the Arabs began to seek reforms from the fading Ottoman Empire. Only later did they seek separation.
If there is one figure who was closer to the swashbuckling ideal of Lawrence of Arabia, it was Emir Faisal, the man who led the revolt. A charismatic figure at a pivotal moment, Faisal made some questionable decisions. Yet he was the historical figure who defined the revolts. It says much about the West’s knowledge of Arab history that few of those who make decisions that impact Arab nations would know the man by whose side Lawrence of Arabia fought.
