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| 6. The Middle East, 1914–1918 |
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| THE MIDDLE EASTERN THEATER OF WAR, 1914-18 (MAP) |
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| 1914, Aug. 2 |
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| Conclusion of a secret Ottoman-German alliance by top-ranking officials, including prime minister Said Halim and minister of war Enver Pasha. A majority within the Ottoman cabinet, however, favored neutrality and delayed the empire's entry into the war. | 1 |
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| Aug. 10–11 |
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| Arrival of the German warships Goeben and Breslau at the Dardanelles after a long chase through the Mediterranean by the British navy. The Ottoman government allowed the ships into Istanbul and later purchased them. | 2 |
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| Oct. 29–30 |
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| BOMBARDMENT OF RUSSIAN PORTS in the Black Sea by Ottoman warships. The OTTOMANS thereby ENTERED THE WAR on the side of the Central powers. | 3 |
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| Nov. 1 |
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| Declaration of neutrality by the Iranian government. | 4 |
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| Nov. 2 |
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| RUSSIA DECLARED WAR ON THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. Great Britain and France followed on Nov. 5. The British immediately annexed Cyprus. | 5 |
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| Nov. 7 |
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| Proclamation of a jihad (holy war) against the Entente by the Ottoman sultan in his capacity as caliph. The announcement had no material effect on the course of the war. | 6 |
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| Nov. 22 |
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| British occupation of Basra in Iraq. | 7 |
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| Dec. 17 |
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| Beginning of the Ottoman offensive in the Caucasus against the Russians. | 8 |
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| Dec. 18 |
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| Imposition of a British protectorate over Egypt, which was officially detached from the Ottoman Empire. The British also deposed the khedive, Abbas Hilmi II, and replaced him with his uncle, Husayn Kamil, who assumed the title of sultan. | 9 |
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