High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Arab Revolt (1916 1918) (Arabic: Al-Thawra al-'Arab ya) (Turkish: 'Arap syanlar ') was initiated by the Sherif Hussein bin Ali with the aim of securing independence from the ruling Ottoman Turks and creating a single unified Arab state spanning from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen.The rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire goes back to 1821. Arab nationalism has its roots in the Mashreq (the Arabs lands east of Egypt), particularly in countries of Sham (the Levant). The political orientation of Arab nationalists in the years prior to the Great War was generally moderate.