The History of Transjordan and Palestine Stamps

Published

Jan 29, 2014 Europe/London

Did you know that the life story of one of Britain’s most popular heroes can be told by Transjordan stamps? Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, or as he is affectionately called ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, was a trained archaeologist who participated in numerous expeditions and excavations throughout his life. But his trip to the Middle East was considered the most significant, occurring in conjunction with the onset of the First World War. He was a well-known archeologist at that time, and was thus commissioned to lead the military survey of the Negev Desert. During those years he took a pivotal role in the Arab Revolution against the Ottoman-Turkish Empire from 1916 to 1918.

Lawrence of Arabia fighing for Independence 

Lawrence was an admired researcher and archaeologist who worked and scoured the provinces of Levant (Transjordan and Palestine) and Mesopotamia (Iraq and Syria). Since Palestine and Transjordan were part of the Ottoman Empire, Lawrence managed to befriend some of the technical advisers of the Empire, as well as German engineers who worked and built the railways. This in-depth knowledge of the area motivated the British to commission Lawrence to assist during the war.

Lawrence worked in guerilla operations fighting alongside the irregular forces of the Arabs against the Ottomans. He was the one who convinced the Arabs not to attack Medina, but rather to allow the Turkish army to tie up soldiers in the garrison while the rest of his forces forced their way to the Hejaz railway. Through this move he was able to engage more Turkish forces and help the British damage the German-Ottoman alliance. Before the end of the war, he tried to persuade the British government that the independence of the Arabs will best serve the country. But there was a secret negotiation made between France and Britain that undermined the promised independence brokered by Lawrence.

The Release of Mandated Territory Stamps

By 1918, the Allied forces controlled Transjordan and by April 1920, the Supreme Council of the Allies allowed the United Kingdom to control Transjordan and Palestine. After two months, the first batch of British Mandated Territory stamps were released, known as the Palestine stamps featuring the print ‘East of Jordan’ in Arabic. This was followed by a five-year period of stamp production that featured Arabic overprints.  These are highly unique colonial issues that do not feature the portraits of British monarchs.