Saleh al-Ali

• Name — Salih al-Ali صالح العلي • Born — 1883 • Birthplace — Al-Shaykh Badr, Syria vilayet, Ottoman Empire • Died — 13 1950 1884 4 • Place of death — Tartus, Syrian Republic • Known for — Commander of the Syrian Revolt of 1919

Salih al-Ali was born in 1883 to a family of Alawite notables from al-Shaykh Badr, in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range in northwest. He reportedly clashed with the Ottomans in 1918 before their withdrawal from Syria, killing two Ottoman soldiers who were harassing a wife of his father. This act gained him a local reputation as a rebel. After his father's death, he built a shrine for him and reportedly performed miracles at the site, according to local legend.

• Illustration — Seated from left to right: Shukri al-Quwatli (future president), Saadallah al-Jabiri (future prime minister), Rida al-Shurbaji (co-founder of the National Bloc), Sheikh Salih al-Ali, commander of the Syrian Coastal Revolt of 1919. Standing are Hajj Adib Kheir (left) and Ibrahim Hananu, commander of the Aleppo Revolt

The balance of power began to shift in favor of the French after they conquered Damascus, defeating a makeshift army at the Battle of Maysalun on 24 July 1920. Around this time al-Ali began collaborating, through Ibrahim Hananu's meditation, with Turkish Kemalist forces fighting the French occupation in southern Anatolia. A letter addressed directly to Mustafa Kemal in January 1921 asking for weapons for their common "jihad" against the French is preserved in the Turkish ATASE military archives in Ankara.

• Illustration — Salih al-Ali Al-Ali remained in hiding until General Gouraud issued a general amnesty in 1922. He returned to his home and abstained from all political activity until his death on 13 April 1950 in Tartus.