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Subhi al-Omari Library
Subhi al-Omari was a leading Syrian officer in the Ottoman Army, prior to World War I. During the Great War, he defected to join the Arab Revolt of Sharif Hussein in 1916-1918. He became one of the founders of the Syrian Army and fought alongside War Minister Yusuf al-Azma at the Battle of Maysaloun on July 24, 1920. After the Syrian defeat, he fled to Baghdad where he helped establish the Iraqi Army with King Faisal I. After Syria's independence from the French, he returned to Damascus and ran for parliament.