The Sharifian Army, also known as the Arab Army (Arabic: الجيش العربي) or the Hejazi army was the military force behind the Arab Revolt which was a part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. Sharif Husayn ibn 'Ali of the Kingdom of Hejaz, who was proclaimed "Sultan of the Arabs" in 1916,[1] led the Sharifian Army in a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire with the ultimate goal of uniting the Arab people under an independent government.[2] Aided both financially and militarily by the British, Husayn's forces gradually moved north through the Hijaz and, fought alongside the British-controlled Egyptian Expeditionary Force, eventually taking Damascus. Once there, members of the Sharifian Army set up a short-lived monarchy led by Faisal, a son of Sharif Husayn.