In 1916, a British diplomat named Sir Mark Sykes secretly agreed w/his French counterpart, François Georges-Picot, to divide the Middle East into spheres of influence after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The British- & French-controlled countries were divided by the Sykes–Picot line.The Sykes-Picot Agreement drew arbitrary borders ignoring ethnic, religious, & cultural diversity of the region & betrayed the promise of independence the UK had made w/Arab leaders who fought against the Turks