Rifle of Lawrence of Arabia on display in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

One of the rifles, which belongs to an officer named Thomas Edward Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia, who spied for the United Kingdom during World War I in the Middle East and played an important role in the rebellions against the Ottoman Empire in the region during the same period, is on display in Istanbul.

The Austrian-made Steyr Mannlicher M-95 infantry rifle, believed to have been gifted to Lawrence of Arabia and used in the Battle of Gallipoli, is on display at the Hisart Live History Museum in Kağıthane.

Museum officials state that the rifle was taken as booty by British-Anzac soldiers during the Battle of Gallipoli and later taken to the Middle East or Egypt, where the war continued, where it was given as a gift to Lawrence of Arabia, who was serving in the region.

It is engraved with the phrase “Seized in Gallipoli” and the name “E.T Lawrence” with gold inlay and Arabic alphabet in the rifle’s magazine section. The rifle is in the museum's World War I collection.

It is known that another iconic rifle that belongs to Lawrence of Arabia was gifted to King George V of England after being actively used by Lawrence during World War I and is on display at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom.

The museum officials said that the rifle in Istanbul was purchased from a collector and included in the collection of Hisart Live History Museum about five years ago.

Speaking about the rifle, collector Nejat Çuhadaroğlu said, “The writing technique on the rifle is a technique that must be done properly and with care. I think that this writing was written in the Arab regions of the Middle East. Lawrence of Arabia stayed in that region for a long time until the end of the war and afterwards. We think it was given as a gift. Since we were allies with Austria, Hungary and Germany, we used the rifles produced by these countries at that time; Mannlicher is one of them. The writing says that it was taken as booty from the Çanakkale Front. Later, it somehow shows that this rifle was given as a gift to the spy named Lawrence of Arabia. There is no other explanation.”

Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in 1888 in England. He was an archaeologist who graduated from Oxford University. He served as a British liaison officer during the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire between 1916 and 1918. During this period he was known as Lawrence of Arabia.