The end of Ottoman rule in Jerusalem

This photo was taken on this day, December 9 in 1917.

It shows a surrender delegation headed by the Ottoman mayor of Jerusalem with two British Sergeants and a little Jewish boy, Menashe Elisar, which got caught in the historical event. 

In the course of the night between the 8th and the 9th of December, the Turkish forces of the Ottoman Empire left Jerusalem. In the following morning this delegation of notables was organized and headed out west to seek the approaching British forces. They encountered a patrol of two British Regiment Sergeants, which refused to accept the surrender but agreed to be photographed.

Two days later, Jerusalem formally surrendered to the British Empire.

Photo courtesy: The Library of Congress.