decrees, the most famous being the creation of the State of Greater Lebanon on 1 September 1920. Gouraud became the French High Commissioner in Syria and Lebanon, effective head of the colonial government there. He is remembered in the Levant primarily for this role, and for an apocryphal anecdote. Following the Battle of Maysalun, Gouraud allegedly went to the Tomb of Saladin, kicked it, and said: Awake, Saladin. We have returned. My presence here consecrates the victory of the Cross over the Crescent." The quote is sometimes attributed to Mariano Goybet instead of Gouraud. Gouraud's administration in Syria borrowed much from his time as a young man working under Lyautey in Morocco, where colonial policy focused on control of the country through manipulation of tribes, Sufis, and the rural Berber populations. In Syria, this took the form of separate administrations for Druze and Alawite communities, with the aim of dividing their interests from those of urban nationalists. Particularly unpopular following the French taking of Damascus, the folk hero Adham Khanjar of Southern Lebanon staged a failed attempt on Gouraud's life on 23 June 1921. Later years In 1923, he returned to France, where he was the Military Governor of Paris from 1923 to 1937. He also served on the Supreme Allied War Council from 1927 until his retirement in 1937. General Gouraud died in Paris in 1946. Decorations Légion d'honneur Knight (18 October 1898) Officer (31 May 1904) Commander (11 July 1909) Grand Officer (10 August 1914) Grand Cross (28 December 1918) Médaille militaire (10 July 1915) Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (United Kingdom, 27 August 1915) Croix de guerre 1914–1918 Médaille Interalliée de la Victoire Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1914–1918 Médaille commémorative de Syrie-Cilicie Médaille Coloniale with "Sénégal et Soudan" "Maroc" "Mauritanie et Adrar" bars Grand Cordon of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italy) Commander of the Nicham El-Anouar (Tunisia) Commander of the Nichan Iftikhar (Tunisia) Distinguished Service Medal (USA) Order of the White Lion (Czechoslovakia) Order of Karađorđe's Star with swords (Serbia) Published works La Pacification de Mauritanie. Journal des marches et opérations de la colonne de l'Adrar, 1910; Souvenirs d'un Africain, Au Soudan, 1939; Zinder-Tchad. Souvenirs d'un Africain, 1944; Mauritanie-Adrar, 1945; Au Maroc, 1946 Legacy Paris has a Place du Général-Gouraud in the 7th arrondissement. A commemorative statue to Général Gouraud stands in a garden next