[1] The negotiations that led to the modus vivendi were begun by Idrīs al-Sanūsī soon after he succeeded his uncle at the head of the order in 1917.
Peace with Italy was more than al-Sharīf could bear and he left Libya for the Ottoman Empire when negotiations were opened.
[1] The Italian and British delegations arrived in Tobruk in late January 1917, while Idrīs stayed in Acroma.
The Sanūsī were to be permitted free trade with the coast and with Egypt, and Idrīs's rule recognized in the oases of Awjila, Jalu, Ajdabiya, Jaghbub and Kufra.
[2] The modus vivendi was superseded by the accord of al-Rajima on 25 October 1920, by which Idrīs accepted Italian sovereignty.