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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [251r] (512/995)
The record is made up of 1 volume (491 folios). It was created in 28 Jun 1920-11 Feb 1921. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Copy of a Secret -^emo*
No.5458
dated Sth August
1920
, from
the Political Officer, Samarra, to the Civil Commissioner,
Baghdad,
/
r
Since the outbreak of the trouble South of Baghdad, the
condition of the Division has given me some cause for thought
but no reason for immediate anxiety,
I have held frequent meetings in Samarra, Balad and Tekrit,
and have used you/published speech to the best of my ability,
emphasizing the fact that the cutting of the Baghdad-Basrah
Railway must have the effect of preventing food-stuffs - parti
cularly grain - from reaching Baghdad, and. thereby producing
a rise in prices, I have always ended my remarks with a referen
ce to the conclusion of your speech - viz,, that it is the
intention of the British Government to carry out its obligations
under the mandate and to remain until Iraq can stand alone. In
each town protestations of loyalty have been the result, and so
far we have had no trouble in the Division, with the exception of
that in the Northern part, where the efforts of the Bedouin/ were
directed against the Military camps and one train derailed,
I have kept a careful fiifepr on the pulse of the people and
am convinced we shall get no trouble , unless an outbreak occurs
actually in Baghdad itself - or'Khadhimain. Samaicha and Tekrit
are ripe foi* almost any mischief if any serious disturbance takes
place m Baghdad or Kadhimain, and is not immediately and sternly
quelled. There has been a certain amount of unrest amongst the
Balad tribes, fomented and fostered by Shaikh *Abdul Htesain, a
leading Stexkkx Shiah of Samarra, But this, I think, has died
down as a result of the meetings mentioned above, and a short stay
in Samarra lock-up of one or tv/o of the known badmashes.
One Syed Mehdi al Syed Ali, of Samarra, who is being closely
watched by the Police, has sever/al times visited Yusif al Suweidi
and, it is reported, on his last visit he offorred to take up a
portion of the railway line between Al Ajik and Samarra station
if and when required to do so. Several unsuccessful efforts have
been made to get someone in Balad to t&nper with the railway line
About this item
- Content
The volume consists of correspondence, memoranda, drafts, and departmental notes relating to rebellion against British mandatory rule in Mesopotamia [approximately corresponding to present-day Iraq], later known as the Iraqi Revolt of 1920.
The volume covers the period from the start of unrest in May 1920 to British imposition of control in October of the same year. The majority of the volume comprises reports from political officers across Mesopotamia on the situation in their respective divisions and districts.
Other matters discussed within the volume include:
- The suspected causes of the uprising, including fears of ‘Bolshevik’ and pro-Turkish influence
- Settlement of the border between Syria and Mesopotamia
- Military strategy and operations, including the need for reinforcements
- The severing of British lines of communication, particularly rail
- The efficacy and principles of the use of armoured cars and air raids as means of control following numerous cases of misidentification and disproportionate force that resulted in the deaths and injuries of innocent people
- Political and civil policy in the region
- Identification and arrest of some of the leaders of the rebellion
- The prominence of events in Mesopotamia in the British press
- The question of disarming the tribes following the suppression of the rebellion.
Principal correspondents include officials at: the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. ; the Office of the Civil Commissioner in Mesopotamia (from November 1920, the High Commissioner); the War Office; General Headquarters of the military in Mesopotamia; and the Government of India, Foreign and Political and Army departments.
The volume contains cuttings from several publications, including: The Times , The Statesman , The Observer , The Daily Herald , The Daily Mail , The Baghdad Times , and The Near East .
The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence. A second divider is included, for File 4722/1918 Part 7, entitled ‘Mesopotamia: Sir A. Wilson’s invitation to Syrian Baghdadis’. This was transferred to File 5268/20 Parts 1 and 2 (see IOR/L/PS/10/913).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (491 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in approximate chronological order, from the rear to the front.
The subject 4722 (Mesopotamia) consists of ten volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/755-764. The volumes are divided into twelve parts, with parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12 comprising one volume each. Part 10 is missing. Part 7, entitled ‘Mesopotamia: Sir A. Wilson’s invitation to Syrian Baghdadis’, was transferred to File 5268/20 Parts 1 and 2 (see IOR/L/PS/10/913).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 489; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Multiple intermittent additional foliation sequences are also present. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. The sequence contains one foliation anomaly, f 89a.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [251r] (512/995), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/761, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100137804987.0x000071> [accessed 5 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/761
- Title
- File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:89v, 89ar:89av, 90r:113r, 114v, 118v:120r, 121v, 127v:169v, 173r:192v, 194r:211v, 213r:223v, 225r:227r, 229r:261v, 262v:263v, 266r:279v, 280ar, 280r:293v, 294v, 295v:317v, 318ar, 318r:333v, 334v:341v, 342v:359v, 360v:400v, 404r:424v, 425ar, 425r:489v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence