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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [‎301r] (613/995)

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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. .

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‘ ^
o
<o(
amongst the inhabitants of Karbala who were reported to
. i
have concerted a scheme for murdering the Assistant Poli
tic al 0fficer and the Civil Surgeon there, preoaratory to
seizing the rein of G-ovsrnr ent, and who were de ported from
the place after mature deliberation in ’"ay 1919. T/r irza
hammac i ha championed their cause, and his father
intimated (undoubtedly at Ifirza -uh.-rmcad Hidha* r/ instiga
tion) an intention to proceed to 'Persia as a protest
against the deportation, bothing coul i satisfy them; it
was found necessary, at last, to bring back the deportees,
fvsn this did not go far in earning any friendly feelings
on the part of ""irza ? hxhammad hidha and far from being
satisfied, he admitted the former deportees into his
confidence and they became his most staunch supporters in
evil-doing as subsequent events proved. Briefly, the hous
oi kirza . uhammad 1 aqi became me den of notorious characte
wnose only object was to fish in troubled waters and who
met with every encouragement from hirza Muhammad Pddha.The
/u activiti
can be gauged from the fact that whenfan ex-Turkish offi
cial vifdted Karbala in the latter part of inril last and
endeavoured, secretly, to form a society, "in order to
saieguard the Islamic Blag and to defend it and to preserve
it !l (to quote its programme) and "with the fundamental
object of checking the transgression of enemies", Kirza.
^uhammad Fddha’s name was found to be included in the list
of its prominent members as second to that of his father,
ir za Lunammad iaqi • jj Tne original draft of this prorranTiie
was discovered in the personal effects of the ex-Turkish
Ox j. i cial and i ir za Muhammad Pi dha lost no opoortunity in
sexiding a message to the Assistant Polical Officer,
seating tnat the facts might have been misreoresented to
one latter and requesting tnat full inquiries be made into
the matter, "as the prisoner T s'wife, a Persian woman, had
1 ^iei rea to nim and beseeched him to intervene in beha.l ? of
nor husoanu ,T . -nis woman on being interrogated disclaimed
<d m

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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
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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [‎301r] (613/995), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/761, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100137804988.0x00000e> [accessed 8 June 2026]

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