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File 301/1921 'MESOPOTAMIA: INTELLIGENCE REPORTS' [10r] (30/586)
The record is made up of 1 volume (289 folios). It was created in 15 Nov 1920-31 Oct 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.
13
be allowed to remain their womei i should
on payment. p poranly and to draw rations, but only
Of a E „Z U C S of a Ar r meS
although P.0. Sulaimani does not conside^ tbp Sulaimam Division, • but
He considers 2,000 the maximum for th sclleme alt ogether impossible,
and it is feared that the cost of transW ? a ™^ em f lts ?ould be made
their first harv est will be 6 pro S hibitite anSP ° rt f ° r theSe and mai ^enance until
Fhontiers .
at t^'end^ttt tnttolie Ad^ePir 11 ? i8Si< : U at “ May w r „te
case of a certain Mohammad ‘ Cqlah al l£u“Khalffi £ ) lnS 'l U1 t *? , take “P the
of goods to the value of over f T'{ nnn m 3 ■ , fla , 1 “ ah 1 wh “ had been robbed
case is already familiar to ns for itT b £ lnh , ab,ta ? ts of ^e 'Iraq. The
by ‘Aqail claiming to be subiects of Ibo^.^d" 8 ^ UI !, i - n anotller form
brought to the notice of the Hlo-h r\„„ ■ . U< J- In this aspect it was
Baghdad Dr Abdnlleb ti,„ gh 9 on ? mlssl oner by Ibn Sa'ud’s agent in
frontfers'^
sars^si-sa ff-ZS ,*?“ z
and hi^'Toetdlt 011 ° f .. M “h a mmad 'Uqiah is that the sheep belonged to him
to sell th^floct *’ Tbo' H-^ r A< t aiI . w ? re merely agents who were employed
tn panf -p. , ‘ J C ommissioner has directed that a reply be sent
to Captam Dnbom informing him that the matter is being given close
attention and addmg that the claims of the inhabitants of the ‘Iraq against
for considmatio^wWb *“+ fn tllousa ” ds of P oullds and that it is a matter
^ - ^ t whether at the present stage the Mandatory Powers would
arisTnl 1 out'o/raids tv b P ” another, on behalf of tribesmen, claims
J n f 1 ^ lds wlllch occurred before peace and order were established.
m , • , a H ai i’s of the French do not seem to be progressing favourably
oMbOFiS 111 ^^ SUP i P ? rted h ? Mishrif al Vandal moved down with a force
a Oaimman A ^ 1'°°^ t0 ° C ^ ^ lbu Kamal and take a P kis duties
as yaimmaqam The column was attacked near Salahiyah by Faris al Siyah
certain nXber oT^r^ Wsel/was bounded aXa
retreat aiT’ f ^ f} die ^ Were stll PP ed - T he column was obliged to
follow Tnl/ P assm ^ Mayadm was again attacked by the ShaPatat, who
follow Tuiki and more soldiers were stripped. This action of Turki’s tribe
Htte^W^l 1118 e ^ 0rts J 0 co-operate with the French; it is reported that the
latter have been forced to withdraw from Mayadin and are now fighting
the Aqaidat m the vicinity of Dair itself. h
r i! • P\ e A ikq r aidat, 1 wp0 boast that they are the sole tribe who success-
tuljy resisted the British (i.e., in last year’s hostilities on the Euphrates below
JJair) have been raiding Dulaim and ‘Anizah within our frontiers. The
tribes tor some time desisted from retaliation, on our advice, but their
patience is exhausted and the ‘Anizah have led off by raiding some 400
camels from the ‘Aqaidat.
Arbil.
46. Batas post, which had been re-occupied as a result of the operations
against the Surchi, was attacked by the Surchi outlaws under E-aqib on
July ol Some 12 Turkish soldiers were with the Surchi together with
two machine guns. According to information received, Turkish soldiers
numbering from 60 to 300, with 2 machine guns, reached Rawanduz on
July 29. The police guard which had been placed in Batas surrendered
without opposition and the native commandant was murdered. After an
aerial reconnaissance Batas was bombed on August 2 and Rawanduz on
August 3.
The Turks, tribal shaikhs and mullas proceeded to preach a Jihad,
promising further assistance from the Kamalists. A section of the
Khushnao joined the insurgents, and friendly chiefs declared that they were
losing authority owing to the cry of Jihad.
About this item
- Content
This volume contains the Intelligence Reports of Sir Percy Cox, High Commissioner for Mesopotamia [also written as Iraq in this volume], based in Baghdad, covering the period 15 November 1920 to 15 September 1921. They largely relate to: the political situation in Mesopotamia and the surrounding region; the formation and proceedings of the provisional government; the events leading up to the creation of Mandatory Iraq [also known as the Kingdom of Iraq under British Administration] and the election and appointment of Faisal [Fayṣal bin Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] as the first King of Iraq [Fayṣal I].
The Intelligence Reports are numbered and appear to have been issued at two-week intervals. This volume contains the reports numbered 1-3, 9-19 and 21. There is no explanation in the volume regarding the reason for the absent reports. The format of the reports is a mixture of printed and copy typescript. Each report is preceded by a covering circular issued by the office of the High Commissioner indicating the British Government departments and the officers and departments in the Middle East to which the report was copied.
Report Nos. 1-3 are preceded by an assessment of the political situation described in the Intelligence Report, written by Major R Marrs.
The reports generally comprise the following sections:
- A summary of the report (from report No. 14 onwards only)
- An account of the proceedings of the Council of Ministers
- Analysis of current public opinion and allegiances, (notably an analysis of public opinion on the Amir [Emir] Faisal and his arrival in Mesopotamia, including a reference to his 'personal magnetism', f 88), in report Nos 16-19
- Notes on provincial affairs
- Notes on the situation at the frontiers
- Extracts of 'Iraq Police Abstracts of Intelligence' (reports No. 9-14 only).
Other subjects notably covered in various reports include:
- Assyrian, Armenian and Urumiyan [Urmian] refugees (report Nos. 2 and 19)
- Perceived foreign influences in Iraq (report Nos. 2 and 3)
- The withdrawal of Saiyid [Sayyid] Talib Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. [Sayyid Ṭālib bin Rajab al-Naqīb] from the Government and Baghdad (report No. 12)
- Kurdistan (report Nos. 12-14)
- Turkish and Kurdish Frontiers (report No. 12)
- Dair al Zor [Deir ez-Zor] (report Nos. 1 and 12)
- Notes on 'Internal Affairs' (Nos. 18 and 19)
- Analysis of the referendum result which confirmed the election of Faisal as Iraq's first monarch (report No. 19)
- The formation of King Faisal's first cabinet (report No. 21).
Appendices are included with some reports, usually comprising copies of the High Commissioner's proclamations or communications 'to the people of Iraq' or documents relevant to the particular report (notably 'Provisional scheme for the re-organisation of the law courts' and 'Report of the committee constituted for studying the irrigation problem in Mesopotamia' in report No. 9).
Each report is concluded with a Supplement or Press Bureau Report, comprising extensive summaries and extracts of newspaper articles published in the local and 'foreign' (local region mainly) press. Notable publications cited are: Al 'Iraq , Al Fallah Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. , Al Dijlah , and (Syrian publication) Lissan al 'Arab.
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 end of the correspondence (front of the volume).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (289 folios)
- Arrangement
The reports are arranged mostly in numerical/chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. Report No. 18 is followed by Report No. 21 and then Report No. 19 which is the last report in the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 284; 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and two ending flyleaves. The sequence contains one foliation anomaly: f 267a.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 301/1921 'MESOPOTAMIA: INTELLIGENCE REPORTS' [10r] (30/586), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/962, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100111165834.0x00001f> [accessed 2 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/962
- Title
- File 301/1921 'MESOPOTAMIA: INTELLIGENCE REPORTS'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:ii-v, 1r:11r, 12v:13r, 20r:26v, 32v:34v, 35v:49v, 53v:57v, 59r:61r, 70v:74r, 75r:79r, 88r:94v, 99v:103v, 105r:112r, 113v:125v, 127v:128v, 129v:150v, 154v, 155v:171v, 178v:181v, 183v:190v, 192v:219v, 222v:246v, 249v:260r, 261r:264v, 265v, 267v, 267ar:267av, 268r:284v, iii-r:iv-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence