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File 301/1921 'MESOPOTAMIA: INTELLIGENCE REPORTS' [57r] (124/586)
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.
INTELLIGENCE REPORT
SUMMARY OF REPORT No. 18.
the IdTiferonhf Liwahtpara. ^)° SU * haS bee11 a PP oiated Assistaut to
16 and is'fn'w 1 / Faisal . d^ivered important speeches in Baghdad on July
support (pa?a 8) Tldsl * “* lwd »» *»■« ueed of Bntish help anJ
dKedon July'30 (para II) 6 W88 StlU fl,rth “' '« a ^ck
Ing detoiteatlor 25 Was the occasi “ uf » very strik-
of g the ‘Anfrah* swn, u " * 4 1 . 1 • S ' , , laima11 ot the Dulaim and Fahad Beg
Government ”’ Thll^ }- 7 T becau - se lie w . as acce P ted >>7 tke British
evil disnosed had I i ipn made a great impression on Baghdad where the
:ppotd P to Faita a ; ] (p“a a Ti) tl "' t Wel ' e We,1 - k “°™ to ba “—ably
4 '+i Tlie ®;® fe . reil du m is practically complete and, except in Kirkuk
^ n ® t yG j ^ ertam ’ tliere has bee11 no opposition to Faisal.
varlmi? ^Vr imu ^ a ’ tb6 Mmistr y of tbe Interior, has received
^anous additions m different districts. In ‘ Amarah, and it is believed m
^nl W ’rrf o .nse lias been added stipulating that Faisal shall maintain the
\ * yiendship with the British Government. In Baghdad city on the
other hand, the manceuvres of the extremists resulted in the introduction of
clauses intended to be definitely hostile to Great Britain. Anger and ridi
cule have been meted out to their efforts and Faisal has delivered a sharp
rebuke to Saiyid Muhammad Sadr and Yusuf Effendi Suwaidi (paras. 13-19K
Saiyid Muhammad Sadr contemplates founding a party or club*
ation (para 1 20) " ^ repu ^ a ^ ons ' won ^ be an.exceedingly fanatical organiz-
6. Maulud
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
has returned to Baghdad. He does not seem to eni’ov
much popularity (para. 22). J
( • I ff e statement m the Echo <!e Paris tJiat Faisal has declared his inten
tion to reconquer Syria from Mesopotamia has been contradicted by all the
local press (para 24).
8. The Xaqib of Basrah died on July 14. Saiyid Talib is his eldest
son and should come in for a considerable inheritance, though not necessarilv
for the position of INTaqib (para. 26).
9. Shaikh Habib al Khaizran of the ‘ Azzah has been arrested for fail
ing to recover loot taken by his tribes from the Baiyat and INTida (para 30;.
10. About half the refugees in Mindan camp have been dispersed
(para. 37).
11. Ajil al Yawar of the Shammar who has been with the Turks, has
come in to Baghdad (para. 40).
12. A French force has arrived at Hair. Qaimmaqams have been
appointed at Mayadin and Albu Kama!. Most of the shaikhs of the ‘ Aqaidat
have come in and Hachim al Muliaid is reported to contemplate overtures to
the French Government (para. 46).
13. Ibn Sa‘ud announces his assumption of the title of Sultan of Kajd
and its dependencies (para. 48).
14. Fahad Beg ibn Hadhdhal has received from him a threatening
letter in which he speaks of the ‘ Anizah as his subjects and warns Fahad
that while he may be friends with the British who are the Imam’s friends, he
must pay no attention to any “ miserable little fool of an Aral) who may be
set up in Mesopotamia.” Fahad has communicated this letter to Faisal
REPORT No. 18.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS.
1. At a meeting on July 14 the Council approved the appointment of
Fathullal Effendi Sarsam as Assistant to the Adviser of Mosul Division. No
Mutasarrif was appointed to Mosul after the murder of Hamid Beg in
February, but an appointment will doubtless be made shortly and thereafter
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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- 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