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File 301/1921 'MESOPOTAMIA: INTELLIGENCE REPORTS' [65v] (141/586)
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.
18
facts nor fear criticism. Do not think that the nation will forget the zealous
patriot, every one knows his value.
Editor replies:
We nave received this letter from a great patriot and therefore publish i!
though v e have determined to close the subject. The reasons why we do not
publish the book are many, among others that there is no good in pronouncing
hasty judgment on the leaders of revolt, particularly in these days when the life
of the nation begins afresh. Who is praised to-day may be blamed to-morrow
History cannot be written within a short time and such a book would give rise to
much talk. We may put forward the name of a man we believe in, but others
may not approve. Moreover there is now no printing press and the expenses are
tOO gTG&t.
The Book of the Rising.
3. Letter signed Mahdi al Sharif
i Appi ' ov ) D ! 8 ‘ ^ Project but blaming the editor for talking only of the neonle
T? ! escaped to Hijaz and forgetting those who escaped to Persia like Saivid
Abul Qasim al Has ham, Saiyid Qata‘ and even Hibbat al Din al Shahristani and
othe rs who started the rising, nor yet the shaikhs of the Bani Hasan an
Fatlan, etc., and the writers of the IstiqlaL and
Editor refers the
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
to his answer to the previous letter.
Lisan al A rab No. 19, July 19.
1. Report of the meeting at the Grand Rabbi’s house.
eotmtry. The Roya! R^Lnant is S ‘Xv ^ ol ^
Chiefs wearing Aqals. Silence is imnn^iiuf V J refuse to serve Arab
re “ “
name,. EdRoXges XemmeL* to^XempToymenr 10 ^"*’ ^ by 15
° C,e ,n h0n °" r ° f Yl ’ SUf him to the Prophet Josef!
Limn al ‘ Ar o~b, No. 20, July 20.
<lRAQ AND In “p EN denc E , a Glance at the Past.
lished a military gofernLeXr ^puroose o’? 11 »• that the Turte estab-
S; n Ifraq
Jurtash schools. But the absence of fX* W “ forced be satisfied S
divisions and separations by different ® 18,n sc J ools kept the ‘Iraqis from
5 yna , and the Turkish schools did * +m Stei ^ s of edu cation as happened in
%ria did not feel Turkish ru i ' n hut make them hate the Turk,
? ' he are deficient in leaning ^ “ —
( b ) Learned ‘Iraqis hate im m ,
(e) ‘Iraq was a source of risings a than ° the1 ' Arabs hate them.
Young met, deprived o f 2 , dlSt ' ,rban “ s - •
etvd learning, turned to military discipline.
L ‘ Mn al ‘ Arab > No. 21, July 21.
1 W V . . THK G0VEBNMENT the People.
regard to H.H thf'-Vmir !lls . pleasiu ' e at the action of the C
especially British ^o^rlX
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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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/962
- Title
- File 301/1921 'MESOPOTAMIA: INTELLIGENCE REPORTS'
- Pages
- 155r, 154r, 129r, 97v:98r, 85v:87v, 65r:67v, 50v:52r, 14r:16r
- Author
- Lissan Al-Arab xx Lissan al Arab xx Lisan al Arab
- Usage terms
- Public Domain