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File 301/1921 'MESOPOTAMIA: INTELLIGENCE REPORTS' [281v] (575/586)
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.
14
entered a strong' protest against this action on the ground that Balbul was with
in the limits of his territory, while the Shaikh of Kuwait took his stand on the
\imlo-Turkkh Convention of 1913, the boundary line laid down in which left
Balbul some miles inside Kuwait territory. Shaikh Salim was advised not to
proceed with the building and the matter was left over for final decision at a
convenient opportunity. Relations were further embittered during 1920 by
aids on the part of the Akhw r an, in one of which Faisal al Dawish attacked and
routed Shaikh Dhaif who was in charge of Shaikh Salim’s flag in the desert.
Acrimonious discussions took place which ended in both parties agreeing to
accept the arbitration of-His Majesty’s Government.
67. Matters came to ahead in September, 1920, when Shaikh Salim col
lected a strong party under Dhaif at Tahrah at the head of the gulf of Kuwait.
The reputed objective of the party, which included a contingent from the Sham-
ar under Dhari ibn Tawalah, was a party of Akhwan under Faisal al Dawish
at Quraiyah, some 90 miles south of Kuwait. This party had been established
there for some time, although Quraiyah is well within the limits assigned to
Kuwait territory in our agreement with the Turks, and had founded a regular
settlement there. An attempt was made to avert hostilities by urging the
Shaikh of Kuwait to withdraw his reconnaissaince and Bin Sa‘ud to stop the
building at Quraiyah, but on October 10th Faisal al Dawish with some 1,200
tribesmen attacked Shaikh Salim in Tahrah. A determined and sanguinary
encounter took place, resulting in Shaikh Salim’s being driven into the fort, but
on the arrival of reinforcements the next day from Kuwait, the Akhwan with
drew to the south. The casualties were heavy on both sides, those of the Akh
wan being estimated at 800 killed, while the Kuwait garrison lost 200 killed.
On the 12th, Shaikh Salim also withdrew his forces to Kuwait and asked for
assistance from His Majesty’s Government. Aeroplanes wure sent out to
drop messages on the Akhwan warning them that any attempt on their part to
attack or advance on the Port of Kuwait would be met by such action on the
part of the British authorities as might be necessary, while at the same time
Shaikh Salim was instructed to refrain from any provocative action, and invi
tations were issued to both rulers to a meeting at Basrah, at which the ques
tions at issue between them should be finally decided by His Majesty’s
Government.
At the meeting between the High Commissioner and Ibn Sa‘ud at Ojair at
the end of September, 1920, Ibn Sa‘ud expressed the strongest conviction, and
had some circumstantial evidence in support of it, tha,t Shaikh Salim was in
active communication with the Sharif and Ibn Rashid, with the purpose of
organising a combination against himself. /,
Such an intention was of course strictly denied by Shaikh Salim.
On the other hand the envoys sent by Faisal al Dawish to discuss terms in
Kuwait explicitly told the
Political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
there that they were acting under
orders from Bin Sa‘ud.
?!
I
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
- 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