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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [142r] (294/995)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Telegram—Code.
From—Civil Commissioner, Baghdad.
To—India Office, London.
No. 9268.
Dated 31st July, 1920.
Reuters July 6 th mentions reply by Prime Minister to Hayward re total
persons of all grade from Civil Services in India.
Figures given for superior grades are correct.
Figures for inferior grades are as follows: —
Political
Accounts and Audit
Irrigation
Agriculture
Police
Education
Judicial
Health
J ails
Customs
Public Works
Posts and Telegraphs
30
15
15
8
12
1
1
1
1
12
92
1,092
Total 1,280
Reduction in last figure by substitution of local personnel will probably
be at rate of one-fifth per annum.
Telegram—P. Clear Line.
From—Secretary of State for India, London.
To—Civil Commissioner, Baghdad.
No. 111.
Dated 2nd and received 5th August, 1920.
Please telegraph a fuller appreciation of the causes and objective of the
risino-. Is it organised as suggested in your Police reports d^ted June 5th and
June” 12th by extremists elements in Baghdad, or is it due to local causes
agrarianism or others. Until the promoters of the rebellion and their
objects are known it is impossible to suggest a remedy.
Telegram—Cypher R.
To—India Office, London.
p 1 rom —Civil Commissioner, Baghdad.
No. 9450.
Dated 5th August, 1920.
Your telegram of August 2nd.
CAUSES OF PRESENT RISING.
My telegrams for last 18 months have recorded steady inflow of propa
ganda from Syria and to a less degree from Turkey supported by ample funds.
See particularly my telegram of May 15th, 5803. _ So long as our Mi itaiy
weakness was not apparent this propaganda, the objects of which were largely
foreign to ideas of people at largeJiad little success except m Baghdad Kar
bala and Najaf where leaders have always been more or less^m sympathy with
idea of purely Islamic State, vide my telegram of January 26th 1919, 10(6.
It was not however until our enemies in Syria demonstrated to the people
of Mesopotamia that we could be dislodged by armed force that the moyement
became dangerous. We successively evacuated Dair-az-/or AlbuKa a
A1 Qaim, on each occasion under pressure from the Syrian Govemme .
Trains were derailed between Baghdad and Mosul and our Officers were
murdered at Tel Afar. Public confidence m our ability to maintain ordei
beoan to wane. Extremists began to hope that they might be successful m
attaining their object, viz., complete independence and freedom from all
foreign interference by direct action. Karbala and subsequently Tsajat be-
canJthe principal centres of agitation. (It will b % r f q me ,^“ a ^ in *°
deport a number of men from Karbala m September, 1919, to prevent a rising,
and Najaf was the scene of disturbances m 1918).
The arrest ot Mirza Muhammad Eiza and others at Karhala in June and
of certain minor personages at Hillah stabilized the situation m the Hillah
About this item
- 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 View the complete information for this record
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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [142r] (294/995), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/761, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100137804986.0x00005f> [accessed 10 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/761
- Title
- File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:89v, 89ar:89av, 90r:113r, 114v, 118v:120r, 121v, 127v:169v, 173r:192v, 194r:211v, 213r:223v, 225r:227r, 229r:261v, 262v:263v, 266r:279v, 280ar, 280r:293v, 294v, 295v:317v, 318ar, 318r:333v, 334v:341v, 342v:359v, 360v:400v, 404r:424v, 425ar, 425r:489v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence