![File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [‎65r] (138/687)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x000289/IOR_L_PS_10_755_0140.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [‎65r] (138/687)")
File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [65r] (138/687)
The record is made up of 1 volume (326 folios). It was created in 23 Oct 1918-2 Nov 1919. It was written in English, French and Arabic. 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.
nasiriyah.
From—The Notables of Nasiriyah (Muntafik Division).
T° Lt-Col. A. T. Wilson, C.M.G., C.I.E., D.S.O., 0%. Civil Cornmis-
sioner m Iraq, dated 24th Rabi‘-Awwal, 1337 (28-12-18)
Sir,
our own views on the future nf +1,1 ‘T^o i -^utish Government wanted
the following tCe que^ons:- q ’ reqmred fr0m ^ answers to
'' Is 7 1 | P 0SS] ble to detach the Mosul Vilayet from the ‘Irao ?
ft^ ^ ke an Ara b Amir under the British Government ?
(in) Who would be that Amir? ” governmentr
So we respectfully beg to lay the answers before your Honour as under: —
S1 ?i Ce ou ^ b^bood we have been hearing that the ‘Iraq is com-
posed of these three Vilayets—Basrah, Baghdad, and Mosul, whmh as a
whole are called the Iraq Their capital has always been Baghdad ’ Anv
how Mosul is attached to Baghdad, as Baghdad is watered bv Mosul S
Mosul gets food from Baghdad, by the sea Hade J ’ and
fro m \ e ;“v’ila a y n er Ver ^ ‘ Ira<1 should inched
In the beginning qf Islam, when ^war was waged between ‘Ali and
Mu awiyah Syna and its dependencies were under the control of Mu‘awiyah
denfreason^ 01, ^ M ° SUl ’ W&S controlled b y Ali. This is a suffi-
2. Regarding the appointment of an Arab Amir for the ‘Iraq, we all
the undersigned, feel highly honoured at this act of humanity, and deeply
g ateful and indebted to you for this idea. But this does not coincide with
our interests nor with the interests of the country of ‘Iraq in neneral be-
cause \ve see not a single man in ‘Iraq free from partiality and passion
. V could have found a man for this post had civilisation been rooted
m us lor a long period. Alas! Ignorance is prevalent among us, and if a
man ot us were made Amir he would make his Amirate a toy in his hands
Ihe state of affairs would then resemble those of Albania, during the reinn
of Asad
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
. I hose who know how matters stood then can realise the
disturbance and struggles which took place there. We, therefore do not
want an Amir because we are people of ‘Iraq, who are known as the most
faithless and hypocritical nation. If you are bent upon appointing an Arab
Amir, we would request you not to do it now, but after some years. When
you have handled and administered the ‘Iraq and Al-Jazirah, you will then
be able to decide whence an Amir should be selected, whether' from Mecca
Yemen, or Syria. It can be taken for granted that if the Amir were selected
from among the nobility of Al-Sa‘dun, the Sadat of Basrah would say that
they were more qualified for the post. Similarly, the people of Baghdad
would grumble at the appointment, and the same applies to the people of
Mosul and all the Arabs of Al-Jazirah. Ve should thus remain disputing
with each other until we died. So it is better for us that this question should
be left _aside for some time. We request the honour of Great Britain to
make other arrangements for the ‘Iraq. You are known for kindness to your
subjects, particularly to the Arabs, of whose present and past situation vou
are aware.
Our last request, which is the most important one, is that the affairs of
the Iraq may kindly be managed by His Honour, Sir Percy Cox, whom we
love Irom the bottom of our hearts, and from whom, during this war, we
have experienced nothing but justice, kindness, benevolence, and perfect
goodness, which, of course, are the essential requisites of good and sound
administration. We request the British Government to return him to us
and. to our brethren of ‘Iraq. We cannot adequately express our appre
ciation for his love and sympathy for the Arab Nation. We rely, in this
matter, upon the justice of the British Government.
. Having already fully dwelt upon the answer to the third question
m the second para, we have nothing more to add; but, in all these matters,
we trust in your.honour. May your grandeur endure.
[Signed by 271 tribal Shaikhs, Notables of the tonws and other persons of
importance^}
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, telegrams and minutes regarding the administration of, and situation in, Mesopotamia [Iraq] following the Asia Minor Agreement of 1916, more commonly known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, between the French and British governments, and the Anglo-French Declaration of November 1918. The volume also concerns the subject of self-determination in Persia [Iran].
The papers notably cover:
- Discussion of advance interpretations of the 1916 Agreement
- The Anglo-French Declaration of November 1918, which publicised their intentions and policy in the former Ottoman territories of Syria and Iraq
- Presentation of the 1918 Declaration to the President of the United States of America by the French Ambassador to the US, Jean Adrien Antoine Jules Jusserand
- Disagreement between the British and French visions of the future administration of Mesopotamia
- The situation in southern Kurdistan
- The 1919 Paris Peace Conference
- Apprehensions of the Baghdad Jewish community about the tenor of the Anglo-French Declaration, including a petition to the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, requesting to be made subjects of the British Crown
- Reaction to the Declaration from the across the Arab world
- Disagreement among the British over the form that Britain’s control in Mesopotamia should take
- The views of the principal sheikhs [shaikhs] of Mesopotamia on the 1918 Agreement
- Discussion among British officials of the benefits of control over Mesopotamia and the view of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, Arnold Talbot Wilson, on the situation in Mesopotamia
- Discussion of the potential candidates for the head of the new state of Iraq
- Reports on consultations with political and religious leaders and inhabitants from across Iraq on the future Government of Iraq
- The views of Sir Percy Cox and Arnold Wilson on the situation in Mesopotamia
- The question of the future political status of Mesopotamia, including the views of British officers serving in Syria and the Hejaz
- Discussion of the question of Iraqi self-determination.
Notable documents in this volume include:
- Text by Sir Percy Cox regarding ‘The Future of Mesopotamia’ (ff 308-310 and ff 270-272)
- Extracts from The Times , 26 November 1819, including a series of articles under the title ‘The Arab Campaign’ (ff 230-232)
- The statutes for the independence of Iraq (ff 127-130)
- A memorandum by Major W H Young regarding the future of Mesopotamia (ff 99-112)
- Copies of ‘Self-determination in Iraq’ in Arabic (ff 75-97) and English (ff 57-73).
The principal correspondents are: 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. , Political Department; the Governor-General of India; the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; the Military Governor and Political Officer, Baghdad; Government of India, Military Department, the French Ambassador to the United States; and the British Embassy, Paris.
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.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (326 folios)
- Arrangement
The contents of the volume are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
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 334; 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 mixed foliation/pagination 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 two anomalies: f 181a and f 181b.
- Written in
- English, French and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [65r] (138/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328443.0x00005c> [accessed 7 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100188328443.0x00005c
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100188328443.0x00005c">File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [‎65r] (138/687)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100188328443.0x00005c"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x000289/IOR_L_PS_10_755_0140.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x000289/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/755
- Title
- File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:127v, 128ar, 128r:175v, 176ar, 176r:181v, 181ar:181av, 181cr, 181br:181bv, 182r:182v, 186r:229v, 232v:325v, 327r:334v, 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