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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [64r] (136/687)
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.
KUT.
No. 4 (a).
My opinion is as follows: —
-esJd] ^ ^
boundary of] the vilayet at Basrah. This would be otlrea^altantZ^
advantag-eous and fitting- in all respects that ‘Tran V u q ‘ ^ l 8 ’ therefore,
of the British Government, and TexUct thereL t remam ln tlle tailds
nation and our land. P tllereb y to secure progress for our
(Sd.) Muhammad Karim ibn Haji Famili,
President of the Municipality of Zurhatiyah.
mmmpoTtant variaZnl^’thft^diig^hZe been^ZlntePb “ • entir f l V
Shaikhs and notables.'] U UeCn V res ented by nine other
No. 4 (6).
NOTE BY A.P.O., ‘AZIZIYAH.
The people of the ‘Aziziyah district are not in favour nf t
government suggested by the Circular TW tT +u ^ tile form of
For the latter appointment the name of Sir™ cSiruntPmouslyTupporieT'
Mosul must be part of the new ‘Iraq State
No. 4 (c).
STATEMENT OF HAJI HASAN SHABBUT.
[Hereditary Shaikh of Kut. Many members of the family icere hanged by
the Turks.]
■ward* Deorde ’ ^7 ‘a 3 * 7 f e °J )Ie ° f ‘ Ira, l are a ^ b»ci-
ard people. They do not understand the art of Government. They have
not studied m schools or read histories. They know nothing of science and
modern ideas and inventions. We are not capable of this. In 70 or 80 years
e .'''V' 1 ", ' " arli ' ^'it as yet we cannot do this thing. Moreover we
trfbe d s 1V1 There 1 m ere t f 6 * Su ™ and Shi ‘ a H the townsfolk and’the
them wMl ft St :,0Mle outside authority to keep the peace between
of theslTl! the7 a * re aoq " lrm .f, education. If you set up anyone from any
from the Tor 0 k P T ! p r "w h ? ye nolle of him - You ha/o delivered us
,nwu 1 w ^ lU V, +^ lan \ G°d We do not want to set up a Government of our
flic h •+- e R W n 11 ^ ea ^ 0Ur b T ead 111 com f° r f and live under the protection of
the Brihsh Government. The British understand this business They are
But whv^lo vn7 er ’t 1USt 9 an v st ™ n Sb We do not understand this business.
5 • l° u . ask Jou have been sometime in this country, and have
he?e aP YoTmn,t t0 h P ° ht f 1Cal P a° StS in ‘^ arab ’ Na siriyah, Basrah and now
ere- lou must have formed some opinion for yourself. What is it?
mnrllnf p ave been a + t o M T 1 x lammarall ’ 1 llave y ou not ’ and seen Shaikh Khaz'aFs
idel of TT Go . verilme nt? It is true that he is half Persian, but he has Arab
the svsfp™ ^ a g °ii d e 110 ^ mal \ himself, but what about his governors and
Do you thBiWW^'f IS m a r H' e . SOld of . tllin g th at you want to set up?
U t 1 qi ^hat w °uld be doing justice by the people of ‘Iraq? Then
«me aldhaw EuWait ' l ^° s ° ^u were there in h“
d h t 1 J 16 ^-e was an unus ually capable ruler, but it all
with* ‘Ahd, J . h A^ Se !I o W , ha J t 18 F,™ 4 like no ' v? And it is just the same
what at b Arih P ^ h d and same with Ibn Rashid too. That is
h no ,? 0Teril ” eni 18 1 do tbink that want that. There
Sunnnrters h,,/ 1 , W ‘'i! "2 11 !' 1 , be , acceptable to anyone but his immediate
upporters, and no Arab official who could enforce his orders any more than
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
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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [64r] (136/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328444.0x0000c2> [accessed 10 June 2026]
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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