Iraqi uprising in 1920

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The Iraqi uprising of 1920 was directed against the British occupation of Iraq. He began mass demonstrations in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 . The revolt spread to the Shiite areas on the middle and lower reaches of the Euphrates . Sheikh Mehdi al-Khalissi was a prominent Shiite leader of the uprising.

During the revolt, Sunni and Shiite religious institutions cooperated with tribal communities, the urban population and many Iraqi officers in Syria . Their goals were independence from British rule and the formation of an Arab government. Although the uprising was initially successful, the British were able to crush it by the end of October 1920. However, some uprising continued until 1922.

At the same time, the Kurds rebelled against the British in northern Iraq , as they too were striving for independence. Sheikh Mehmûd Berzincî was one of the leaders of the Kurdish revolt .

background

After the First World War , the idea of League of Nations mandates for the territories of the defeated Central Powers took concrete form at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 . The idea was based on the principle that these territories should ultimately become independent. Until then, they should be placed under the supervision of one of the victorious Entente powers. The inhabitants of Ottoman provinces rejected the mandate concept because, from their point of view, it meant nothing more than colonial rule under a different name.

At the Sanremo Conference in April 1920, Great Britain was given the mandate over what is now Iraq (then known as Mesopotamia in the western world ) and Palestine. In Iraq, the British sacked most of the former Ottoman officials. The majority of the new administration was made up of British civil servants. Many Iraqis feared integration into the British Empire . At the time, one of the most influential Shiite mujtahids , Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi al-Shirazi, issued a fatwa stating that the British administration was illegitimate. There was growing resentment over the new British regulations, such as land ownership laws, which angered the tribal leaders, and particularly the new tax to be paid on a funeral in Nedschef . In this place there were graves of Shiites from all over the world (cf. Wadi as-Salam ). Strategies for peaceful protests were discussed at meetings between Shiite ulema and tribal leaders, but violence was also considered if they were unsuccessful.

Course of the revolt

The displeasure with British rule was expressed in May 1920 with mass demonstrations in Baghdad. Peaceful protests consisted of gatherings in front of Sunni and Shiite mosques. The two major religious groups in Iraqi society protested in unison. At one of the largest gatherings, 15 representatives were appointed to bring the desire for Iraqi independence to the British authorities. The interim civil administrator Arnold Wilson dismissed their claims as impractical.

In June 1920 an armed uprising broke out. Ayatollah al-Shirazi issued another fatwa saying it was the duty of Iraqis to claim their rights. In doing this, they were supposed to maintain law and order. But if the English were to deprive them of their rights, they could resort to defensive measures. This fatwa appeared to support an armed insurrection. The British authorities hoped to prevent this and arrested a sheikh from the Zawalim tribe. Later, an armed group of loyal tribal warriors stormed the prison to rescue him. The revolt widened when the British garrisons on the central reaches of the Euphrates proved weak, while the tribes were significantly stronger. By the end of July, the tribal militias had largely taken control of the central Euphrates region. The success of the tribes extended the revolt to the areas on the lower reaches of the Euphrates and around Baghdad.

The then British War and Aviation Secretary Winston Churchill approved immediate reinforcements from Iran , including two squadrons of the Royal Air Force . The use of the air force shifted the advantage to the British side and played a large role in ending the uprising. There were also tribes who opposed the revolt because it was recognized by the British authorities and benefited from it. Eventually the rebels ran out of supplies and money. They could not afford the uprising much longer while the British troops became more powerful. The uprising ended in October 1920 when the rebels Najaf and Karbala ceded to the British authorities.

consequences

Between 6,000 and 10,000 Iraqis and around 500 British and Indian soldiers died in the fighting. The Royal Air Force flew missions for a total of 4008 hours, dropped 97 tons of bombs and fired 183,861 rounds. Nine pilots were killed, seven wounded and eleven aircraft were lost on enemy territory. The cost to the British government was £ 40 million, double the annual Iraq budget. It cost more than the entire British-funded Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire between 1917 and 1918. This helped British officials profoundly change their strategy in Iraq.

As the new Colonial Secretary , Winston Churchill decided that a new administration was needed in Iraq as well as in the British colonies in the Middle East. In March 1921 he convened a conference in Cairo at which the British discussed the future of Iraq. They wanted to control Iraq through more indirect means, such as using former officials who were friendly to the British government. The Hashemite Faisal , son of Hussein ibn Ali of the Hejaz , was to become king of Iraq. He had collaborated with the British in the Arab revolt and was on good terms with key officials. The authorities also felt that his position as King would discourage Faisal from continuing his actions against the French presence in Syria , which could strain British-French relations (Faisal had previously been proclaimed King Greater Syria by the Syrian National Congress , but then expelled by the French).

In Iraq, the insurrection became part of the national idea, although this conclusion is contested by scholars. The unprecedented cooperation between Sunnis and Shiites did not last after the end of the uprising.

See also

literature

  • Ian Rutledge: Enemy on the Euphrates: The British Occupation of Iraq and the Great Arab Revolt 1914–1921. Saqi Books, London 2014, ISBN 978-0-86356-170-2 .
  • Charles Tripp: A History of Iraq. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-87823-4 .
  • DK Fieldhouse : Western imperialism in the Middle East 1914–1958. Oxford University Press, Oxford / Toronto 2006, ISBN 0-19-928737-6 .
  • Spector S. Reeva, Tejirian H. Eleanor: The Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921. Columbia University Press, New York 2004, ISBN 0-231-50920-0 .
  • Ghassan R. Atiyyah: Iraq - 1908-1921: A Socio-Political Study. The Arab Institute for Research and Publishing, Beirut 1973, OCLC 586059175 .
  • Amal Vinogradov: The 1920 Revolt in Iraq Reconsidered: The Role of Tribes in National Politics. In: International Journal of Middle East Studies. Volume 3, No. 2 (April 1972), pp. 123-139, doi: 10.1017 / S0020743800024843 .
  • Peter Lieb : Suppressing Insurgencies in Comparison: The Germans in the Ukraine, 1918, and the British in Mesopotamia, 1920. In: Small Wars & Insurgencies. No. 23. 2012, pp. 627-647, doi: 10.1080 / 09592318.2012.709765 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ghassan R. Atiyyah: Iraq: 1908-1921 A Socio-Political Study. 1973, p. 307.
  2. ^ Charles Tripp: A History of Iraq. P. 40.
  3. ^ Charles Tripp: A History of Iraq. P. 41.
  4. ^ Amal Vinogradov: The 1920 Revolt in Iraq Reconsidered: The Role of Tribes in National Politics. P. 133.
  5. ^ Charles Tripp: A History of Iraq. P. 43.
  6. ^ Amal Vinogradov: The 1920 Revolt in Iraq Reconsidered: The Role of Tribes in National Politics. P. 135.
  7. ↑ ʻAbd-al-alīm Ar-Raḥīmī:تأريخ الحركة الاسلامية في العراق: الجذور الفكرية والواقع التاريخي (1900–1924)- Ta ' rīkh al-Harakah al-Islamiyah al fī ' Irāq. Al-judhūr al-fikrīyah wa-al-wāqi ' al-tārīkhī (1900-1924) . Ad-dār al-ʻālamiyyah, Beirut 1985, OCLC 755079503 , p. 219 (Arabic, dissertation on the history of the Islamic movement in Iraq, the spiritual roots and historical situation).
  8. ^ Amal Vinogradov: The 1920 Revolt in Iraq Reconsidered: The Role of Tribes in National Politics. P. 136.
  9. ^ Amal Vinogradov: The 1920 Revolt in Iraq Reconsidered: The Role of Tribes in National Politics. P. 137.
  10. ↑ Jonathan Glancey: Our last occupation - Gas, chemicals, bombs. Britain has used them all before in Iraq . In: The Guardian . April 19, 2003 ( theguardian.com [accessed May 16, 2012]).
  11. ^ Amal Vinogradov: The 1920 Revolt in Iraq Reconsidered: The Role of Tribes in National Politics. P. 138.
  12. ^ Amal Vinogradov: The 1920 Revolt in Iraq Reconsidered: The Role of Tribes in National Politics. P. 139.
  13. ^ Charles Tripp: A History of Iraq. P. 47.
  14. ^ Charles Tripp: A History of Iraq. P. 44.