Iraqi Revolt
The Iraqi Revolt began in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations by Iraqis, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman Army, against the British who published the new land ownership and the burial taxes at Najaf. The revolt gained momentum when it spread to the largely tribal Shia regions of the middle and lower Euphrates. Sheikh Mehdi Al-Khalissi was a prominent Shia leader of the revolt. Using heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, the uprising was suppressed by the British.[8]
Sunni and Shia religious communities cooperated during the revolution as well as tribal communities, the urban masses, and many Iraqi officers in Syria.[9] The objectives of the revolution were independence from British rule and the creation of an Arab government.[9] The revolt achieved some initial success, but by the end of October 1920, the British had suppressed the revolt, although elements of it dragged on until 1922.
Background[edit]
In 1918, an anti-British rebellion took place in the Iraqi city of Najaf, which is often seen as a precursor to the 1920 Iraqi revolt.[10]
After the Peace Treaty of Versailles in 1919 after World War I, the idea put forward by the League of Nations to create mandates for the territories that the defeated Central Powers had occupied began to take shape. The principle was that the territories should eventually become independent, albeit under the tutelage of one of the victorious Entente countries.[11] People in Ottoman provinces began to fear the Mandate concept since "it seemed to suggest European imperial rule by another name".[11]
At the San Remo Conference in April 1920, Britain was awarded the Mandate for Mesopotamia, as Iraq was called in the Western world and a mandate for Palestine. In Iraq, the British administration fired most of the former Ottoman officials, and the new administration had mainly British officials. Many Iraqis began to fear that Iraq would be incorporated into the British Empire. One of the most eminent Shia mujtahid, Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi al-Shirazi, then issued a fatwa "declaring that service in the British administration was unlawful".[12] There was growing resentment toward new British policies, such as new land ownership laws.[13] This upset tribal leaders, especially when it came to a new tax for burial in the Wadi-us-Salaam Cemetery in Najaf, where Shia from worldwide came to be buried.[14] Meetings between Shia ulema and tribal leaders discussed strategies for peaceful protests, but they considered violent action if they failed to get results.[12]
Aftermath[edit]
2,050[5] to 10,000[6] Iraqis and around 1,000 British and Indian soldiers died during the revolt.[16][7] The RAF flew missions totaling 4,008 hours, dropped 97 tons of bombs and fired 183,861 rounds for the loss of nine men killed, seven wounded and 11 aircraft destroyed behind rebel lines.[6] The revolt caused British officials to drastically reconsider their strategy in Iraq. The revolt cost the British government 40 million pounds, which was twice the amount of the annual budget allotted for Iraq and a huge factor in reconsidering their strategy in Iraq.[55] It had cost more than the entire British-funded Arab rising against the Ottoman Empire in 1917–1918.[6]
The new Colonial Secretary, Winston Churchill, decided a new administration was needed in Iraq as well as the British colonies in the Middle East so-called for a large conference in Cairo. In March 1921 at the Cairo Conference, British officials discussed the future of Iraq. The British now wanted to control Iraq through more indirect means, mainly by installing former officials friendly to the British government. They eventually decided to install Faisal I bin Al-Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi as King of Iraq,[56] as part of what was informally called the Sharifian Solution. Faysal had worked with the British before in the Arab Revolt during World War I and he enjoyed good relations with certain important officials.[16] British officials also thought installing Faysal as king would prevent Faysal from fighting the French in Syria and damaging British-French relations.[56]
For Iraqis, the revolt served as part of the founding of Iraqi nationalism although this conclusion is debated by scholars. It also showed unprecedented co-operation between Shia and Sunni Muslims, although this co-operation did not last much longer than the end of the revolt.[57]