'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎39r] (82/470)

The next stage was the appointment of regular Government Agents with Police
and Revenue staffs. This was in August 1917, Hamid Khan being sent to Naiaf,
Sarkis Effendi to Kufah, and Saiyid Mahmud Tabaqchali to Abu Sukhair. All did
very fine work in the difficult task of asserting their authority in the face of the
former lucrative local autonomy. In Najaf itself, however, the hold of the Shaikhs
wa f ^ 0 ° was 80011 apparent that effective Government control would
not be established without covert, and probably open, opposition.
In October 1917, Capt. F. 0. C. Balfour was appointed Political Officer, Sham-
iyah, and took up his headquarters in Kufah.
at antagonism of the Najaf Shaikhs was soon shown in the first week of
November 1917. High food prices in Najaf coincided with the arrival of a number
o± Amzah to buy gram. Orders were given to the Najaf Shaikhs to recover the
property stolen from the ‘Anizah within 15 days. On 20th November, at the
expiration of the allotted period, Haji c Atiyah Abu Qulal, one of the Shaikhs
concerned, rather than undertake to pay his share of the unrecovered loot, organised
riots, which M t° looting and destruction of both Government and private property
at ^ajaf and Abu Sukhair. The period of open lawlessness passed rapidly, and did
leac ^ to mu ^ 1 l rou ble on the part of the tribes, except on the reach between
Shmanyah and Samawah, when there was a recrudescence of the practice of taking
exorbitant tisyar or blackmail from boats passing up and downstream with
goods. Hie experience of later events has shown that the cause of the riots as
described above was a mere pretext, and that the incident was only the first of
several deliberate attempts to overthrow Government control.
About the beginning of January a few troops arrived in Kufah. This did not
improve matters. It is probable that their small numbers only confirmed the
Najafis in their belief that we were hard-pressed elsewhere, and about the middle
of January a cavalry patrol round the walls of Najaf was fired upon from the ‘Amarah
quarter, and two casualties resulted. The loyal Shaikhs were summoned to Kufah
on the 14th January, in order that they might co-operate and use their influence
both to hand over the culprits and to quieten the situation.
Atiyah Abu Qulal and Karim ibn Haji Sa‘ad were, however, now openlv
inciting the people to rebellion, and an aeroplane which appeared over the city was
fired upon from all four quarters. Government officials and the offices in the city
were attacked, and the officials were obliged to evacuate the town for Kufah.
The arrival of a battalion of troops at Kufah, however, improved the situation;
and ‘Atiyah and Karim, failing to rouse the people and seeing the obvious intention •
of Government to take energetic action, on the night of the 19th bolted with a few
armed men.
The result of these events was the imposition of a fine of Rs. 50,000 and 500
rifles on the town, and a demand for the surrender of ‘Atiyah and Karim, who were
declared outlaws. In default, the town was to be blockaded at once. The Shaikhs
were made responsible for the payment of the fine. Here, again, the result was
unfortunate, as the Shaikhs at once used their power to exact large sums of money
from those of the population who were wealthy and innocent, and finally paid over
the fine, not one penny of which had they paid themselves, and the required quantity
of old and useless rifles. ‘Atiyah and Karim were not in the town, so the last
condition was waived.
Capt. Marshall arrived in Najaf as A.P.O. on 1st February, and took up his
residence in ‘Atiyah’s Khan outside the walls, which had been confiscated to
Government when he was declared an outlaw. Events outwardly progressed quietly,
considerable reforms were introduced, and the allowances to the Shaikhs of the town
were discontinued. The sole untoward event was the flight of the three sons of
‘Atiyah, after they had promised to go and take up their residence at Baghdad.
They were declared outlaws.
Rumours, however, as to our imminent defeat and the approach of the Turks
again became current. At the same time, the troops at Kufah were withdrawn to
Hillah.
On the morning of the 19th March, a number of Najafis disguised as Shabanah
obtained admittance to ‘Atiyah’s Khan and, after disposing of the sentry, murdered
Capt. Marshall and severely wounded the Labour officer who was with him. The
Punjabi guard drove out the insurgents. Capt. Balfour arrived from Kufah and
entered the town. Though heavily fired upon, he succeeded in evacuating half of
the Police, two of whom were shot dead in the bazaar, and the remainder took refuse
in the house of Saiyid Mahdi al Saiyid Salman.