![File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [‎13r] (34/995)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x00028f/IOR_L_PS_10_761_0034.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [‎13r] (34/995)")
File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [13r] (34/995)
The record is made up of 1 volume (491 folios). It was created in 28 Jun 1920-11 Feb 1921. It was written in English. 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.
©
The quiescence of the Gharaff tribes forebade the Hjurrah
from embarking on a heroic policy such as marching against
Nasiriyah and the local firebrands were obliged to confine
their activities to places within arm*s length. The first
plan decided upon was to bund the Euphrates in the Mazliq
channel not far from where it empties into Hammer Lake.
Palm logs, reeds rope and labour were duly assembled and
work went on until a bund with a twelve feet square section
was thrown a third way across the river. The originator
of this plan was alleged to be Mirza Anaiyah of the Murrain
the leading mujtahid of the Akhbariy&h sect. Aeroplanes
were sent and letters dropped on this worthy’s village
inviting him to use his influence towards the ceasing of
these unfriendly operations. The Mumnin villagers rightly
deduced that where letters fell, bombs could also fall, so
they collected round their *Alim and invited him to
choose between (l) loosing their services for they all of
them proposed moving within three days, or (II) changing
his intention of bunding the channel. Aether the
ultimatum had any effect, or whether there were inherent
Engineering difficulties in the bunding scheme, is not
known, but operations ceased from that moment. Meanwhile
the dredger and plant, till then working in the Hammar Lake
had been conducted without mishap to Kurnah by Shaikh Salim
al Khaiyun.
At this point the Suq-al-Shuyukh malcontents
decided to take out their tents to the marshes south of
Suq-al-Shuyukh and ea»ly in October two cwips sprung up,
one at Um al Sulabik and the other near Khamisiyah. The
objective was the Railway line. Sorties v/ere to be made
out on to the Jalibah - Tal Lahm section with a view to
cutting telegraph and rail communication. By this time
however troops were arriving and blockhouses at points
every 800 y»*ds along the Railway sprung up to warn
raiders of a warm reception. Despite this raids were made,
almost invariably however, without any success for only
once was telegraphic communication cut and then the
About this item
- Content
The volume consists of correspondence, memoranda, drafts, and departmental notes relating to rebellion against British mandatory rule in Mesopotamia [approximately corresponding to present-day Iraq], later known as the Iraqi Revolt of 1920.
The volume covers the period from the start of unrest in May 1920 to British imposition of control in October of the same year. The majority of the volume comprises reports from political officers across Mesopotamia on the situation in their respective divisions and districts.
Other matters discussed within the volume include:
- The suspected causes of the uprising, including fears of ‘Bolshevik’ and pro-Turkish influence
- Settlement of the border between Syria and Mesopotamia
- Military strategy and operations, including the need for reinforcements
- The severing of British lines of communication, particularly rail
- The efficacy and principles of the use of armoured cars and air raids as means of control following numerous cases of misidentification and disproportionate force that resulted in the deaths and injuries of innocent people
- Political and civil policy in the region
- Identification and arrest of some of the leaders of the rebellion
- The prominence of events in Mesopotamia in the British press
- The question of disarming the tribes following the suppression of the rebellion.
Principal correspondents include officials at: 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. ; the Office of the Civil Commissioner in Mesopotamia (from November 1920, the High Commissioner); the War Office; General Headquarters of the military in Mesopotamia; and the Government of India, Foreign and Political and Army departments.
The volume contains cuttings from several publications, including: The Times , The Statesman , The Observer , The Daily Herald , The Daily Mail , The Baghdad Times , and The Near East .
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. A second divider is included, for File 4722/1918 Part 7, entitled ‘Mesopotamia: Sir A. Wilson’s invitation to Syrian Baghdadis’. This was transferred to File 5268/20 Parts 1 and 2 (see IOR/L/PS/10/913).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (491 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in approximate chronological order, from the rear to the front.
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 489; 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 foliation 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 one foliation anomaly, f 89a.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [13r] (34/995), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/761, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100137804985.0x000023> [accessed 8 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100137804985.0x000023
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_100137804985.0x000023">File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [‎13r] (34/995)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100137804985.0x000023"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x00028f/IOR_L_PS_10_761_0034.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_100000000419.0x00028f/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/761
- Title
- File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:89v, 89ar:89av, 90r:113r, 114v, 118v:120r, 121v, 127v:169v, 173r:192v, 194r:211v, 213r:223v, 225r:227r, 229r:261v, 262v:263v, 266r:279v, 280ar, 280r:293v, 294v, 295v:317v, 318ar, 318r:333v, 334v:341v, 342v:359v, 360v:400v, 404r:424v, 425ar, 425r:489v, 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