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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [49r] (106/995)
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.
' No.
31323/3,.
54 / 102 .
Office of the High Commissionbh,
Baghdad the KHh November, 1920.
To—G.E.Q. (2 copies).
MEMORANDUM.
Reference yonr No. 0/4150/6, dated 8tli October, 1920.
As invited in the postcript to your Memo. I propose to make this report
supplementary to that forwarded to you under cover of Civil Commissioner’s
No. 27355/54/108, dated the 21st September, 1920, and to insert in it matter
omitted from that report which might have been incorporated in it.
It will be convenient if I deal with events in each Division separately,
so far as possible.
Mosul Division.
Events connected with the outrage at Tal Afar which took place early
in June were reported to you under cover of Civil Commissioner s Memo.
No 19462/66/63, dated the 1st July, 1920. Thereafter for some time, as
always after a display of military vigour on our part the Mosul Division
enioved a period of comparative tranquility, which was fortunate, m that
it made possible the transfer of troops from that region to the Euphrates,
where they were very badly needed.
But the lull was not to last long. Certain of the Aghas of Tal Afar and
Dikiis of the surrounding tribes, who became fugitives from justice on the
re-occupation of S Taf Afar, lost no time in getting themselves into touch with
the Turkish authorities at Jazirat ibn Umar, who have always been intense y
hostile to us. Chief among these outlaws were : —
Bulaibil Shaikh of A1 Bu Hamad.
Abdur Rahman Agha of lal Afar.
Muhammad, Shaikh of Gargari.
Bilal Agha.
Yunis ibn Bulaibil.
The authorities at Jazirat gave these persons a f ^^ ^ ^
rifles, ammunition, bombs and money and thus fortified they set to work to
carry out a series of raids in the Mosul area,
retails of these raids are as follows: —
No.
Date.
Locality.
Yictims.
Perpetrator.
t
15-7-20.
Tal Afar road ten
miles from Mosul.
Christian contractor killed.
Bulaibil.
2
3
21-9-90.
Turmarat
Dohuk Road.
1 woman 1 killed .
1 boy )
1 man wounded.
Some animals wounded and
driven off.
150 head of cattle carried ot.
Abdur Rahman Agha.
Bombs were used by
raiders.
Bulaibil.
As a counter to these movements on the 23rf and 25 & J^tonber a
Qara/ were
found to be armed with machine guns, and the attack was not inessed home
hufit had some effect in raising the spirits of our supporters. Hajji Abdul
Aziz of Hassiran and Sulaiman Agha Gar-garr were the most prominent on
our side These men and their followers were in the held against us m June
and their conduct on this occasion—though collusion has since ex
pected— reflects credit on Lt. Chirtin An air reconnaissance on die -9th
September found the Qara Click Dagh vacated by the enemy.
The movement of small columns in different parts of the Division pro
duced a good effect (during September—mde your 1/28 dated 6th Oct e ,
1920—but with the constant fomentation afforded from Jazirat iide n y
No. 30166/66/63, dated 25th October. 1920—m October the trouble bioke
out again. -
On the 24th October another raiding party under Bulaibil unsuccess
fully attacked a convoy between Shurah and Hammam Ah and having been
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
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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [49r] (106/995), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/761, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100137804985.0x00006b> [accessed 23 June 2026]
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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