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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [17r] (42/687)
The record is made up of 1 volume (326 folios). It was created in 23 Oct 1918-2 Nov 1919. It was written in English, French and Arabic. 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.
5
wtolIy Sunni, and is
3 It would occasion without doubt acute heart-burnings in Syria.
Shi^and^Z^ whicZfZit'theZieS 6
allay. We have, therefore, in the Shaikh’^ n J every a dnimistration to
of the danger incurred by embarhino- on the an , exc . eI1 ent example
His candidature should/therefore be stonned 1 ^ ° f ^ Am - r b - v majority,
which I have prepared him that* ln‘o n a -^ °^ ce an intimation, for
Amir of Mesopotamia are“nconsistent P ° n “ a “ d «‘ a t of an
and moiZsuppZwhich rellZhZOdZurlTthelaZfr ° f thf> lo / aIty
mate separate proposals in this matter to Government in due course^' 1
Cai^^cOpy'toGZm/al^B^dal Delti ! TeI ‘ r “ ^rbur
despatch. ’ ^ ’ 10 ^ las no ^ seen telegram before
Political, Baghdad.
Telegram—P.
Prom Political, Baghdad.
Tc Secretary of State for India, London, repeated Foreign Delhi and Arbur
No. 11569.
Dated December 26th, 1918.
. Z e follo ™S tr ° m Political Officer, Mosul, is in reply to a circular
issued by me m conformity with your telegram dated November 28th.
“ Tl16 Present feeling in Mosul and the district is as follows- —
. A)
British.? urxuij.ua wxx
pro-French have now altered their opinionln alarmlTthe ide^of A^ab rSe
Ihe stories told by refugees from Aleppo, who say that the Arab flag is flying
there and the Arabs control the town to the exclusion of the British has
caused a feeling akm to consternation. ’
All classes of Christians now firmly favour direct control by the
In this are included Chaldeans and Catholics who though formerlv
h. have now nl+ererl flim'v r>Txi'm'wr. xi, • i .
(2) I have toured in the district of the Yezidis of Sinjar and found
alarm at the presence of an agent of the Sharif at Dair-az-Zor. They made
a formal demand that no Government post should be given in their area to
a Muslim.
. (3) At least half the population consists of Kurds, who inhabit two-
thirds of this division. They are strongly anti-Arab.
(4) The views of the country population is that though we have freed
them from Turkey, we have yet to liberate them from the tyranny of Mosul
landowners of whom the pro-Arab party consists and who are the only class
in favour of Arab Government.”
In continuation Colonel Leachman points out that Non-Muhammadans
and Non-Arabs are in great predominence in the Mosul Wilayat and in every
districts thereof. He considers that it would beHield a criminal act of be
trayal to apply Arab rule to this area.
I am in agreement with him, and do not doubt that it would meet with
forcible resistance from all except a few Arab Sunni landowners. The
opinion of Mosul is therefore in favour of a single state under British tute
lage stretching from the Northern boundary of the Mosul Wilayat to the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, so long as it is under direct administration by the British and
not under a titular Arab head. We could include, if desired, in such a state
Nestorians and other Christian communities between latitude 37 and 38.
Such a step would go far in the solution of the difficulties attending their
separate recognition.
Addressed to the Secretary of State for India, repeated to Foreign Delhi
and Arbur Cairo. Copy to General, Baghdad, who has not seen it before
issue.
Political, Baghdad.
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, telegrams and minutes regarding the administration of, and situation in, Mesopotamia [Iraq] following the Asia Minor Agreement of 1916, more commonly known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, between the French and British governments, and the Anglo-French Declaration of November 1918. The volume also concerns the subject of self-determination in Persia [Iran].
The papers notably cover:
- Discussion of advance interpretations of the 1916 Agreement
- The Anglo-French Declaration of November 1918, which publicised their intentions and policy in the former Ottoman territories of Syria and Iraq
- Presentation of the 1918 Declaration to the President of the United States of America by the French Ambassador to the US, Jean Adrien Antoine Jules Jusserand
- Disagreement between the British and French visions of the future administration of Mesopotamia
- The situation in southern Kurdistan
- The 1919 Paris Peace Conference
- Apprehensions of the Baghdad Jewish community about the tenor of the Anglo-French Declaration, including a petition to the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, requesting to be made subjects of the British Crown
- Reaction to the Declaration from the across the Arab world
- Disagreement among the British over the form that Britain’s control in Mesopotamia should take
- The views of the principal sheikhs [shaikhs] of Mesopotamia on the 1918 Agreement
- Discussion among British officials of the benefits of control over Mesopotamia and the view of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, Arnold Talbot Wilson, on the situation in Mesopotamia
- Discussion of the potential candidates for the head of the new state of Iraq
- Reports on consultations with political and religious leaders and inhabitants from across Iraq on the future Government of Iraq
- The views of Sir Percy Cox and Arnold Wilson on the situation in Mesopotamia
- The question of the future political status of Mesopotamia, including the views of British officers serving in Syria and the Hejaz
- Discussion of the question of Iraqi self-determination.
Notable documents in this volume include:
- Text by Sir Percy Cox regarding ‘The Future of Mesopotamia’ (ff 308-310 and ff 270-272)
- Extracts from The Times , 26 November 1819, including a series of articles under the title ‘The Arab Campaign’ (ff 230-232)
- The statutes for the independence of Iraq (ff 127-130)
- A memorandum by Major W H Young regarding the future of Mesopotamia (ff 99-112)
- Copies of ‘Self-determination in Iraq’ in Arabic (ff 75-97) and English (ff 57-73).
The principal correspondents are: 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. , Political Department; the Governor-General of India; the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; the Military Governor and Political Officer, Baghdad; Government of India, Military Department, the French Ambassador to the United States; and the British Embassy, Paris.
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.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (326 folios)
- Arrangement
The contents of the volume are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
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 334; 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 mixed foliation/pagination 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 two anomalies: f 181a and f 181b.
- Written in
- English, French and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [17r] (42/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328445.0x000035> [accessed 10 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/755
- Title
- File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:127v, 128ar, 128r:175v, 176ar, 176r:181v, 181ar:181av, 181cr, 181br:181bv, 182r:182v, 186r:229v, 232v:325v, 327r:334v, 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