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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [61r] (130/687)
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.
SAIYID MUHAMMAD BARAK AT.
lo my mind that you are Government and shrmlrl prvmo j i
me what kind of Government I want in ‘Iran denntps on + ° aI1( ^ as ^
of affairs—it is quite unheard of wLt W ^ ^ extraordinary state
g wr u a^«.rr^ h to beW^
their o b ™ d h b ands.° Se am0ngst Us ' vll ° were darin « ^ouffh to take the law into'
r U ^ on ’ 2> n °^ ler ^ an dj have been here four years, and I cannot sav tlmt
I have suffered at your hands or that you have allowed others to make te
suhei (although you commandeered my house in Basrah, V ou know but that
i S emat m Yo^ ti^o ** ^ T establis ^ ^re you mtt'
lemam. ^ You simply can t go _ away and leave us in the lurch. Good
Heavens . TV hat would happen if you went and left us to ourselves!
M A 8 f ° r w ir v 1 dead ag f T inst tllem - Ibn Rashid was an Amir and a
Miisulman, but when he came to Iraq he murdered all he found and plundered
and “alkh oThuhammarah 16 ^ ^ the Sa ‘ dunS an<1 Saiyid Talibs
the risk ^ Amir be & terrible dan 8’ er to and we don’t want to run
• i ¥ B 1 ri ^ sl1 Government go on governing as it is doing now. Let ‘Irao
include Mosul, Baghdad and Basrah. We have been fairly comfortable since
you came here lou are rich and powerful and will soon develop the country
and make our fortunes. Everyone is happy now. Therefore carry on.
HAJI MAHMUD
PASHA
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
.
I am now an old man and have kept away from politics. I am always
ready to do my best for the Government of my country. The Turks asked ‘for
my help in connection with Sanniyah and I gave it; that they were satisfied
with my services is proved by the fact that I received many decorations at
their hands. I
I am very pleased to give my opinion and highly appreciate the honor
you do me in asking for it.
We Arabs as you know are all divided and selfish; we look to our own
interest first. You would be pushing us into bankruptcy if you gave us our
freedom and let us do as we like.
I have seen the Turkish Government and I have seen your Government
for the last five years. You have laboured under the difficulties of being suU
ject to the Military authorities, and that naturally enough, as in War, he of
brute force must be top dog.
With the Turks, bad men had their own way and we were subjected to
many indignities at their hands. Whereas under you these bad men have
been kept under control and we breathe more freely.
The British Government must remain in its present form. Mosul,
Baghdad, Basrah, should together under it form the state of ‘Iraq.; but
although the three Wilayats must be under one supreme head (which should
be British) each Wilayat under its British Political Officer should retain its
freedom from the other two in matters of their own internal administration.
You are very wise to ask each man separately and confidentially for his
opinion. Believe me if you had a big Majlis you would never have obtained
any man’s sincere opinion. You English people do not understand our ways.
We consider that we owe deference and respect to people who are more
important socially than ourselves.
In a Majlis if a big man got up and proposed something we should feel
bound, by a sort of feeling of courtesy mingled with a certain amount of fear,
to agree with all he said. Besides owing to natural shyness few would care
to put forward their own views.
Go and speak to each one privately and confidentially: they will speak
more freely and give you their views.
It would be a bad thing to appoint an Amir. Nobody wants one and there
is no one for the job.
As for Khaz‘al, please don’t appoint him; it would be fatal.
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' [61r] (130/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328445.0x000088> [accessed 22 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