The 1916 uprising in Hilla or the Akif incident was an Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1916.

Background

The Ottoman defeat in the

Battle of Shaiba The Battle of Shaiba (12–14 April 1915) was a battle of World War I fought between British and Ottoman forces, the latter trying to retake the city of Basra from the British. Background By capturing Basra, the British had taken an important ...

in April 1915 had damaged the authority of the Ottomans in the eyes of the Arabs, leading to an uprising in Najaf in May 1915. Following their victory, emissaries from Najaf began encouraging an uprising in Hilla.

Uprising

The uprising in Hilla took place in November 1916. The Ottomans put up a desperate fight in the city but found themselves outnumbered by waves of Bedouin and deserters. After the rebels captured the city, the Ottomans sent a punitive force of 4,000-6,000 troops under ‘Ākif Beg. On the 11th, Ākif wrote a letter to Hillah, claiming that he needed to cross the city to get to

Nasiriyah Nasiriyah ( ar, ٱلنَّاصِرِيَّة; United States Board on Geographic Names, BGN: ''An Nāşirīyah''; also spelled ''Nassiriya'' or ''Nasiriya'') is a city in Iraq. It is on the lower Euphrates River, Euphrates, about south-southeas ...

. He asked to meet the prominent people of the city to negotiate with them for permission to cross. When the leaders of the city, such as Muhammad ‘Ali al-Qazwini and others, met them, the Ottomans detained them and declared to the inhabitants of the city that if their crossing through the city to Nasiriyah was opposed, they would kill their hostages.

Aftermath

The residents abided by the Ottoman demands, but Akif reneged on his promise. Ottoman forces hung 128 or 126 people, carried of their women, and killed 1500 in all, as well as deporting "thousands" of people to

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

. This incident served to increase anti-Ottoman sentiment among Arab Shiites, some of whom came to Hilla to aid the rebels, but were too late. Al-Fatlah chieftain

Mudbir al-Far'un Mudbir al-Far'un (d. 1918) was a chieftain of the al-Fatlah tribe who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in 1913. British records describe him as having been "one of the best-known men on the Euphrates" in the 1910s. Biography Over the ...

condemned the Ottoman massacre: Muhammad ‘Ali al-Qazwini was spared by the Ottomans and lived until 1937.

References

{{reflist 1916 in Ottoman Iraq Battles of the Mesopotamian campaign Battles of World War I involving the Ottoman Empire Conflicts in 1916 Hillah Arab rebellions in Iraq November 1916 events

Hilla Hillah ( ar, ٱلْحِلَّة ''al-Ḥillah''), also spelled Hilla, is a city in central Iraq on the Hilla branch of the Euphrates River, south of Baghdad. The population is estimated at 364,700 in 1998. It is the capital of Babylon Province ...