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The Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of October 1922 was an agreement signed between the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
and Iraqi governments. The treaty was designed to allow for Iraqi self-government while giving the British control of Iraq's foreign policy. It was intended to conclude an agreement made at the
Cairo Conference The Cairo Conference (codenamed Sextant) also known as the First Cairo Conference, was one of the 14 summit meetings during World War II that occurred on November 22–26, 1943. The Conference was held in Cairo, Egypt, between the United Kingdo ...
of 1921 to establish a Hashemite Kingdom in Iraq. In the aftermath of the First World War, the former possessions of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
were divided between France and Britain, with the remainder becoming the present-day country of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. The former Ottoman provinces of
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
,
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
, and
Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
were proposed to become a
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
Class A mandate under direct British rule, known as the British Mandate for Mesopotamia. The general public in the region reacted negatively to the mandate, resenting the imposition of British control; this led to the
Iraqi revolt of 1920 The Iraqi revolt against the British, also known as the 1920 Iraqi Revolt or the Great Iraqi Revolution, started in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations by Iraqis, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman ...
, which caused the British to instead decide that the mandate territories would instead become the
Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq ( ar, المملكة العراقية الهاشمية, translit=al-Mamlakah al-ʿIrāqiyyah ʾal-Hāshimyyah) was a state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdo ...
. On 23 August 1921, Faisal ibn Hasayn was crowned as
Faisal I Faisal I bin Al-Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi ( ar, فيصل الأول بن الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, ''Faysal el-Evvel bin al-Ḥusayn bin Alī el-Hâşimî''; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of the Arab Kingdom of Syri ...
,
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...
of
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. Concurrently, the area acquired by the new kingdom was going through a period of political turmoil. Nationalists who believed that the expulsion of the Ottomans would lead to greater independence were disappointed at the system of government decided for the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. Rather than the people of the region gaining a new sense of national identity through self-government, the British imported civil servants from
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
who had previous knowledge and experience of how to manage the administration of an overseas possession. The Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1922 served to prevent uprisings in the intended new Kingdom of Iraq by giving Britain direct control of the kingdom's military, and significant influence over its economic and political affairs.


The Sykes-Picot Agreement

During the First World War, the
Sykes–Picot Agreement The Sykes–Picot Agreement () was a 1916 secret treaty between the United Kingdom and France, with assent from the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy, to define their mutually agreed spheres of influence and control in an eventual partiti ...
was struck between the foreign ministers of Great Britain and France on behalf of their respective governments on a vision of a post war division of the Ottoman Empire in which the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire (south and west of Anatolia) would be split into spheres of influence for the French and British.
That France and Great Britain are prepared to recognize and protect an independent Arab states or a confederation of Arab states (a) and (b) marked on the annexed map, under the suzerainty of an Arab chief. That in area (a) France, and in area (b) Great Britain, shall have priority of right of enterprise and local loans. That in area (a) France, and in area (b) Great Britain, shall alone supply advisers or foreign functionaries at the request of the Arab state or confederation of Arab states.


Insurgency

The Anglo-Iraqi Treaty was signed due mostly to the strenuous efforts of the people of the former Ottoman provinces, a coalition of both Sunni and Shia Arabs. Major centres of insurgency during what was later called the " Great Iraqi Revolution" of 1920 included, Baghdad, Najaf, and
Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...
. The insurgency effort in Karbala was inflamed by a ''
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
'' issued by the grand mujtahid, Imam Shirazi. This ''fatwa'' made the observation that it was contrary to the principles of Islam for the region to be ruled by the British, who did not practice Islam. The ''fatwa'' ordered a
jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with G ...
against the British forces of occupation. The Kurds of the northern part of the region also waged war against the British in the years following the signing and ratification of the treaty. They sought separation from newly created Iraq, aiming to establish a separate homeland for themselves. Their efforts at revolt were tempered by the British, in large part due to air-to-ground attacks conducted by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) a ...
, but the aid of other Kurds to defeat the revolt were of significant consequence.


The Cairo Conference

The Cairo Conference of 1921 would set the stage for greater Iraqi autonomy. The British appointed Faisal ibn Hasayn to lead the country as the first King of Iraq. Faisal was seen as a compromise between British interests in the country, and the revolutionary nationalists; he could trace his family lineage back to the Prophet Muhammad, as well as having participated in the 1916 Arab revolt against the Ottomans. For their part, the British saw Faisal as a dependable ally which would aid them in accomplishing their imperial goals.{{fact, date=June 2021


The Signing

The treaty was controversial in Great Britain because of a very strong ‘Quit Mesopotamia; (or 'Quit Iraq)’ movement. If Iraq did not ratify, Britain might have withdrawn from Iraq. The key player in obtaining the support was High Commissioner, Sir Henry Dobbs. He took full advantage of distance to make decisions and act in line with his own, not London’s approach. The treaty was signed on behalf of the British by Sir Percy Cox on 10 October 1922. However, it was not ratified by the Iraqi government until 1924. It was only when the Dobbs threatened to wield his authority to scrap the constitution, drafted by the Iraqi constituent assembly, that the treaty was finally ratified. It was seen with disdain by many of the people of the new Kingdom, both Sunni and Shia. While it was the first step towards complete independence from the imperial powers. Ann Wilks, "The 1922 Anglo-Iraq Treaty: A Moment of Crisis and the Role of Britain’s Man on the Ground." ''British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies'' 43.3 (2016): 342-359.


Suspension

The Treaty was eventually suspended upon the signing of the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930.


See also

*
Anglo-French Declaration The Anglo-French Declaration was published by Great Britain and France, shortly after the Armistice of Mudros saw the capitulation of the Ottoman Empire. Some sources mention as publication date 7 November 1918, others 9 November 1918.
*
Anglo-Iraqi Treaty (1930) The Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930 was a treaty of alliance between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British-Mandate-controlled administration of the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq. The treaty was between the governments ...
* British-Iraqi relations *
British Mandate of Mesopotamia The Mandate for Mesopotamia ( ar, الانتداب البريطاني على العراق) was a proposed League of Nations mandate to cover Ottoman Iraq (Mesopotamia). It would have been entrusted to the United Kingdom but was superseded by th ...
*
RAF Iraq Command Iraq Command was the Royal Air Force (RAF) commanded inter-service command in charge of British forces in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the period of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. It continued as British Forces in Iraq until ...
*
Faisal I of Iraq Faisal I bin Al-Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi ( ar, فيصل الأول بن الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, ''Faysal el-Evvel bin al-Ḥusayn bin Alī el-Hâşimî''; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria ...
*
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
*
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...


Notes

This article contains material from the
Library of Congress Country Studies The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the United States Library of Congress, freely available for use by researchers. No copyright is claimed on them. Therefore, they have been dedicated to the public domai ...
, which are
United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
publications in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
.


References and sources

*''The History Guy'

accessed on 13 April 2008. *''Encyclopaedia of the Orient'

accessed on 9 August 2007. *''Chronological Table of Middle East History'

accessed on 9 September 2007. *''Encyclopædia Britannica'

* Wilks, Ann. "The 1922 Anglo-Iraq Treaty: A Moment of Crisis and the Role of Britain’s Man on the Ground." ''British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies'' 43.3 (2016): 342-359. This article uses an image reproduced from http://www.passia.org with permission (Mahmoud Abu Rumieleh, Webmaster). Treaties of Mandatory Iraq Treaties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922) Interwar-period treaties Treaties concluded in 1922 Treaties entered into force in 1924 Iraq–United Kingdom relations Sykes–Picot Agreement Bilateral treaties of the United Kingdom