There is a famous Russian proverb, “Your eyes look like Baghdad, beautiful even in sadness”.
I recently posted this on social media - In an interview on the television program “The Black Box”, former Iraqi MP Faiq Al-Sheikh stated that Iraq once ruled large parts of the Arabian Peninsula, its influence extending to Qatar and beyond. I attached to the post an interview with Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Essa, in which he highlights a fact unknown to many: “Iraq, with its current cities and borders, did not exist until 1920, when it was created by the British occupiers, who appointed Faisal bin Ali as its King. Faisal had previously been the king of Syria briefly before France, the colonial power in Syria, opposed his rule. He was the brother of Prince Abdullah bin Hussein, the Emir of the Emirate of Transjordan, which later became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Abdullah and Faisal were both sons of Sharif Hussein bin Ali, the King of Hejaz, whom King Abdulaziz bin Saud defeated. The British arranged for Sharif Hussein’s exile to the island of Cyprus. After Faisal lost the throne of Syria, Britain compensated him with the throne of Iraq, based on the recommendations of the British Governor of Iraq, Sir Percy Cox, and the Englishwoman Gertrude Bell. I have previously discussed Gertrude Bell’s fascination with Iraq in two earlier articles, highlighting her puzzling and influential role in selecting Faisal as King of Iraq.
Although she held no official political position, she may have acted as an agent of MI6, which was established in 1906. What applies to the name “Bilad al- Sawad” (Land of the Two Rivers), or Mesopotamia, which became Iraq, also applies to many other countries, near and far, whose names have changed, cities have been redefined, borders have been redrawn, and new systems of government, whether republics, monarchies, or others, have been adopted. Therefore, what I have mentioned should not be viewed as an insult to Iraq’s history or as a denial of our brotherly neighbor’s heritage.
It is simply a well-documented historical reality. Before 1920, and long before the establishment of the Iraqi state and the coronation of Faisal as its king, there was no country called Iraq encompassing Baghdad, Mosul, Basra, Sulaymaniyah, and other cities, with a recognized government and internationally acknowledged borders. The region consisted of separate provinces, cities, and areas inhabited by Kurds, Turks, and others.
From 1800 to 1919, the entire area was part of the Ottoman Empire, with partial autonomy granted to the provinces of Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul. From 1747 to 1831, Circassian Mamluk officers ruled the region, achieving relative independence from the Ottoman Sultan. During this period, they successfully suppressed tribal revolts and restored order and stability. This rule ended with Ottoman intervention, which reasserted direct control over Mesopotamia. During World War I, Britain occupied the Sawad, the fertile lands of Iraq, and the rest of Mesopotamia, bringing Ottoman rule to an end.
By 1918, Britain had established a military administration under the command of Sir Percy Cox, during which time there were some limited uprisings. Therefore, any claim that a state called Iraq controlled any region, or that any land or country was subordinate to it in modern times, or at least in the past 200 to 300 years, cannot be supported by historical reality. If subordination or occupation did occur, it was most likely limited to specific provinces, such as Basra, which were subject to or dependent on other colonial powers. This invalidates any claims of subordination. Consequently, it is impossible to name any king, president, or leader of Iraq before King Faisal I. The reason is straightforward - the state of Iraq as we know it today, with its current cities and borders, did not exist.
By Ahmad alsarraf
e-mail: [email protected].
e-mail: [email protected].
