10 Facts About British Iraq

Civil government of postwar British Iraq was headed originally by the High Commissioner, Sir Percy Cox, and his deputy, Colonel Arnold Wilson.

The most striking problem facing the British Iraq was the growing anger of the nationalists, who continued to fight against the imposition of British Iraq authority.

The country was in a state of anarchy for three months; the British Iraq restored order only with reinforcements from India.

On 1 October 1922, the Royal Air Force elements stationed in British Iraq were reorganized into the RAF British Iraq Command, which came about partially as a result of the 1920 revolt.

The British Iraq then resorted to deploying the RAF, which suppressed the revolt.

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At the Cairo Conference of March 1921, the British set the parameters for Iraqi political life that were to continue until the 1958 revolution; they chose a Hashemite, Faisal ibn Husayn, son of Sherif Hussein ibn Ali former Sharif of Mecca as Iraq's first King; they established an Iraqi army ; and they proposed a new treaty.

The British Iraq saw in Faisal a leader who possessed sufficient nationalist and Islamic credentials to have broad appeal, but who was vulnerable enough to remain dependent on their support.

British Iraq's ancestors held political authority in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina since the 10th century.

The British believed these credentials would satisfy traditional Arab standards of political legitimacy; moreover, the British thought Faisal would be accepted by the growing Iraqi nationalist movement because of his role in the 1916 Arab Revolt against the Turks, his achievements as a leader of the Iraq emancipation movement, and his general leadership qualities.

In effect, the treaty ensured that British Iraq would remain politically and economically dependent on the UK.