Mesopot: Britain's Post-WWI Nation-Building of Iraq [audio 15min]

"Empire" 84th of 90: Until 1947, the biggest single grouping of Muslims in the world was the British Empire. Parts of the Middle East including Egypt, Sudan, some sub-Saharan African and the Indian sub-continent were all British-controlled territories. India's (then) 80 million or so Muslims recognized the Turkish Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the Caliph of the Faithful. So millions of Indians served one imperial emperor while spiritually acknowledging the religious lordship of another. During WWI the British encouraged an Arab revolt against the Turks — the Ottomans. The revolt started in June 1916, but most Arabs in the important provinces of Basra, Baghdad and Mosul did not support the British-backed leader of the rebellion, the Sherif of Mecca. The revolt was not a success. During this period, the British had invaded Mesopotamia (Iraq) because, among other considerations, they they believed intervention would stretch German and Turkish resources. In spite of dreadful conditions of heat and disease, they secured southern Iraq. But when General Sir Charles Townshend decided to assault Baghdad, his army was defeated and retreated to Kut-al-Amaya. There it was besieged by the Turks for 5 months when 9,000 British and Indian troops surrendered. In 1917 General Stanley Maude re-organized the army and took Baghdad. The mandate to stay in Iraq came through the post-war treaties when the French were given a mandate to run Lebanon and Syria, and the British, Iraq and Palestine. In 1921 a conference was held in Cairo to decide the future of Iraq. The Colonial Secretary was Winston Churchill, who rightly believed that Britain couldn't afford to defend Iraq and thought, if he could show big savings, it would help his ambition to be Chancellor of the Exchequer. The conference chose Faisal (1885-1933), the Hashemite son of Sherif Hussein ibn Ali, as Iraq's first king. Thomas Edward Lawrence — Lawrence of Arabia — (1888-1935) was at the Cairo conference — reluctantly, perhaps — and supported Faisal from his personal knowledge and friendship. Lawrence was from an Anglo-Irish family, although born in Wales. After Oxford and until 1914, he worked with the archaeology team led by Sir Flinders Petrie on the banks of the Euphrates. Lawrence, therefore, was an ideal candidate for military intelligence in the Middle East. He took part in the Arab Revolt led by Faisal, but he failed to get what he wanted for Arabs at the Cairo Conference, which introduced a 20-year plan that would let Faisal rule but with British advice. In August 1921 Faisal became king and the British ruled. Lawrence, although famous, joined the RAF in 1922 under the pseudonym John Hume Ross. He was exposed and so left to join the army. He died in a motorcycle accident in Dorset. His most famous writings are in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom."This Sceptred Isle: Empire" is a narrative history of the British Empire from Ireland in the 12th century to the independence of India in the 20th, told in 90 programmes written by historian Christopher Lee and narrated by actor Juliet Stevenson. ~Visit website to listen again to 5 most recent episodes, plus interactive maps and timeline, biographical dictionary, image galleries, quizzes, sources, resources, listeners' comments.