Mahmud Barzanji
Mosul Vilayet, Ottoman Iraq, Ottoman Empire | |
---|---|
Died | 9 October 1956 Baghdad, Iraq | (aged 77–78)
Burial | Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq |
Issue | Baba Ali Shaikh Mahmood (son, 1912–1996) |
Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji (
Background
After
In 1921, the British appointed Faisal I the King of Iraq. It was an interesting choice because Faisal had no local connections, as he was part of the
The Kurdish people of Iraq lived in the mountainous and terrain of the
In particular, the
The British government promised the Kurds during the First World War that they would receive their own land to form a Kurdish state. However, the British government did not keep their promise at the end of the war, leading to resentment among the Kurds.[7]
There was mistrust on the part of the
The British government attempted to establish a Kurdish protectorate in the region and so appointed a popular leader of the region,[8] which was how Mahmud became governor of southern Kurdistan.
Power and revolts
Mahmud was a very ambitious Kurdish national leader and promoted the idea of Kurds controlling their own state and gaining independence from the British. As Charles Tripp relates, the British appointed him governor of Sulaimaniah in southern Kurdistan as a way of gaining an indirect rule in this region. The British wanted this indirect rule with the popular Mahmud at the helm, which they believed would give them a face and a leader to control and calm the region. However, with a little taste of power, Mahmud had ambitions for more for himself and for the Kurdish people. He was declared "King of Kurdistan" and claimed to be the ruler of all Kurds, but the opinion of Mahmud among Kurds was mixed because he was becoming too powerful and ambitious for some.[9]
Mahmud hoped to create Kurdistan and initially the British allowed Mahmud to pursue has ambitions because he was bringing the region and people together under indirect British control. However, by 1920 Mahmud, to British displeasure, was using his power against the British by arresting British officials in the Kurd region and starting uprisings against the British.[10] As historian Kevin McKierman writes, "The rebellion lasted until Mahmud was wounded in combat, which occurred on the road between Kirkuk and Sulaimaniah. Captured by British forces, he was sentenced to death but later imprisoned in a British fort in Lahore."[11] Mahmud remained in India until 1922. In 1919 kurdish people had revolts against Britain army in Iraq which was controlled by British empire at the time after the kurdish leader shex Mahmud realized that British politics aren't great and aren't doing the things they were supposed to they revolt but lost then shex Mahmud was sentenced to be executed in Baghdad the British knew that it will make it worse so they send shex Mahmud to India which was British colony at time.
Return and second revolt
With the exile of the Sheikh in India,
Sir Percy Cox, a British military official and administrator to the Middle East especially Iraq, and Winston Churchill, a British politician, were at odds on whether to release the Sheikh from his exile and bring him back to reign in northern Iraq. That would allow the British to have better control over the hostile but important region. Cox argued that the British could gain authority in a region they recently evacuated, and the Sheikh was the only hope of gaining back a stable region.[12] Cox was aware of the dangers of bringing back the Sheikh, but he was also aware that one of the main reasons for the unrest in the region was the growing perception that the earlier promises of autonomy would be abandoned and the British would bring the Kurdish people under direct rule of the Arab government in Baghdad. The Kurdish dream of an independent state was growing less likely which caused conflict in the region.[13] Bringing the Sheikh back was their only chance of a peaceful Iraqi state in the region and against Turkey.
Cox agreed to bring back the Sheikh and name him governor of southern Kurdistan. On December 20, 1922, Cox also agreed to a joint Anglo-Iraqi declaration that would allow a Kurdish government if they were able to form a constitution and agree on boundaries. Cox knew that with the instability in the region and the fact that there were many Kurdish groups it would be nearly impossible for them to come to a solution.[14] Upon his return, Mahmud proceeded to pronounce himself King of the Kingdom of Kurdistan. The Sheikh rejected the deal with the British and began working in alliance with the Turks against the British. Cox realized the situation and in 1923 he denied the Kurds any say in the Iraqi government and withdrew his offer of their own independent state. The Sheikh was the king until 1924 and was involved in uprisings against the British until 1932, when the Royal Air Force and British-trained Iraqis were able to capture the Sheikh again and exile him to southern Iraq.[14]
Death and legacy
Sheikh sued for peace and was exiled in southern Iraq in May 1932 and was able to return to his family village in 1941 where he remained the rest of his years.[15] He ultimately died in 1956 with his family. He is still remembered today with displays of him around Iraqi Kurdistan and especially in Sulaimaniah. He is a hero to the Kurdish people to this day, as he is thought of as an pioneering Kurdish nationalist who fought for the independence and respect of his people.[16] He is regarded as a pioneer for many future Kurd leaders.[17]
See also
References
- ISBN 9780275968939.
- A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East. Henry Holt and Company.
- ^ BBC (25 April 2018). "Iraqi Kurdistan profile". BBC News.
- ^ Hashemites Family. "Hashemites". www.alhussein.jo.
- ^ Oltoman Empire. "The Mosul Vilayet". www.researchgate.net.
- ISBN 9780714650715.
- ^ World WAR I. "BRITISH LIES IN THE WORLD WAR I". www.worldfuturefund.org.
- ^ İki Hükümet Bir Teşkilat. "History" (PDF). www.historystudies.net.
- ^ Tripp, Charles. A History of Iraq. Cambridge Press, 2007. Page 33-34
- ^ Lortz, Michael. "The Kurdish Warrior Tradition and the Importance of the Peshmerga", Willing to face Death: A History of Kurdish Military Forces - the Peshmerga - from the Ottoman Empire to Present-Day Iraq, 2005-10-28. Pages 10–11
- ^ McKierman, Kevin. The Kurds. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2006. Page 31
- ^ Olson, Robert. The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalist and the Sheikh Sa'id Rebellion, 1880–1925. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989. Pages 60–61
- ^ Tripp, Charles. A History of Iraq. Cambridge Press, 2007. Page 53
- ^ a b McKierman, Kevin. The Kurds. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2006. Page 32
- ^ Tripp, Charles. A History of Iraq. Cambridge Press, 2007. Page 66
- ^ Library, CNN. "Kurdish People Fast Facts". CNN.
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has generic name (help) - ^ Nakhoul, Samia. "Iraqi Kurdish leader says no turning back on independence bid". U.S.