| Period or Event | Time-Frame | Overview |
| Mandate for Iraq | April 1920 | The Mandate for Iraq was awarded to Great Britain at the San Remo Conference in April 1920. This justified Iraqi fears of European imperial rule, no matter how indirect, as well as pride concerns of their own administrative and political leaders being belittled. |
|---|---|---|
| Denouncing the Mandate | May 1920 | Coalitions began to form against Iraq’s incorporation into the British Empire. In the Shi’i city of Karbala, Ayatollah al-Shirazi issued a fatwa declaring it unlawful to serve in the British administration. The Shi’i ‘ulama and tribal Shaikhs of the mid-Euphrates as well as the Independence Guard all met and agreed to form a coordinated network of action. The Independence Guard branched into provincial towns. The strategy was to peacefully protest in Baghdad, the seat of British power, and pursue more violent resistance should these protests fail. |
| Downfall of al-’Ahd al-’Iraqi | May 1920 | Jamil al-Midfa’i led regular soldiers and tribal allies to capture Tall ‘Afar. They intended to capture Mosul at the same time as a planned revolt, but the British dispersed the troops and the revolt never occurred. Thus ended the organized activities of al-’Ahd al-’Iraqi. |
| Protests Begin | May 1920 | Increasingly large mass-meetings occurred at Sunny and Shi’i moques in Baghdad to denounce the Mandate. There was significant cooperation for Iraqi independence between the two sects. At one meeting, fifteen representatives were nominated to present the case for Iraqi independence to the British authorities. Arnold WIlson agreed to meet the representatives (mandubin, aka delegates), but only in the company of twenty-five Baghdad notables who he would select himself. |
| Armed Revolt Murmurs | May 1920 | As early as May 1920 their had been discussions among shaikhs of the mid-Euphrates aout acting against the British. Their concerns varied from general dislike of the notion of British hegemony to specific concern about British interference in land tenure. Misgivings in London about occupying Iraq had become public knowledge, giving rise to the perception that armed rebellion might accelerate Britain’s retreat. |
| Self-Rule Gains Traction | June 1920 | Wilson and the mandubin had a fruitless meeting. However, suggestions from London (encouraged by Bell in Baghdad) impelled the British to pursue a policy of limited Iraqi self-rule. As the notion of a state of Iraq gained momentum and seemed unavoidable, persons at all level oriented themselves towards it and even pursued an advantageous niche in the forming government. |
| Constituent Assembly | June 1920 | It was announced that elections would be held for a Constituent Assembly. The task of devising the electoral machinery was appointed to former Ottoman deputies headed by Sayyid Talib al-Naqib, who had returned from exile to seize upon the opportunities that were arising with the creation of a new state. |
| Armed Revolt Erupts | June 1920 | Armed revolt erupted at the end of June 1920. The arrest of his son prompted Ayatollah al-Shirazi (the leading Shi’i mjtahid in Iraq upon Ayatollah Yazdi’s death) to issue a fatwa that encouraged armed revolt. The British authorities attempted to quash this by arrested various mid-Euphrates tribal chiefs. The arrests gave momentum to the revolt, which thrived on weak and thin British garrisons, strong links between the Shi’i spiritual centers of Najaf Karbala, and powerful armed tribes. Tribal shaikhs in Kut and ‘Arma worked against the revolt as their extensive landholdings had been recognized by British authorities. |
| Armed Revolt Succeeds | July 1920 | The rebels captured much of the mid-Euphrates, giving heartt to others and causing the revolt to spread to the lower Euphrates as well as districts to the north, east and west of Baghdad. However, the rebels were limited due to decreasing support the further they went from their home areas. |
| Kurdish Uprising | July 1920 | Kurds seized the chance to opportunistically seize towns near the Persian border, but were limited by a decrease in support like rebels to the south. |
| Collapse of Revolt | August 1920 | The revolt of Shi’i tribes began to flag, much to the relief of the British and Sunni notables in Baghdad. Also, organized public opposition in Baghdad became virtually impossible due to British security and intelligence forces. By late October the British had re-exerted hegemony over lands seized by the rebels and the rebellion was over with the surrender of Najaf and Karbala. In total, the Iraqi revolt cost about 6,000 Iraqi lives and 500 British and Indian soldiers’ lives. What had begun as general protests had become a mid-Euphrates revolt. The revolt became the founding myth of Iraqi nationalism, regardless of what the revolt’s actual intentions were. Ideas began to form about the meaning, identity and interests of a new Iraqi state. In London, the revolt and the costs of its suppression made clear the need for a form of government in Iraq other than the controversial direct rule that was attempted. |
| Preparing A Government | October 1920 | |
| First Iraqi Government | November 1920 | Sayyid ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Kailani forms first Iraqi government. |
| Cairo Conference | March 1921 | Cairo Conference decides on Prince Faisal bin Husain al-Hashemi as king of Iraq. |
| King Faisal Enthroned | August 1921 | King Faisal enthroned in Baghdad. |
| Constituent Assembly | March 1924 | Constituent Assembly opens. |
| Anglo-Iraqi Treaty | June 1924 | Anglo-Iraqi Treaty passed. |
| King Fisal Dies | September 1932 | |
Tripp, Charles. A History of Iraq: New Edition.
| Period or Event | Time-Frame | Overview |
| Iraq Independence | October 1932 | League of Nations ends Mandate and grants independence to Iraq. |
|---|---|---|
| King Ghazi Succeeds | September 1932 | |
| Kirkuk-Mediterranean Pipeline | January 1935 | Opening of the Kirkuk-Mediterranean Pipeline. |
| Military Coup d’État | October 1936 | Military coup d’état, backed by General Bakr Sidqi. Hikmat Sulaiman forms a government. |
| Sidqi Assassinated | August 1937 | Bakr Sidqi assassinated. Hikmat Sulaiman is overthrown by the army. |
| King Ghazi Dies | April 1939 | King Ghazi killed in a car accident. |
| King Faisal II Succeeds | April 1939 | King Ghazi is succeeded by his infant son Faisal II, under regency of Prince ‘Abd al-Ilah. |
| MIlitary Coup d’État | April 1941 | The Government of National Defence is formed by Rashid ‘Ali al-Kailani following a military coup d’état. The regent Prince ‘Abd al-Ilah flees Baghdad. |
| British Invasion | May 1941 | British troops march on Baghdad. Rashid ‘Ali al-Kailani flees as his government collapses. |
| Regent Returns | June 1941 | The regent Prince ‘Abd al-Ilah returns to Baghdad. |
| al-Wathba | January 1948 | A new Anglo-Iraqi treaty is signed at Portsmouth. Mass protests in Baghdad, known as al-Wathba (the leap) lead to abandonment of the treaty. |
| Iraq Expedition | May 1948 | Iraq sends an expeditionary force to Palestine. |
| Iraq Withdrawal | February 1949 | Iraqi army withdraws from Palestine. |
| Iraq Petroleum Company | February 1952 | Iraq agrees with Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) on a 50-50 share of profits. |
| al-Intifada | 1952/11-12 | Demonstrations erupt in Baghdad, known as al-Intifada (the uprising). |
| King Faisal II Enthroned | May 1953 | King Faisal II is enthroned, ending the regency. |
| Baghdad Pact | February 1955 | |
| Suez Crisis | October 1956 | Riots known as the Suez Crisis occur in Baghdad, Mosul and Najaf. |
| United Arab Republic Arab Union |
February 1958 | Egypt and Syria form the United Arab Republic. Jordan and Iraq form the Arab Union. |
Tripp, Charles. A History of Iraq: New Edition.
|
|
