THE BRITISH BETRAYAL OF THE ASSYRIANS

YUSUF MALEK

FORMERLY OF THE IRAQI CIVIL SERVICE
JUNE 1917 - SEPTEMBER 6, 1930

Author of Les Consequences Tragiques du Mandat en Iraq 1932

With introduction by William A. Wigram, DD

Assyrian International News Agency
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Published by the Joint Action of The Assyrian National Federation and The Assyrian National League of America - 1758 North Park Avenue, Chicago IL (Books may be secured by application of this address only)

First published in 1935. Copyright 1936 By the Author

No part of the book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America, The Kimball Press, Warren Point, N.J.

Dedicated to the Assyrian People in commemoration of the Assyrians who suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Iraqi Government. Y.M.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

The atrocities deliberately perpetrated by the forces of Faisal, the puppet king on a shaky throne, led by their ill-bred officers against the Assyrians in Iraq during August 1933, the month that should mark a black spot in British history, have necessarily accelerated the publication--as an urgent necessity--of a part of a comprehensive book on the Iraqi minorities which I have in view. The British Government has betrayed, and has certainly proved herself unworthy of, the trust that other Eastern peoples have placed in her. She received many warnings as to the precarious position of the Iraq minorities in an emancipated Iraq, but it continued to ignore the appeals made to it and set aside the apprehensions felt even by the members of the Permanent Mandates Commission.

Though unfortunately the Assyrian men, women, and children, who, in defence of their very honor, have been most brutally massacred with the usual Arab savagery, are lamentably and irretrievably lost, yet it is not too late to save the remnant if only as a monument to British perfidy and injustice. This is not impossible. It is incumbent upon the leaders who, rightly or wrongly, placed their "implicit trust" in the British Government and British liberal, to mend their ways.

I am not cognizant of the circumstances that led the Assyrian leaders at the time to be swayed by the British policy but the blood of our martyrs who have fallen victims to the "implicit trust" and that villainous policy, is loudly crying to save those who are in the lion's mouth. The Assyrian people who have been sorely tried for the last nineteen years (1915-1933) and have encountered many bitter tribulations, want and need a stable and honest policy that can offer it a real, permanent peace and security, which, in the last sixteen years (1918-1933) of trial has been definitely proved impossible under the British domination.

In April 1933, I attempted to return to Iraq and had to see Sir Harold Stow, the British Consul-General of Betroth. He was kind enough to advise me to do so, but, at the same time, he communicated with the Iraqi Consul-General of Betroth, Camilla al Galena, to say that it would be in the interests of Iraq if I were allowed to return when the Iraq Government could place me under strict policy surveillance. I subsequently approached the Iraqi Consul in writing on the 15th of April and he, after having communicated with Badgered, sent me a letter No. 622/4/12 dated 22-5-33, the translation of which I append herewith:

"The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has, in letter No. 3711, dated 3rd May, 1933, informed me that the Iraq Government cannot accede to the requests embodied in your application, but it can confirm that no legal action will be taken against you for your past prejudicial activities against the interests of Iraq."

This sounds very nice; but what about "illegal actions" so common in Iraq? The requests embodied in my application to which the Iraqi Consul makes reference, and to which the Iraqi Government could not accede, included a request for my personal safety and liberty while in Iraq. Upon further inquiry, the Consul on the 8th of June, 1933, informed me that he could give me no particulars other than those contained in his letter No. 622/4/12, dated the 22nd of May, 1933, which meant nothing to me because of its vagueness and ambiguity. Sir SAT's recommendation, presumably made bona fide, was that I be permitted to return to Iraq under the understanding that I was to be placed under "strict police surveillance." I discovered this from the Iraq Consul himself who was kind enough to furnish me with copies of his correspondence with Baghdad.

I have quoted this minor case to illustrate the value of the League of Nations paper guarantees in Iraq for "the full protection of life and property of the Iraq minorities", and to show how impossible it is for the members of the Iraq minorities, Chaldeans and others included, to approach the League of Nations and report the daily violations of the paper guarantees by the Iraq Government, however grave and acute such violations may be, without exposing themselves to reprisals.

The pronounced policy of the Iraq Government clearly aims at the destruction and extinction of the Assyrian race by merging it forcibly in the body politic of Iraq.

In the face of the recent atrocities (and more are probably to follow) committed against the Assyrian men, women, and children, against all laws of civilization in Iraq, and particularly in the Mosul Liwa, by the armed forces of the Iraq Government for which preparations were being made some months previously, England remained a mere observer, and her "moral responsibility" undertaken at Geneva through the medium of Sir Francis Humphrys, her accredited representative, proved, as we constantly maintained in writing and otherwise, not to be worth the paper upon which it was recorded. In his last day, Sir Francis will have something on his conscience. We were betrayed by England on every possible occasion, and were finally handed over to a so-called Arab Government, without adequate or reasonable safeguards for our safety.

Our grievances and claims have been deliberately misrepresented as I informed, (through the kind favour of Mr. George Naqqash, the brilliant Lebanese writer Mr. Rennie Smith of the Inter-parliamentary Union, London, from beginning to end, and it is the firm belief of many, as well as mine, that more misrepresentations will follow; hence there is the absolute necessity for the present work.

As an Assyro-Chaldean by nationality, and one of the indigenous inhabitants from the heart of Mosul, with thirteen years of continuous experience of the Iraqi government and the British officials, I claim the right of being able to state our side of the case. Living in exile for the last twenty-nine months (April 1931-August 1933) with no possible access to my documents, I regret that I shall not be able to produce a comprehensive book as I originally desired. But my memory has not failed me, and will not, I hope, do so now. I hope that the present work will serve to give the readers, and particularly those interested in the Assyrians, a general idea as to the recent events leading up to the barbarous acts committed by the regular armed forces of the Iraq Government against the peaceful Assyrian civil population.

Chapter I has been written by the Assyrian National League of America. Chapter V has been written by Col. F. Cunliffe-Owen. Chapters VII and second half of Chapter X have been written by Dr. David B. Perley. The indexing is also his work. Chapter XIII has been contributed by Col J.J. McCarthy. I am indebted to them all for their valuable services.

For permission to re-publish Lt.-Gol.A.T. Wilson's' excellent Crisis in Iraq, originally published in the Nineteenth Century & After Review of October 1933, I am indebted to the author and to the publishers, Constable & Company, Limited, 10-12 Orange Street, London, W.C.2.

For the reading of the galley proof, I am indebted to Mrs. D. B. Perley of New Jersey and Mr. George K. Eshaya of Illinois. For the reading of the page proof I am again indebted to the former. For the excellent illustrations, I am indebted to Mr. George Mardinly and to Mr. Lutfi Dartley, more especially to Mr. Charles S. Dartley, all of the State of New Jersey, U.S.A.

It is a pleasing duty to express my sincere thanks to Hon. Nicholas O. Beery, the ex-Police Court Judge and Prosecutor of the Pleas of Passaic County in New Jersey, for his generous assistance rendered in reading and correcting every page of proof as it came from the compositor, and for his counsel with regard to matters of general presentation. My thanks are due also to the generous scholars, such as Max Zucker, Esquire, Rabbi and Lawyer, Judge Joseph A. Furrey, Joseph J. Durna, an attorney of New Jersey, and Prof. E.J. James, B.D., Ph.D of Chicago who have improved the book by their suggestions and painstaking criticism.

It is gratifying to acknowledge my supreme obligation to the Assyrian National League of America and to the Assyrian National Federation* in America. The latter is composed of the Assyrian National Union, Inc. of Massachusetts, the Assyrian National Association of Connecticut, the Christian Aid Society of Philadelphia, Pa., the West New York Branch of New Jersey, the Newark Branch of New Jersey. Had it not been for their zealous co-operation, the present work would not have been possible.¹

^{Special thanks are due to the Assyrian National Association, Inc. of Yonkers, New York, the Nineveh Association of Greater Boston in Massachusetts, the Assyrian-American Benevolent Association of Los Angeles, California; the Assyrian National School Association of America, Inc., and the Assyrian Young People's Association of Yonkers, New York for the courtesy and assistance extended to this work, which I commenced writing during the last week of August 1933, in Cyprus, and completed in November of the same year in Geneva, with the ardent hope that it may meet the crying need, at this critical moment, for a new and true way in the presentation of the Assyrian Problem.}

^{Geneva, November 1933.}

^INTRODUCTION

^{It is with great pleasure that I can commend Yusuf Malek's history of his own people to all English readers.}

^{There is no type of mankind that has had a history more interesting, and few more lengthy than the Assyrian nationality to which he belongs. Reaching back as they do through the ages to the days when Chaldea and Assyria were producing the dawn of civilization in the lands where civilization had one of its very earliest beginnings, they have seen the rise and departure of the Persian Empire in its earlier form, have seen the struggle between Parthia and Rome, and finally found in Christianity the religion that they could take to themselves, in the days when the later empire of Persia was beginning a development that lasted till Islam spread a new faith and a new culture over all the near and central east.}

^{Perhaps it was the strange parallelism between the myths of the old faith of Chaldea, and the theology of Christendom, that enabled the people to take the new faith of the West so thoroughly to their hearts.}

^{For that faith they have suffered, and in it they have found the expression of their national life under the various rulers of Islam. Meantime, they have given at least the undeniable proof that one reproach of Christians under the rule of Islam is not justified, and that given any reasonable opportunity, they can show as much bravery and dash in fight as any professor of the faith of Islam.}

^{As a Church, they have an interest for all students of Christian antiquity that is unique, for there is no other community in which can be found the customs of the earliest centuries of Christianity stereotyped and fossilized as it were, so as to preserve them for those, who, in a later age seek to hark back to their origins and to "look unto the rock whence they have been hewn," a model of what the faith they profess was in its earliest and most primitive ages.}

^{Readers will find here description and history of every one of these aspects of the people written out by one of themselves, with a knowledge and sympathy that no foreigner, no matter what his experience, can really hope to attain.}

^{The work appears at a moment when the fortunes of the people seem to be at their very darkest, and may serve to attract to those who have suffered more severely and more undeservedly than almost any other nation in the war, some of the sympathy and help that is their just due.}

^{W. A. Wigram, D.D. - Wells, Somerset - November 1933}

^{DRAMATIS PERSONNAE IN PRODITIONE}

^{The Iraqi cabinet of assassinators which approved indiscriminately of the massacre of the Assyrians following the proclamation of Jihad - a Holy War:}

^{Rashid 'Ali al Gailani. Prime Minister}

^{Hikmat Sulaiman Minister of Interior}

^{Yasin al Hashini Minister of France}

^{Nuri al Sa'id Minister of Foreign Affairs}

^{Muhammad Zaki Minister of Justice}

^{Jalal Baban Minister of Defence}

^{Rustam Haidar Minister of Communications and works}

^{Sayyid 'Abdul Mahdi Minister of Education}

^{The following is a list of British Officials through whose instrumentality and indifference the massacre was made possible:}

^{Sir Francis Humphrys His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador in Baghdad (the term of the whole tragedy)}

^{Capt. V. Holt Oriental Secretary to the British Embassy in Baghdad}

^{Sir Kenehan Cornwallis Advisor, Minister of the Interior, Chief Administrative Inspector and private counselor to King Faisal}

^{Major C.J. Edmonds First Assistant Advisor to Sir Kenehan Cornwallis}

^{Major W.C.F.A. Wilson Administrative Inspector in Mosul}

^{Colonel R.S. Stafford Administrative Inspector in Mosul}

^{Major Douglas B. Thomson The English expert for the Settlement of the Assyrians}

^{"O, it is excellent To have a giant's strength; but it is tryannous to use it like a giant."}

^{From Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, II,2.}

^{Original Table of Contents}

^{FIRST BOOK}

^{Circumstances Prior to The Final Betrayal}

^{I A Brief History of the Assyrian Nation and "Church of the East" Assyrian National League of America}

^{II Faisal al Husain}

^{III The Inhabitants of Iraq and the Iraq Unity}

^{IV The Assyrians}

^{V The Assyrians in Baqubah and at Mindanù Col. F. Cunliffe-Owen}

^{VI The Chaldeans}

^{VII The JacobitesùD. B. Perley}

^{VIII The Yazidis}

^{IX The Jews and Other Minorities}

^{X Missionaries and Politicsùwith D. B. Perley}

^{XI The Assyrian Levies and the Kirkuk Incident}

^{XII The Assyrians in the House of Lords}

^{XIII The Assyrians in Persia and Mesopotamia Col. J. J. McCarthy}

^{XIV The Assyrians Before the League of Nations in 1932}

^{SECOND BOOK}

^{The Final Betrayal of The Assyrians}

^{XV The Final Betrayal of the Assyrians û Part I}

^{XVI The Final Betrayal of the Assyrians û Part II}

^{XVII The Final Betrayal of the Assyrians û Part III}

^{XVIII The Arab Barbarism in Iraq}

^{XIX The Crisis in Iraq û Lt. Col. A. T. Wilson, M.P}

^{XX The End}

^APPENDICES:

^{A Letter to the Mandates Commission by the Mar Shimun et als}

^{B List of 76 Persons Brutally Killed Individually}

^{C Radiogramme from the Assyrian Metropolitan of India}

^{D Dr. Wigram's Letter to the "Editor of the Near East and India}

^{E The Treacherous Document of Baghdad}

^{F The Mar Shimun's Protest to the Foreign Diplomatic Representatives in Iraq}

^{G Statement Showing a Small Percentage of Assyrians Massacred in August of 1933}

^{H Statement Showing Names of Persons Brutally Assassinated Subsequent to the Official Massacre}

^{I A List of the Assyrian Villages Looted During the Massacre}

^{J An Appeal by the Mar Shimun to all the Christian Churches}

^{K Anglo-Iraq declaration of 1932 Regarding the Kurdish Government}

^{L Minutes of the Iraq Committee in London}

^{M Reply of the Acting-High Commissioner to the Signatories of the Petition, dated September 11, 1930}

^{N Petition of the Rev. Shlaimun et als}

^{O Petition of the "Eastern Church" of Connecticut, U.S.A. to King George V., to the President of France, and to the President Of the United States.}

^{P Protest of the Assyrian National Union of Michigan to the League of Nations}

^{FIRST BOOK}

^{CIRCUMSTANCES PRIOR TO THE FINAL BETRAYAL}

^{"Observe thyself as thy greatest enemy would do, so that thou be thy greatest friend" ûJeremy Taylor}

^{CHAPTER I: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN NATION AND 'CHURCH OF THE EAST'*2}

^{THE ASSYRIAN NATION: PART I}

^{The origin of the Assyrians as a people or even as a nation is shrouded in the mists of the past, but when they first appear on the stage of history, in the middle of the third millennium B.C., we find them already a strong city Kingdomùalthough vassal to Babyloniaùorganized around the first capital, Ashur, located on the left banks of the Tigris, in the upper Mesopotamia. The Assyrians are of Semitic race; they took their name from the name of their god, Assur, or, as some historians assert, from their first Capital. However, although forming a very powerful vassal of the Babylonian Empire, the Assyrians played a passive part in the affairs of Western Asia until the decline of the Babylon in the middle of the eighteenth century (1740 B.C.) when Assyria went its own way as an independent Kingdom. From that time on, until the destruction of Nineveh, in 606, the Assyrian Empire remained, with varying degrees of fortune, the supreme power in the Orient.}

^{During this one thousand years Assyria remained above all else a military state with a strong will and a deliberate policy. She expanded in all directions, welding together smaller states into one more or less compacted well-organized empire, on an entirely different basis from that of its predecessors, the Babylonian and Egyptian Empires.}

^{From 1740 B.C. until 1300 B.C., Assyria was a mere Kingdom, a rival of Babylon, reserving her power for future possibilities, defensive as well as offensive. Beginning with Shalmaneser I, about 1300 B.C., the city Kingdom began to expand into an Empire, conquering and consolidating smaller states around it. Campaign after campaign was conducted by Shalmaneser against the declining empire of the Hittites, until even Capodocia was reached, where several Assyrian military colonies were settled. The Armenians and the Kurdish tribes in the north and northeast were also attached by Shalmaneser. Nor did Syria escape the effect of these triumphant reigns of the power of Assyria. Shalmaneser's successor turned his attention to Babylon which he added to his dominions, thus making Assyria the mistress of the oriental world. Under Tiglath-Pileser I, the frontier of Assyria was further extended westward as far as the Mediterranean Sea, and the mighty Egypt presented the Assyrian conqueror with a present-a crocodile.}

^{During the eighth and ninth centuries the Assyrian emperors did not merely expand their territories, but inspired the Hebrew prophets with a new idea of God, that is, Jehovah, a tribal God of Israel becomes a universal God, even more powerful than the Assyrian Monarchs, whose rods they were, according to Amos and Isaiah. Israel had become a vassal to Shalmaneser III, and Judah could not remain very much longer unaffected by the Assyrian Empire The Syro-Phoenician maritime commercial cities, and the trade routes connecting them with India by the way of the Persian Gulf, were a prize worth contending for, and Shalmaneser made these serve his Empire.}

^{The death of Shalmaneser III was followed by a short interval of military inactivity. That Monarch and his predecessors had inaugurated an entirely new imperial policy, unknown in the ancient world before them. To render the trade routes between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf absolutely safe, the territory through which these routes passed could not be left to chance, the precarious loyalty of the vassal states. "The experience of centuries had shown that such control could not be secured unless the country were systematically conquered, occupied and guarded by the Assyrians". The process led to the direct annexation and government of the subdued peoples. This policy of systematic conquest and subjugation resulted perforce in the assimilation of conquered peoples.}

^{With the accession of Tiglath-Pileser III to the throne in 745 B.C., a new drive began for the empire of Ashur. The reign of the Monarch inaugurated what may be called the "Golden Age" of the second Assyrian Empire, which lasted until the destruction of the State. Politically there came upon the throne of Assyria, in rapid succession, beginning with Tiglath-Pileser III, a long line of rulers of magnitude. Only one other throne, that of the Ottoman Turks can claim a similar line of first rate conquerors and administrators.}

^{Under these rulers Assyria not only recovered all the lost grounds, but also new provinces, greater glory, and prestige were added, besides winning back territory and political strength which was lost after the death of Shalmaneser III. The policy of consolidating provincial administration, and the process of assimilation of subject-peoples were continued more systematically than before.}

^{Tiglath-Pileser III was the first King of Assyria to make Babylon an Assyrian province. His further conquests carried the Assyrian arms father than those of his predecessor. To the east, the shores of the Caspian Sea were reached, and Media was organized with a province. In the west, his conquests penetrated Asia Minor and covered the entire eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea until they reached Egypt.}

^{But Tiglath-Pileser was not merely a conqueror. His achievements as a ruler and an administrator were equally remarkable, and one might venture to say, revolutionary, resembling in some respects those of Julius Caeser. His first act was to reorganize the army upon a new foundation. This he did by creating a powerful standing army in which lay the strength of the Assyrian Empire. It was also a national army, recruited from a nation and not from a congeries of loosely connected vassal states, city kingdoms, and tribal districts. In other words, Assyria resembled a modern state not merely in its military organization, but in its political and social structure, a compact state, not unlike the Ottoman or Russian empires.}

^{But the army was simply a means to a greater end. The Assyrian Monarchs never planned vast conquests, like those of Alexander the Great. The policy of assimilation to which the empire had been committed, could not be adjusted to meet the exigencies of such rapid and vast accumulations of new people. Tiglath-Pilser III, did not add very much to what his predecessors had claimed, nor did his great successors except Esarhaddon who added Egypt to the fortune of his fathers. The authorities tell us that every campaign fought by the second Assyrian Empire, that is, from the accession of Tiglath-Pileser III to the fall of Nineveh, 606 B.C., was a defensive project. The Emperors were engaged in a political effort unprecedented in the ancient Orient. It was their nation's supreme contribution to civilizationùthe creation of a new political concept to which the Persian and Roman Empires fell heir.}

^{To make Assyria a modern State, two methods were invoked by Tiglath-Pileser. These methods had been used by his predecessors, but on a smaller scale. The Egyptian, Babylonian, and Hittite Empires had conquered many people, but no attempts were made to reduce the subject-people into a centralized State. The conquered territories remained vassal States which merely recognized the suzerainty of their overlords and paid them an annual tribute. The Assyrians departed from this in two ways: (a) they detached the conquered people from their old loyalties û religious, traditional, racial and territorial, by a well calculated, but reprehensible, system of deportation. The best example was the captivity of the Ten Tribes of Israel. Its object was to create a uniform population and to lessen the possibilities of revolt. (b) The other factor evolved byTiglath-Pileser was that of centralization. It is possible to maintain that the wholesale deportation of the conquered people was a consequence of this policy. Competent historians assure us that it was the first time in history that the idea of centralization was introduced into politics. When a new territory was conquered, it became an integral part of the Assyrian Empire. All its former political and even religious organs were destroyed. In the place of these, a new system was imposed, and in the place of the former ruler û in most cases a king û an Assyrian provincial governor was appointed by the king and was directly responsible to him. The Assyrian Monarchs were careful to secure "men of such energy, intelligence and efficiency for important provincial governorships, that the characteristic evils of eastern officialdom, lethargy and incompetence were almost unknown"*}

^{These governors administered their provinces according to the king's will. Assyrian jurisprudence, court and language were substituted for those of the conquered people for all administrative purposes. Assyrian coins, weights and measures, as well as commercial practice, were established. These advantages of Assyrian civilization were spread from one end of the Empire to the other and made uniform. Commercial and military roads were constructed to facilitate travel and movement of armies. The Assyrian domination of the Western Asia was not merely military, but cultural as wellùAssyria was a civilizing factor. It was for this reason that the Assyrian provinces enjoyed a protracted period of peace, rate in the history of the East at that time; and not until the coming of Rome did Western Asia enjoy a uniform legal practice under which the trader and the poor found safety and protection. In other words, what Rome did for the Mediterranean world, Assyria did for the Western Asia.}

^{Such was the work of Tiglath-Pileser III, the greatest of Assyrian Monarch. The four greatest Monarchs who followed him are Sargon II, Senacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal who consolidated and carried out his policies and measures. Their task was primarily that of holding firmly to the territory already acquired and of spreading the Babylonian culture throughout their Empire. Therefore, their wars were largely defensive in character, and even in purpose, preserving and cementing the Assyrian Empire as firmly as would seem humanly possible. The Assyrian State, unlike the Roman Empire, was surrounded in all directions by States and nations of might equal to its own.}

^{The Assyrian Monarchs were as truly great patrons of learning and culture as they were statesmen. The Tiglath-Pileser III, erected a vast and magnificent palace at his new capital, Kalah, with a row of colonnades at its entrance. Other public and private buildings must have been equally magnificent to harmonize with the royal palace, and many other great men of the empire must have imitated their master in the beautification of their own palaces. As the Assyrian Monarchs were incurably religious, they built magnificent temples to their national gods. Other cities of the empire must have certainly followed the example of the capital in this, as in many other respects.}

^{Sargon II, the next great Assyrian Monarch, was like his predecessor, not only a great conqueror and statesmen but a great builders; for he also founded a new capital with a palace of equal magnificence with that of Tiglath-Pileser III. Similar impetus must have been given to the development of culture throughout the empire. Sargon went a step further than his predecessor by arousing a tremendous growth of interest in the study of the past history of Assyria. By naming himself Sargon II, he wished to create a strong sentiment for the antiquities or traditions of his people. This fact is illustrated by Sargon's ordering and directing the edition of various texts which concerned adventures of Sargon of Agade (3800 B.C.) It would not be stretching the evidence too far in saying that Sargon was the first enlightened Monarch of Western Asia, who set a new example for his successors in the promotion of learning and culture. As Sidney Smith says, "Sargon was not only a great King but an enlightened man, and in him is to be found the same taste for artistic and literary effort that distinguished his successors'3}

^{Sennacherib, Sargon's son and successor to his throne, surpassed all his predecessors in his zeal for the restoration of old and building new cities. He transferred his residence to Nineveh which he made the capital of the Assyrian Empire. He reconstructed, beautified, and enlarged the city, and in its center erected several vast public buildings, among which was his palace, an edifice of great architectural magnificence, and remarkable for base reliefs upon its walls and the great stone colossi which adorned its gateways. This Monarch's passion for building resulted in such a vast number of projects that their enumeration would be tedious. In literature and fine art the reign of Sennacherib marked an epoch equal to any reached in ancient Orient. All in all, Sennacherib was as able a monarch as his father in the battlefield and surpassed him in his interest in art and literature.}

^{Esarhaddon's reign is essentially a period of political developments, defense and expansion of the Empire, and its administration. Cultural side of the Empire was left to his son's reign, Ashurbanipal III, the Grand Monarch of Assyria. His interest in development and spread of learning surpassed those of his grandfather. Ashurbanipal was himself a learned Monarch, and his fondness for learning led to his collection of two magnificent libraries at Nineveh. His interest in art was as personal as that of his grandfather and the Assyrian art reached its perfection during his reign. "The Age of Ashurbanipal marks a definite stage in the history of culture, and the modern term (the Age of Ashurbanipal) befittingly links that king's name with his time, as it connects the glories of Imperial Rome with the name of Augustus"4}

^{The Assyrian civilization û specifically culture and learning û was based upon that of the Babylonians, a kindred people. In this respect the Assyrians did not create a culture of their own, but neither did the Romans. However, the Assyrians served civilization in their own way, a contribution which the historians of the Ancient East compare to that of the Romans; that is "accepting in its entirety the civilization of a kindred people (the Babylonians) they (the Assyrians) maintained it and spread it in a manner the original creators were entirely incapable of, at a time when a failure to do so would have considerably affected the course of history"5}

^{Ashurbanipal was the last great Monarch of Assyria. *The Empire, even during his lifetime had begun to decline, and even to disintegrate. Fourteen years after his death (626 B.C.) the Assyrian Empire was extinct, and the proud and arrogant Nineveh became a heap of smoldering ashes. Assyria, as a political entity, disappeared from the face of the earth û a most unique phenomenon in history.}

^{PART II.}

^{ASSYRIA FROM 600 B.C. TO DATE}

^{Nineveh was destroyed in 606 B.C. It fall was brought about by corrupt officials who turned traitors in divulging the military secrets of their government to the Medes, thus causing the defeat and eventual downfall of that great empire.}

^{Hardly anything has been recorded in the ancient histories concerning this nation after Nineveh was destroyed. What happened to those people? Where did they go? According to the recorded history of King Oogar IX, an As6Syrian, the remnants of this empire were under the Roman mandate. King Oogar himself was ruling in Adasa or the modern city of Orhie during the time of Christ. In the previously mentioned city twenty-nine Assyrian kings ruled, fourteen of which were from the house of Oogar and fifteen from the House of Mano.}

^{Perhaps many students of ancient history will challenge the claim that Oorhae was an Assyrian city, but this truth is proven by ancient historians in that, when the Assyrians conquered and subdued a nation, it was their custom to transfer their newly subdued subjects into Assyria proper and rehabilitate their newly acquired territories by their own nationals. Much must have been the case with the city of Oorhae, for even Mar Addaiù(one of the Twelve Disciples, refers to Oorhae as being inhabited by the Assyrians.}

^{This little Assyrian Kingdom endured until 336 A.D. In the middle of the fourth century, the Romans and the Persians began one of their wars, and during this campaign Oohae was taken by the Persians. The Assyrians were dispersed throughout Asia Minor. Some went into Syria, some remained under the Persian rule and others took refuge in the Mountains of Kurdistan. In these mountains they lived and enjoyed a home-rule until 1915. When the world conflict of 1914 broke out, these Assyrians, threw their lot with that of the Allies. They were forced to flee from their mountain homes û north of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, - to Persia where they maintained themselves until 1918 when they were again uprooted. This time in accordance with the British promises (see Chapter IV) they retreated to Mesopotamia to remain under British protection. During these misfortunes the Assyrians lost not only their homes and property, but practically two-thirds of their number. What happened to them from the time they found refuge with the British, the reader will find fully and authentically recorded in the pages of this book.}

^{THE ASSYRIAN 'CHURCH OF THE EAST' EMBRACEMENT AND EXTENSION OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE ORIENT}

^{It was in the second year after the Ascension of Christ that Christianity showed its first signs in Mesopotamia. At about this time, Thomas, one of the twelve, had begun the preaching and teaching of the gospel and the new religion, which was prophetically destined to embrace all of Beth-Nahreen later.}

^{Thomas continued with his apostolic mission until 45 A.D., that is to say, twelve years after the Ascension, and then proceeded to India to commence his pioneering activities in Christian teaching there. In the meantime, Simon, called Peter, had succeeded Thomas as the apostle to Mesopotamia. It was during his tenure of apostolic mission that the first Christian church was founded in Babylon thus establishing the Eastern Apostate. Completing his task in Mesopotamia, Peter returned to Rome. (Peter I, Chap. 5: 13-14)}

^{In the year 45 A.D., Addai, or better known as Thaddeus, one of the twelve, succeeded Simon as the apostle to Mesopotamia. Addai went to Oorhae or Adessa in fulfillment of a promise which Jesus had made to King Oogar, while on earth. Historical documents point out that this promise was involved in direct correspondence between Jesus and King Oogar. On October 15, 31 A.D., during the reign of Tiberius, the Roman Governor of Jerusalem, King Oogar had dispatched three of his most trusted men to invite Jesus to come for a visit and to cure him of his malady. Marhaht, Shamshagrum and Hannan the artist, the three men that King Oogar had sent as emissaries of good-will to Jesus, had set out on their journey. Arriving in the border city of Beth-Gobrin, they went to the house of Cebinus, the son of Astragius, their governor, and remained there twenty-five days. Cebinus, realizing the importance of their mission, gave them a letter of introduction to the Roman Magistrate in Jerusalem requesting him to extend these men all necessary courtesies. Resuming their journey, on the way they met with divers people from sundry countries. Joining this anxious and faithful crowd of pilgrims they continued their journey to Jerusalem. Arriving in the city, they met Jesus and were amazed at his beauty. Upon speaking to him, they were overwhelmed with admiration for his wisdom and knowledge. As emissaries of King Oogar, they remained with Jesus for ten days. During their stay, Hannan, the artist painted a portrait of Jesus, and wrote in form of a diary everything that He had spoken and of allthat had taken place during their stay. On their return to Oorhae, in reverence and admiration, they related to King Oogar what they had seen and heard, also mentioning the promise that Jesus had made of sending one of his disciples to him to cure his malady. The journey of Addai to Oorhae or Adessa was in fulfillment of that promise, and on his arrival King Oogar extended him a cordial welcome and gave him assurance of every possible assistance with which to carry on his work. With the King's aid Addai taught the new doctrine of Jesus, founded churches and established great theological seminaries throughout the country. It was the great impetus of Christian teaching that placed Adess among the foremost centers of learning of the time.}

^{From the year 48 A.D. until 87 A.D., Agai and Mari, his disciples carried on the work of their master. They founded strong apostates and extended Christianity to the eastern and southern portions of Mesopotamia. They performed miracles, such as raising the dead, causing the blind to see, etc. They chose spirited missionaries from among their true Assyrian converts which later carried the name of Christ with a fiery zeal into the pagan and Jewish elements of their time and converted millions of souls to Christianity. How did these men carry on their work? Under what conditions and handicaps were they performing their duties? History well records their heroic deeds in the name of the Cross. Many were burned at stake, others were mutilated in the most horrible manners, and many others were placed under most diabolic and cruel punishments unknown to man. The amputation of arms and legs and the dismemberment of other parts of the body were common penalties imposed upon them because of their belief and teaching. In spite of this scourge of human wrath evidenced against them, they strove on sincerely believing in their mission. For Christ and his teaching they were willing to sacrifice their lives. They were imbued with a spirit of zeal and altruism and were eager to acquaint others with the new philosophy of eternal life. The following names are prominently engraved in the annals of Christian history for their valor and heroism in fighting to carry on the name of Christ to the world.}

^{St. Thomas, "One of the Twelve 35 A.D. û 45 A.D.}

^{St. Addai (Thaddeus) 33 A.D. û 45 A.D.}

^{Agai and Mari, "Two of the Seventy" 45 A.D. û 48 A.D.}

^{Ambrius, related to Mary, the Virgin 82 A.D. û 98 A.D.}

^{Oraham I "of Kashckar" 98 A.D. û 120 A.D.}

^{Jacob I, related to Joseph the}

^{"Naagara" (Carpenter) 120 A.D. û 138 A.D.}

^{In the third century the Eastern Apostate made tremendous strides in development of education, theology, and philosophy. From the institutions of learning, founded by this apostate emerged men of eminence in the various fields of knowledge, who went into the world of their time and propagated their learning to the advantage of mankind. Their influence was so great in its purpose that its beneficial effects are manifest even today. Such names as those of Mar Ephraim the Great (born 303 A.D.-died 373 A.D.) Khamis "Bar Khardakhe" Odishoo "Bar Ninvahya," the Metropolitan of Souva and Mar Narsay "khanara D'rookha", (born 437 A.D. û died 502 A.D.) stand out as gigantic monuments in the theology and philosophy. Although their work and their teaching are written in Aramaic, yet translations of their works in different languages afford the interested reader an easy access to acquaint himself with these men. It would be futile on any one's part to attempt to evaluate the importance and influence of their work, but it can be earnestly and truthfully said, the acquaintance of one's self with these would be a satisfying and soothing medium for minds inclined toward theological and philosophical studies.}

^{During the age of these mental giants, great institutions of learning were in existence. From the universities of Nseban, Antioch, Salak-Thispun and Alexandria (Egypt) was poured a new life into the veins of the humanity. India and China and parts of Africa were emblazoned with the name and teaching of Christ. The champions of this cause had acquired the appearance of beggars and wanderers and as such they pioneered into the darkest parts of the world suffering untold hardships, abuses and persecutions. Their mission was to enlighten the world by a new life and toward that goal they proceeded unheedful of obstacles that stood in their way. History well records the results of their efforts and deeds. Even today magnificent monuments in China, India, and Egypt stand as mute evidence of their glorious work.}

^{The fall of the Eastern Apostate had its initial step in that direction long before the church had attained its full growth and expansion. As it has been previously mentioned that all of this missionary work was carried on in hostile territory, one can easily see the antagonistic forces continually working for its destruction. The forces that once were peacefully subdued by its influence had suddenly risen against it, causing its gradual decline to the weakened state of today.}

^{As the Patriarchate was the center of gravity of the whole Eastern Church, we can easily realize that any forces directed toward endangering its peace and security would have destructive and deleterious effects upon the whole frame-work of the church. This was exactly what happened. All of the major persecutions against the Christians were aimed directly at the Patriarchate. For centuries it was driven from one place to another, and finally forced to seek refuge in the secluded mountains of Kurdistan, and by this time it was so badly weakened, that the entire frame-work of the church had collapsed. Greatly reduced in both material and spiritual forces, the Church was unable to resist further the continuous onslaughts of antagonistic forces against it, and as a result it gave way to almost submission, thus losing its prestige and domination, and for many years to follow forcing complete extension.}

^{In 779 A.D., the Patriarchate was driven from Salak-Thispun to Baghdad. In 1257 A.D. under Mar Makekha ShimunII, the Patriarchate was moved to Arbel. It is noteworthy at this point, to mention that from 1265 A.D. on, the Patriarch ate was inherited and carried on by the same family from which the present Mar Eshai Shimun XXI, Catholicos Patriarch ate of the East, has directly descended.}

^{In 1320 Patriarch ate was forced to leave Arbel and take refuge in Alkoosh. In 1480 the Patririachate was driven out of Alkoosh and moved to Marakha. In 1590 it was moved to Khosrawa (Salamis). In 1592 the Patriarch ate moved to Qudchanis where it became permanently established until 1915. It must be borne in mind that the flight of the Patriarchate from one locality to another was brought about by extreme pressure by the enemies of Christianity. During the period of these different flights millions of Assyrian Christians were brutally massacred by the blood-thirsty Caliphates that came into power. Millions of others were converted to Mohammedanism by force. Church, monasteries, libraries and institutions of learning were completely destroyed. Cities were looted and burned down. The unfortunate victims of these persecutions could not escape the wrath of Islam. It was "forsake Christ and follow Mohammed."}

^{As the scope of this book only permits this extremely abridged history of the church, we, nevertheless, feel confident that we have laid the foundation for the interested reader to do further research work on the amazing epic of this people. The rise and fall of the Eastern Apostate form a harmonious contrast. It brings out the elemental qualities of a race that is rarely displayed in other peoples. Great zeal, courage, and devotion to principle enabled this nation to withstand the indescribable persecutions and massacres of the blood-thirsty Mohammedans and Tartar barbarians. History clearly cites the butchering campaigns conducted by Genghis-Khan, Tamerlane, Omar, Abdul Bakhir, and now the Arabs of Iraq with the sanction of the British Government, against the Assyrian Christians.}

^{CHAPTER II: FAISAL AL HUSAIN}

^{Faisal al Husain of the Hijaz, whose father had taken up British arms against the Turks during the world conflict, (not inspired by any so-called Arab nationalism or Arab national aspirations, for there were none but simply because the "British gold," which means everything to an Arab, supplied by Lawrence of Arabia from an ever open purse, was too great a thing to be set aside) took an indirect part in the massacre of the Assyrians.}

^{It should be remembered that Jamal (Turkish Commander, better known in Syria as assassin) had previously refused Faisal's request for a post of Qaimaqamship, as the Turks, with a very long experience of Arabs, knew that Faisal was not competent for such a position but the English who saw fit to give Faisal a tidbit, crowned him King of Iraq.}

^{While Husain and his retinue, including his son, Faisal, had every thing to gain and nothing to lose by taking up arms against their rulers, the Turks, with their heads filled with hopes for "personal bright future," the Assyrians in their homeland, Hakkiari, under their lion-hearted national leader, Mar Benjamin Shimun, Patriarch (Assassinated by Simko 1918) together with the valiant Assyrian leaders, decided to side with the Allies, first with Christian Russia, and next with the British, in the hope that they might secure after the victory, a self-government for the Assyrians. This was promised them by the Russian officers, a promise that was subsequently confirmed by one Captain Gracey of the British Intelligence Service, who had paid them a special visit for the purpose. Captain Gracey (Capt. Geo. F. Gracey, D.S.O. Overseas Delegate, The Save the Children Fund. Armenian Refugees Association now in London 1933) took the trouble to travel from Tiflis to Urmia to strengthen the national promises already made to the Assyrians.}

^{Details of losses of life and property sustained by the Assyrian nation as a result of her action, have been fully recorded by various European, American and Assyrian historians, and it would betray the object of this work if I were to attempt the repetition of what has already been adequately dealt with elsewhere. It suffices to say that we lost our all, and more than one half of our numbers perished in our battles and subsequent withdrawals from Turkey to Persia and then to Iraq, only to suffer terribly at the hands of a pernicious Arab Government, the gutted child of England.}

^{Sir John Simon, the British Foreign Minister, in a speech before the Council of the League of Nations in 1932, dealing with the entrance of the Assyrians into the World War attempted to throw the onus on the Russian government, and added by saying that we were housed and fed in the British camp at Baqubah for a considerable time. If Sir John Simon wanted to create the impression that we were housed and fed for the simple reason that humanity demanded this or because of our "black eyes", his government, the real cause for the recent atrocities, for having supported unconsciously Iraq at the League, without adequate safeguards for the protection of the Iraq minorities, (including the Assyrians, Britain's ally during and after the War would not have remained a mere observer at a time when women and children were being trodden down by Arab horses and massacred by the forces of Faisal.}

^{British memory must have been very short. We did not side with the allies thus losing our fertile country and all that we possessed to be merely "housed and fed" for about a year. It appears from Sir John Simon's speech that British that British responsibility ended with the breaking up of the refugees' camp at Baqubah. If that were so, the British authorities should have adopted a straightforward policy and informed the Assyrians there and then to place no reliance upon them. If that had been done, the Assyrians, who extricated themselves from more difficult positions in the past, could have saved themselves, and, without a shadow of doubt, avoided the recent calamity that has befallen them.}

^{Whether Russia or England were responsible for our unselfish entry into the war, the fact remains that England did acknowledge the valuable services we rendered to the Allied cause during the War as it will be seen from an extract of a letter No. S.O./1128 dated 31st May, 1924, from Sir Henry Dobbs, the ex-British High Commissioner of Iraq, to Lady Surma (In exile in Cyprus, November 1933) the aunt of the Mar Shimun, Patriarch, a letter when I have reproduced in Mar Eshai's article on page 48. Lady Surma was, in the absence of Mar Eshai Shimun, administering the temporal affairs of the Assyrians.}

^{Had the present outrageous and ferocious acts carried out against the Assyrian civil population by the Iraq Government forces û dreadfully hostile to all non-Arabs û been executed in lands under the jurisdiction of Soviet Russia, the latter would not have remained indifferent as England has. The Russians, it must be admitted, maintained their loyalty and faithfulness to the Assyrians even after the Great Russian Revolution when more than six hundred of their officers and men remained with the Assyrians to share their difficulties and tribulations after the Great Russian debacle.}

^{It may be seen from the foregoing that while Faisal and his retinue, now ministers and deputies in Iraq with an unrestrained power, were actually after theft and booty the Assyrian national leaders, who sacrificed their all, had one, and only one object in view, the observance of their national entity, their faith and traditions.}

^{I hope that the king of the Iraqis and the defender of the "sacred unity" and the Emperor of Iraq (for southern Kurdistan is alleged to be an Iraq colony), will excuse the clarity of this tone which I feel fully justified in using, bearing in mind the scandalous attacks made against my dear countrymen, the Assyrians, during the last six months, while His Majesty remained bootless and tongue-tied.}

^{In this attitude of mine, which will displease many of those who only see with Arab eyes, I have for the first time been guided by the Prophet's saying Al' ain bil 'ain wal sin bil sin.", "Eye for eye and tooth for tooth."}

^{Of the Amir Ghazi (He succeeded his father on the throne of Iraq in 1933. King Ghazi I an adult, twenty-three years of age. He is unintelligent and failed his many instructors, for he has no aptitude for learning. He is no more than a ball in the hands and at the mercy of his Iraqi extremist ministers. Being a Sunni, he is hated by the great Shl'a community. His unpopularity among the people of Iraq is due to his fondness for wine and women and once unsupported by the British, his fate would be as that of Ahmad Shah. Ghazi himself loathes life in Iraq, and it is not improbable that his Republican rivals may easily dethrone him one of these days.)}

^{The next master of Kurdistan, I shall say nothing, as he is a pigeon for his Kurdish military instructors. I, however, venture to add that the views of the Kurdish nationalists in Iraq can be summed up in a few words, and I can find no better words than those of Hamdi beg Baban (now in Baghdad, November 1933) of the famous Kurdish Baban family, which he made public property in 1929 (Le Pelerin 31-3-1929) These were:}

^{"It is better for the Kurds to become the}

^{fur of a lion than be the tail of a monkey."}

^{The remarks of Hamdi beg, which he pronounced on a former occasion long before 1929 antagonized Miss Bell, the late oriental secretary to the High Commissioner in Iraq but were she alive now to see Kurdish villages devastated by British aerial and land troops in order to enforce a policy of slavery upon the Kurds, to satisfy "Sidi Faisal," I doubt if she would still blame the Kurds if they made overtures to the Turks, implied in Hamdi's words.}

^{CHAPTER III: THE INHABITANTS OF IRAQ AND THE IRAQ UNITY}

^{Because of the "Teachings of Islam," an accurate census of the population of Iraq has not been possible. Nevertheless, a census was taken by the British civil administration after the occupation of the country and afterwards by mandated Iraq which reckoned the population at approximately 3,000,000 persons distributed as follows:}

^{Sunna 500,000 Hereditary foes of the Shi'a}

^{Shi'a 1,300,000 oppressed by the ruling class, the Sunna}

^{Kurds 800,000 Continuously fighting the Arabs}

^{For political and no other reasons}

^{Non-Moslem Minorities 400,000 League of Nations. These are:}

^{Assyrians Jews}

^{Chaldeans Bahais}

^{Jacobites Armenians}

^{Yazidis Sabeans}

^{Syrian Catholics Shabak}

^{The Sunna}

^{By Sunna, I only refer to the ruling class who have the reigns of the government in their hands. The great majority of the Sunna themselves are not contended with the present state of affairs, and look upon Faisal and his successors as aliens to the Iraq and, therefore, refugees. Faisal is also looked upon as an "agent provocateur" of the British and this has aggravated the hatred against him. The Sunna of all classes and professions realize that most of the revenues extracted from them by coercive measures find their way into Faisal and his ministers' pockets, and the latter, who, during the occupation had no trousers to wear, are now owners of large tracts of lands,}

^{Properties of first-class, palaces and cars, owners of a considerable number of irrigation pumps, etc. It is a well known fact that the monthly pay of a minister (though large) is insufficient to meet one night's demand of the green table. (gambling)}

^{How and from what source is the money coming? And how have they accumulated their present wealth? Could it have been by other than theft and corruption? The helpless (fallah) knows more things than I do. The ruling class, most of whom are opportunists, realize that the present regime is not of long duration, and the opportunity of "wealth-accumulation" may not be of a recurring character, hence the wisdom of the policy of extracting as much and as quickly as possible.}

^{Faisal's position is precarious. (died in Berne, Switzerland on 8/9/33) He lies between two evils. The British, who bombed him on to the Iraq throne, want him to carry out their policy; the opposition party-if such it can be called ûwho hate everything British, but who have the power in their hand, want him to break his ties of friendship with England. If the British Government thinks that Faisal is the right man to protect the minorities, I am afraid that view is totally wrong. When King Faisal visited Geneva in 1930, to look out ostensibly for means to facilitate the entrance of Iraq into the League of Nations, Sir Eric Drummond, then Secretary-General to the League advised him to go back to Iraq and look after the minorities. Faisal could not have given the world a better proof of his ability to "look after" them than the eventful months proved that followed Sir Eric's advice.}

^{The Shi'a}

^{The Shi'a form the largest Moslem community in Iraq with deep religious variations with the Sunna. The districts they inhabit have been totally neglected though they played a very important role in the Arab Insurrection of 1920 and, although all the brunt of the battles fell on their shoulders, they derived little or no benefit from their enormous sacrifices. King Faisal, the Sunni king, found no favour among the Shi'a when the formalities preceding the coronation were in process, but through corruption, threats and sweet promises, he was placed upon the throne of Iraq.}

^{The Shi'a rightly feel that they have been very badly treated by the ruling class and they did not hesitate to say so in their application to the League of Nations in which they asked for a remedy. (Al 'Urfan, Saida, 1932) They also asked that an inquiry commission be sent to Iraq to go into their grievances and remove the oppression to which they were being subjected by the "savages brought from the desert" û the exact term they used in their application. A Shi'a newspaper in Saidah published their protest to the League and they did not fail to forward a copy to the Persian Shi'a government. During my many interviews with His Excellency Mir 'Ali KhanZahir, the Persian Consul-General, Beyrouth, I gather that he û though far from Iraq-was fully aware of his kinsmen's difficulties and no doubt the Persian Government would not tolerate with indifference the persecution of the Great Shi'a community, and it may have been for this reason that the Persian Government has hesitated in signing the various treaties û still outstanding û with the Iraq Government.}

^{In order to force the Government of Teheran to sign these treaties, the Arab officials have recently devoted much of their time and energy to disturb the conditions on the Perso-Iraq frontier (A Persian general was recently killed) and these methods have, fortunately for Persia, not remained a secret to the Persian press and Government.}

^{Most of the townsmen in the Holy cities of Iraq are of Persian origin and they rightly claim allegiance to the Persian Government. Moreover, the Teheran Shi'a government cannot leave the Holy shrines to the mercy of the ruling class who may, at any moment, violate the traditions and religious customs that the Shi'a have upheld from time immemorial.}

^{Books and pamphlets of highly malicious and dangerous nature were published some three months ago by Sunnis against the Shi'a affecting their religious beliefs, and the latter retaliated by adopting similar methods. One Sunni and one Shi'a newspaper were suppressed a few weeks ago in Baghdad, but the Sunni newspaper reappeared a month later.}

^{Ever since the coronation of Faisal, there has been no Shi'a prime minister. They have, however, had one Minister of Education whom the Shi'a themselves call a nonentity, politically. He cannot be otherwise with a striking majority of Sunnis in the Council of Ministers.}

^{Though the Shi'a contribute largely to the Iraqi budget, the lines of communications in their district û essential to the marketing of their produce û are neglected and suffered to deteriorate. They have no adequate medical or educational facilities and though they form the majority of the Iraqi population as compared to the Sunna, the number of the Shi'a deputies in parliament is much less than that of the Sunna.}

^{In 1933, the two rival sects were represented as follows:}

^{Number of Population: Shi'a--- 1,300,000 Number of Deputies: 28}

^{Sunna-- 500,000 Number of Deputies: 36}

^{Conciliatory measures of very short duration have been the policy of the successive Sunni governments, but a clash between the two communities is only a matter of time. The Shi'a have not, and will not, forget their enormous casualties of killed and wounded in Kadhimain above Baghdad, in 1926 by their Sunni foes.}

^{On that occasion as "Ashura" (Shi'adom Good Friday) there were over eighty thousand Shi's (most of whom were women and children) in the shrine of Kadhimain and Ja'far al 'Askaris.(now Iraq minister in London) Definite orders to the Iraq army stationed at the military barracks in Baghdad were that the army should cross from the left bank of the river Tigris and push on to Kadhimain and kill off the whole of the Shi'a during their religious procession when a Sunni Arab officer, Muhyiddin, had fomented the trouble. I was, at that time, present with Captain R.E. Alderman, C.I.E.;O.B.E. in the Mudir Nahiyah's office at A'dhamiyah to watch the situation and report developments to higher authorities. The Iraq army arrived but Captain Alderman issued orders to Captain Butler, the English police officer, to cut off the A'dhamiyahùKadhimain bridge, the only ferry that links Kadhimain with Baghdad at that point of the river, and so thousands of the Shi'a lives were saved. But who can guarantee that this will not recur?}

^{It is not a wonder then if the Iraq army commits acts of barbarism against the Assyrian peaceful civil population, who, after all, were a handful of "unbelievers".}

^{The relations between the Shi'a and the Sunna do not appear to have escaped the notice of the members of the Permanent Mandates Commission who have thoroughly studied (though unfortunately they were unable to bring their recommendations home) the proposal of the British Government for the premature emancipation of Iraq, and they were reluctant to do so as the minutes of the twenty-first session of the Permanent Mandates Commission (page 98) held at Geneva from October 26th to November 13, 1931, indicate for a reference to this important of the Shi'a was made in the following sense.}

^{"M. Palacios noted that the King and Prime Minister were Sunnis. He asked whether the Shi's had free access to parliament and what was the political effect of the antagonism between the two sects. The Commission had dwelt with the question at previous sessions."}

^{Sir Francis Humphrys representing the Mandatory Power replies: "that the cabinet always included one Shi'a and that there were several Shi'a members of Parliament. In Iraq, the two sects were fairly evenly divided."}

^{Reading Sir Francis' statement with the protest of the Shi'a and bearing mind the ill-feeling and discontent which is prevailing, Sir Francis does not appear to be a good judge, and it is feared that history will repeat itself as it did in Palestine. In this connection the remarks of M. Orts, the Belgian member of the Mandates Commission are worth-while recording. He said:"Admittedly, it had always been the rule of the commission to place confidence in the Mandatory Powers; but Mandatory Powers might be mistaken, particularly as regarded the public spirit prevailing in the territories under their mandate. In Palestine, for instance, the Mandatory Power had been completely misled as to the feelings of the population. Four weeks before the 1929 massacres it was still declaring, through the accredited representative, that the country was quite calm and that it would be able to maintain order, if necessary. The Commission was aware how events had belied that assurance. The Commission could only assume direct responsibility with regard to the actual situation in Iraq, if it possessed other means of investigation û for instance, if it were able to study the situation on the spot."}

^{I will now attempt to make extracts from the protest (Original in Arabic translated by the author) of the Shi'a and will leave the reader to draw his own conclusions.}

^{"Ten years have elapsed since the formation of the Iraqi government. The administration is in the hands of certain individuals who share the power between themselves by the occasional changing of hands, thus distributing the government resources and revenues to their friends and companions. Whereas we who, in the eyes of the foreign powers represent the majority, are deprived, alas, of even a morsel of bread in a country on whose soil we live, and where our fathers and forefathers lived free and respected. All this is the result of those individuals' encroachment upon us, forcibly taking our lands and settling in our midst the savages of the desert, with a view of merging us into their group, obliging us to bow to their will and commands so as to dispose of us at their whims and interests. They are the same people who intrigued against the Turkish Government, excited the hatred of the army of occupation, and they are still knocking at all doors in order to foster hatred and enmity. All this they are able to do as the power is in their hands. No Shiite head of department or man of influence is to be found in any of the overcrowded government departments, whether executive or administrative. They, on the other hand, are enjoying the resources of the government whilst we are suffering under miserable oppression, and are disgusted with this unfortunate existence never experienced under the former governments.}

^{"This gang (King Faisal and his Ministers are implied) of individuals, by deceiving the British Government, have succeeded in laying their hands on our Awqaf (Religious legacies bequeathed for charitable purposes) lands, trade and even our cemeteries. Our lives have thus become threatened; our properties forced from us; our existence is in danger; and the districts inhabited by the Shiite majority are completely neglected in every respect, whether from the point of view of education, health or public works. On the other hand, the districts inhabited by a majority of their creed are in constant progress of improvement as regards public works, education, agriculture, trade, etc. The cost of such improvement is obtained from our labours, the 'sweat of our brow', our resources and the taxes collected from us by their government.}

^{"A comparison in the number of schools in the North and those in the South where the majority is Shiite will at once reveal a conspicuous and wide difference. This equally applies to agriculture, trade, health and public works. Our demands whether for grants of agricultural lands or in other respects are completely ignored, but such grants are unhesitatingly made to their class of effendis and officials so as to have an unshakable hold on us for election purposes, thus assuring themselves of a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, whereasùas is well known to everybodyùnot a single Shiite has been elected to represent any of the northern districts ever since the formation of the Chamber . On the other hand, our liwas only produce one or two Shiite deputies for each liwa, and such cases are of constant occurrence.}

^{"The cabinet which is usually composed of seven ministers includes only one Shiite minister of no importance and he may be better termed as 'political attache' with no influence whatsoever. Ever since the formation of this government not one Shiite minister has ever been appointed to a ministry of importance such as Interior, but they have given us û thank to God û the Ministry of Education and here again the person chosen is a stop gap, as he is a nonentity. This is what we have gained from the kindness of the Iraq government whose majority we form.}

^{"The oppression we have and are still undergoing at their hands, such as unjustifiable imprisonment and exile, the outraging of all that we hold sacred, the ill-treatment publicly of our notable and chiefs without rhyme or reason, the imposing of heavy fines under various pretenses, the collection of heavy taxes and the employment of different methods for our impoverishment and insults, compel us to call a blessing on the past. In order to veil these high crimes from the Iraqi public and to enable them to safely execute their plans and play their different roles on the stage of their ministries and departments, they throw the blame on the shoulders of the British.}

^{"At every stage they enact harsh laws which no other tyrannical government has ever enacted, and this is to deprive us of our freedom and rights. They have gone so far as to dare to deport our Ulama (learned men) and they have adopted a policy of creating dissensions by pursuing the maximum 'divide and rule', thus creating differences, antagonism and hatred between our tribal chiefs. This they are achieving through their policy of land distribution by depriving the rightful owners of their lands.}

^{"The despotism experienced by our children at the hands of their teachers, the sowing of the seeds of dissension and the exciting of our communal sentiments, all tend to indicate to us that a plot is on foot for the extermination and the crushing of our community. A detailed analysis of their past actions, such as the murder of innocent souls in the incidents at the Holy cities of Kerbela, Kadhimain and Najaf would require volumes to record, and such actions are incompatible with justice and conscience.}

^{"The number of Shiites in government service does not exceed the number of fingers of one hand, and even these employees are, moreover, tied down and threatened. They have no stable or high positions, despite their intelligence and capability which would merit them to handle senior government posts, but unfortunately, they are treated as if they are not of this country and do not possess the right of holding government appointments.}

^{"As the result of the above treatment which we did not experience even in the dark ages, in spite of the fact that we are living in a period known as the century of light, we feel that our fate is neither more nor less than that of the milch cow which gives its milk to others.}

^{"As for them, they have free access to the treasury funds most of which are realized from our toils as we have already stated above. Such funs are spent on their pleasures and their numerous travels from which the country has derived no benefit. In addition to their acts of oppression, had the sum extracted from excessive taxation with which this community is burdened and which they lavish on their pleasures, been spent for the relief of the miserable ones of this community, the evil would have been less.}

^{"The leading members of this gang draw enormous salaries such as the leaders of the richest and most advanced countries do not receive, in addition to the numerous embezzlements of government funds which they always manage to hide between them. They have passed a Pension Law securing for them eternal rights, without any advantage to the Shiite community. The Pension allotment absorb one-third of the State receipts, such allotments being distributed among themselves so that each of them has become rich and happy.}

^{"Now that things have reached their climax, the case of Iraq having come within the scope of the League of Nations, and our case becoming of vital importance touching as it does our interests, trade, livelihood and future, it is not possible for us to be patient or bear it in silence."}

^{Copies of the above protest were sent to:}

^{The League of Nations, Geneva}

^{The British Foreign Office}

^{The Chairman, Chamber of Deputies, Teheran}

^{The Foreign Office of the Turkish Republic, Angora}

^{The British High Commissioner at Baghdad}

^{The Chairman, House of Commons, London}

^{The Near East, London}

^{Al 'Urfan Saia, Lebanon*}

^{Shafaq Sarkh, Teheran}

^{Many of the magazines}

^{To other civilized countries}

^{The American Consul-General, Baghdad}

^{The Turkish Consul-General, Baghdad}

^{*Al 'Urfan which is a Shiite magazine gave wide circulation to the protest from which I obtained a copy. If some copies of the protest did not reach their destination, it would be due to postal censorship.}

^{The Kurds}

^{The Kurdish proverb says:-}

^{"Ni Hushtar Haiwan Ni Arab Insan}

^{"Neither the camel is an animal}

^{Nor is the Arab a human being"}

^{The Kurds who inhabit the three northern liwas of artificial Iraq, via Sulaimaniyah (the center of Kurdish nationalism), Arbil and kirkuk Liwas on the Turkish and Persian borders, together with about 80,000 Kurds in the Mosul Liwa, and about a similar number in the Diyalah and Kut Liwas, number some eight hundred thousand. In Sulaimaniyah, for instance, Count Telski's Commission found only one Arab shopkeeper. The Kurds have revolted several times with the sole object of recovering their national rights officially acknowledged (but unfortunately denied) in a proclamation issued by both the British and Arab Governments. The Kurds, though Moslems, are not Arabs. This is the last thing they want to be. The difference between the two is like that between the angel and the devil. The Kurd far from being fanatic is tolerant if left alone. The Kurds enjoyed a wide measure of autonomy long before the Arab dreamt of any self-government. Their villages have been devastated by constant aerial bombardment and time-delayed-bombs have been used against them. Tons of explosives were poured over them by the British planes in order to support the despised authority of Faisal and his government.}

^{Since the war, the Kurds, especially those in southern Iraq, have been very friendly to the non-Moslems, but the malicious policy planned in Baghdad and supplied by the Arab provincial officials of setting them against the non-Moslems was the sole cause for certain incidents that have occurred between the two friendly elements. The report issued by the British Colonial Office on the progress of Iraq for the years 1920-1931 (p.277) admits that Baghdad was the root of all such regrettable incidents.}

^{Hafsa Khanim, the wife of Qadir Agha who is the brother of Sheik Mahmur Barzanji, the famous Kurdish revolutionist, informed me in 1930 when Sheik Mahmud was in revolt, (only to be suppressed by British aeroplanes and British diplomacy) that a time will come "when the lousy Arab Government is no longer supported by the British and then we shall see whether or not he Arab can put his foot in Kurdistan". I believe her.}

^{The last Kurdish revolt led by Sheik Ahmad of Barzan was again suppressed by the British on the 22nd of June 1932. The last words of Sheik Ahmad to Captain V. Holt, the oriental secretary to the British High Commissioner for Iraq, who had gone up to persuade the Sheik to accept "bright personal concessions" and lay down his arms, were:}

^{"It is more honourable for me to surrender to my open enemy, the Turk, rather than to an hypocrite friend (The British Government is implied) or to be a slave. (Faisal is implied). Sheik Ahmad is t the moment of writing in Mosul and he is being made to sign declaration of loyalty (sic) to his Majesty King Faisal in support of the Iraq sacred unity.}

^{Some of the Kurds are being given injections of morphine to 'keep silent', but I am sure that Faisal and his Government know that Kurdistan is a bitter pill to swallow, and that the valiant sons of Kurdistan who have already shed no little of their blood will know how and when to throw off from their shoulders the yoke of the Arabs. I am also sure of the Kurdish ability and patriotism to do so successfully, but again everything depends on the British who had so many engagements with the Kurds for the simple reason of upholding the impossible authority of Faisal. The attitude of the Kurds vis-à-vis the King of Iraq, and the alleged Iraqi unity, can be summed up as follows and as was recorded in the British report on the administration of Iraq for the period October 1920--March 1922.}

^{"A scheme for the division of Iraq into 10 liwas, 35 Qadhas and 85 Nahiyahs, closely following the lines of the former Turkish organization, was passed on December 12th, and received my approval with certain reservations regarding the Kurdish districts, which the Council, unmindful of restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Sevres, had treated on the same basis as the rest of Iraqà"}

^{Dealing with the electoral law, the report states:}

^{"Neither did it contain any recognition of the safeguards to which under the Treaty of Secres the Kurdish communities of Iraq were entitledàIn accordance with the policy agreed upon t the Cairo Conference, shortly after my return I proceeded to ascertain the wishes of the Kurdish districts, which lay within the area of the British Mandate, with regard to inclusion in the Iraq State, and on May 6th a communication on the subject was circulated by the Advisers in the Mosul, Kirkuk and Sulaimaniyah divisions. I pointed out that from such information as had reached me it would appear the opinion in the Kurdish district was divided between fear lest their interests should Baghdad and a desire to maintain the Iraq economic and industrial ties which it would be inconvenient to severàThe Sulaimaniyah liwa decided not to take part in the election of a King for IraqàIn kurkuk, while the candidature of the Amir was rejected, there was no consensus of opinion as to an alternative. The Kurdish section asked for a Kurdish Government. Ultimately a petition was presented to me asking that the division might be given a year's grace before coming to a decisionàIn the presence of representatives of all local communities and of deputations from every liwa of Iraq, except Sulaimaniyah and Kirkuk, I proclaimed H.H. the Amir Faisal to have been duly elected King of Iraq and announced his recognition as by His Britannic Majesty's Government. On the Kurdish side, the Kemalists have had troubles of their own. In January they were forced to take action, attended with no great success, for the subjection of the Hawerki, and in October they attacked Shernakh with a considerable force, partly composed of tribes at feud with 'Abdul Rahman Agha, Sheik of Shernakh, who has been practically independent since the armistice. He has been at pains to cultivate friendly relations with the British authorities and on the arrival of the Amir Faisal, he, with other Kurdish leaders, expressed to the latter their willingness to accept him as King and to form part of Iraq State under conditions of local autonomy."}

^{"Sulaimaniyah division rejected almost unanimously, any form of inclusion under the Iraq government."}