This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 15 During WWI UK held victory parade in Baghdad Commander Gen Maude drank contaminated milk at ceremony and died 3 days later

1914 Ottomans attacked British at Saihan, Basra Forced to retreat British lost 62 casualties Turks

126

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 14 British army ordered to seize Basra vilayet WWI

1914 Sheikh of Islam called for jihad against British and French during WWI Call was repeated in

all Sunni mosques in Mosul, Baghdad and Basra vilayets

Review Alissa Walter, Contested City, Citizen Advocacy and Survival in Modern Baghdad, Stanford University Press, 2025

  

Alissa Walter in Contested City, Citizen Advocacy and Survival in Modern Baghdad provides another important piece of modern scholarship on Iraq. Through interviews and government documents she was able to analyze how Iraqis interacted with the state in Baghdad from the Baathist to U.S. occupation periods. She found that the government created a system of patronage and clientism which the Americans failed to grasp when they took over the country leading another mistake in the occupation.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 13 PM Sadoun shot himself over criticism of his govt Said he couldn’t live being seen as a puppet to the British

1929 PM Sadoun shot himself due to criticism he faced over his performance Suicide note said he

couldn’t live being seen as a puppet of the British Called Iraqis weak

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 12 Baath National Guard went on rampage in Baghdad after party leader Saadi expelled Bombed presidential palace

1914 British forces in Faw launched reconnaissance in force near Saihan, Basra

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 11 League of Nations announced the British mandate in Iraq

1914 Ottomans declared war on England and France

KRG Elects New Speaker of Parliament Increasing KDP-PUK Divide

  

On November 4 the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was able to elect a new speaker of parliament two years after elections in Kurdistan. This angered the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) which announced it was withdrawing from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 10 Irbil Agreement led to PM Maliki’s 2nd term Allawi to head new strategic council Deal never implemented

1958 Iraqi Communist Party issued plan for Kurdistan saying it supported Kurdish self-govt within

Iraq

(Musings On Iraq review A People’s History Of Iraq, The Iraqi Communist Party, Workers’ Movements, and the Left 1924-2004)

(Musings On Iraq review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)

(Musings On Iraq A History Of The Iraqi Communist Party Interview With Univ of East Anglia’s Johan Franzen)

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 9 US Marines killed 24 civilians in Haditha after Marine killed by IED

1914 With English attack on Basra coming locals went to Shiite clergy asking for help to defend

city

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 8 Ruling coalition admitted pro-Iran Resistance faction tried to kill PM Kazemi

1914 British troops after landing at Faw Peninsula Basra captured Ottoman Faw Fort

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 7 2nd 2nd Battle of Fallujah began

1914 British troops started march from the port of Faw to the city of Basra

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

Review Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII, The Assyrian Tragedy, Mar Shimun Memorial Foundation, 2010

  

Mar Shimun was the spiritual leader of the Assyrian community from 1920 to 1975. He wrote this short pamphlet to raise awareness about the 1933 massacre of Assyrians in northern Iraq. This was an early stain on the new country that would mark a trend of political violence. The book mostly consists of excerpts from people discussing the event.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 6 Iraq used mustard gas 1st time in Iran-Iraq War

1914 British troops from India landed at Faw, Basra starting war against Ottomans in Mesopotamia

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In World War I, From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest)

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 5 Saddam sentenced to death for 1982 Dujail massacre

1914 England and France declared war on Ottoman Empire Would lead Mesopotamia into WWI

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 4 Abdul Mahdi govt cut Internet to stop organizing protests while ISF arrested activists in night raids in Baghdad

1913 Constantinople Protocol set new border between Ottomans and Persia Ottomans kept

Shatt al-Arab waterway

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 3 UK attacked Ottoman forces in Basra before Ottomans joined WWI

1914 UK troops arrived at mouth of Shatt al-Arab while warship bombarded Ottoman fort on Faw

Peninsula before Ottomans joined WWI

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

Islamic State Appears To Be Shoring Up Its Camps In Iraq

  

October saw an increase in Islamic State activity in Iraq but it was still at inconsequential levels. The goal appeared to be protecting its bases in Kirkuk.

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 2 British forces told to seize Mosul after WWI armistice signed

1915 Ottoman police in Baghdad city began arresting notable Jews and Christians Believed they

            were pro-British

This Day In Iraqi History - Nov 1 Churchill govt advised to remove PM Gaylani for contacts with Nazis and Italy

1918 Ottoman cmdr in Mosul vilayet asked British to retreat to Qayara and not threaten Mosul

            city

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 31 Iraq suspended cooperation with UN weapons inspectors

1914 India ordered 6^th Div to seize Faw and clear Turks out of Shatt al-Arab before WWI

started

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In World War I, From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest)

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

Review Mokhtar Lamani and Bessma Momani, editors, From Desolation To Reconstruction, Iraq’s Troubled Journey, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010

  

From Desolation To Reconstruction, Iraq’s Troubled Journey was the result of work at the Canadian Center for International Governance Innovation. It is an anthology of different authors focusing upon issues Iraq faced during the U.S. occupation such as the Kurdish question, foreign debt, federalism, and the U.S. attempt to spread democracy in the Middle East. Like any collection the chapters vary widely in quality and many of them are out of date because they are suggesting solutions to problems in 2009. Despite the inconsistencies there are some interesting selections.

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 30 Armistice of Mudros ended WWI in Iraq as Ottomans surrendered

1918 Armistice of Mudros signed between British and Ottomans 6^th Army in Mesopotamia

surrendered to UK Ended WWI in Iraq UK wasn’t able to seize Mosul province and its oil before end of war

(Musings On Iraq interview with Princeton’s Sara Pursley on Sykes-Picot and creation of Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review The Creation of Iraq 1914-1921)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

Pro-Iran Resistance Continue To Launch Drones From Iraq Into Saudi Arabia

  

In mid-October there was news that pro-Iran Resistance factions were continuing to send drones into Saudi Arabia worrying the Zaidi government about relations with its neighbor.

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 29 Hikmat Sulaiman and Gen Sidqi led 1st coup in Iraq overthrowing PM Hashemi

867 Riot by Turkish soldiers in Abbasid capital Samarra against two top advisers Wasif and

            Bugha over salaries Wasif beheaded

(Musings On Iraq review when baghdad ruled the muslim world, the rise and fall of islam’s

greatest dynasty)

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 28 Iraqi Forces massacred protesters in Karbala Over 800 casualties

1913 Secret Al-Ahd Association of Ottoman officers formed Included many Iraqis that would

become leaders and prime ministers under monarchy such as Nuri al-Said Yasin Hashemi Jamil Midfai and others Called for Arab autonomy

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 27 White House told Bremer to revise his political plan for Iraq because wanted to withdraw quickly

1932 King Faisal asked PM Said to resign Faisal wanted a national unity govt that would include

opposition and carry out reforms

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 26 UK High Commissioner for Iraq Sir Cox created provisional Iraqi govt in response to 1920 Revolt

1915 UK Mesopotamia cmdr Gen Nixon ordered advance on Baghdad no later than Nov 14

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 25 Jaafar Askari made Defense Min Began creation of Iraqi army

1920 Jaafar al-Askari former Ottoman officer Faisal’s military commander during Arab Revolt

and officer in Arab Kingdom of Syria made Defense Minister Used 10 officers including brother in law Col Nuri al-Said to begin creation of new Royal Iraqi Army

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq Between the Two World Wars, The Militarist Origins of Tyranny)

This Day In Iraqi History Oct 24 – Iraq said it took Khorrmanshahr major city in south Iran Was supposed to be taken in first week of war Took 1 month

1915 UK cmdr in Mesopotamia Gen Nixon told to march on Baghdad Gen Townshend said

he couldn’t advance without more supplies

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

Review David Siddhartha Patel, Order Out Of Chaos, Islam, Information, And The Rise And Fall Of Social Orders In Iraq, Cornell University, 2022

  

There has been some very original work done by Iraq scholars recently and David Sidhartha Patel's Order Out Of Chaos, Islam, Information, And The Rise And Fall Of Social Order In Iraq can be counted as one of them. Patel spent time in Basra City in 2003-04 and 2011 doing research and interviews with locals. He wanted to explain how social order was created in Iraq immediately after the invasion when the government collapsed and the Coalition was barely present. He argues that mosques run by Ayatollah Sistani and Moqtada al-Sadr were able to form community out of their followers where one had not existed before.

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 23 UK picked Abd al-Gaylani to be Iraq’s first prime minister

  

1915 UK cabinet ordered UK cmdr Gen Nixon to take Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 22 Report Iranian Rev Guard set up crisis cell in Baghdad to put down protests

1920 Iraq High Commissioner Sir Cox asked Jafaar al-Askari to return to Baghdad Would become

1^st Defense Minister Askari ex-Ottoman officer Was Faisal’s military commander during Arab Revolt

PM Zaidi’s Cabinet Almost Completed With New Positions Created For Patronage

  

Iraq’s parliament recently completed most of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s cabinet. It represents Iraq’s version of power sharing not where parties are to be equals and balance each other out but rather where each winning party gets positions based upon the number of seats in parliament they win.

This Day In Iraqi History - Oct 21 UK decided to seize Baghdad during WWI Would say would be there temporarily but created Iraq as a British mandate

1914 Ottoman Basra Governor demanded UK withdraw warship from Shatt al-Arab docked in

            Persia to protect oil concession Ottomans began shooting at ship UK agreed

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In World War I, From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest)

(Musings On Iraq review When God Made Hell, The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq, 1914-1921)