Ottoman Administration of Iraq, 1890–1908 Ottoman Administration of Iraq, 1890–1908 is the first political and administrative study of late nineteenth-century Iraq based on the central Ottoman Archives. It is a unique and pioneering work in the literature on Modern Middle Eastern history. It represents a major contribution to our understanding of the last decades of Ottoman Iraq, by addressing not only political issues, but also critical social and cultural developments as well as regional issues, many of which projected themselves deeply into the twentieth century. It uses relatively neglected but enormously rich sources from the Ottoman Archives to introduce a fresh perspective on Iraq history which has so far been studied mainly through British and secondary sources. The account provides a rich historical background for understanding some of the issues and problems of modern Middle East history and discusses such subjects as: G reform and development, G local versus central administration, G tribes and state, G notables and state, G British penetration and the Ottoman response in Iraq and the Gulf, G growth of Shi’ism in Iraq and the Ottoman response, and G Sultan Abdülhamid II, Jamaladdin al-Afghani, and Pan-Islamism. This book examines several aspects of Ottoman administration and seeks to explore the problems and policies of its central government. It also provides material for the understanding of notable-government relations in the three provinces of the Empire, and emphasizes the importance of the “politics of notables” in the Ottoman administration of Iraq. Ottoman Administration of Iraq, 1890–1908 is essential reading for those with interests in the Middle Eastern studies and the history of Iraq and the Ottoman Empire. Gökhan Çetinsaya is Professor of History in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Istanbul Technical University. He holds both MESA and BRISMES dissertation awards. SOAS/Routledge Studies on the Middle East Series Editors Benjamin C. Fortna SOAS, University of London Ulrike Freitag Freie Universität Berlin, Germany This series features the latest disciplinary approaches to Middle Eastern Studies. It covers the Social Sciences and the Humanities in both the premodern and modern periods of the region. While primarily interested in publishing single-authored studies, the series is also open to edited volumes on innovative topics, as well as textbooks and reference works. 1. Islamic Nationhood and Colonial Indonesia The umma below the winds Michael Francis Laffan 2. Russian-Muslim Confrontation in the Caucasus Alternative visions of the conflict between Imam Shamil and the Russians, 1830–1859 Thomas Sanders, Ernest Tucker, G.M. Hamburg 3. Late Ottoman Society The intellectual legacy Edited by Elisabeth Özdalga 4. Iraqi Arab Nationalism Authoritarian, totalitarian and pro-Fascist inclinations, 1932–1941 Peter Wien 5. Medieval Arabic Historiography Authors as actors Konrad Hirschler 6. Ottoman Administration of Iraq, 1890–1908 Gökhan Çetinsaya Ottoman Administration of Iraq, 1890–1908 Gökhan Çetinsaya I~ ~~o~;~;n~~~up LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2006 by Routledge Published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2006 Gökhan Çetinsaya Typeset in Baskerville by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd, Chennai, India The Open Access version of this book, available at www.tandfebooks.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 13: 978–0–415–34158–5 (hbk) For my parents Aliye and Mustafa Çetinsaya Contents Acknowledgments viii Note on transliteration ix List of abbreviations x Map xi Introduction 1 1 The setting of an Ottoman province 4 2 The issue of reform 24 3 The Sultan’s officials 49 The vilayet of Baghdad 51 The vilayet of Mosul 63 The vilayet of Basra 66 4 Tribal problems 72 The vilayet of Mosul 74 The vilayet of Baghdad 86 The vilayet of Basra 87 5 The Shi’i problem 99 6 The British danger 127 Conclusion 147 Notes 152 Bibliography 215 Index 237 Acknowledgments I am grateful to Dr F.A.K. Yasamee of the University of Manchester. In directing the original form of this work, he set an example for the kind of scholar I would like to become. My debt to him is beyond any acknowledgment. I wish to thank also the other members of my doctoral dissertation committee, Professor Peter Sluglett and Dr Paul Luft. I am also grateful to many other professors for their encouragement and support throughout the preparation of this work, as well as during my whole academic career: Nermin Abadan-Unat, Engin Akarlı, the late Ali Whsan Baxıv, Selim Deringil, the late Nejat Göyünç, Vükrü Hanioxlu, the late Albert Hourani, Kemal Karpat, and Wlber Ortaylı. I owe special thanks to friends and colleagues who shared with me their profound knowledge and valuable material: Ali Birinci, Tufan Buzpınar, Cezmi Eraslan, Ahmet Kala, Wsmail Kara, Cüneyd Okay, Azmi Özcan, Oktay Özel, Uxur Sipahioxlu, Gül Tokay, Mümtaz’er Türköne, Ayvegül A. Yevilbursa, and Behçet K. Yevilbursa. I wish to acknowledge the staff of several archives and libraries: Bavbakanlık Osmanlı Arvivi, the Public Record Office, the India Office Library and Records, the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, the British Library, the Institute of Historical Research, Hakkı Tarık Us Kütüphanesi, Wstanbul Üniversitesi Kütüphanesi, Beyazıt Devlet Kütüphanesi, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Wslam Aravtırmaları Merkezi Kütüphanesi. The academic opportunities and financial support provided by the Turkish Higher Education Council and Hacettepe University of Ankara made this work possible. The doctoral dissertation on which this work is based received awards from the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) (Malcom H. Kerr Dissertation Award in Social Sciences, 1994) and the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) (Leigh Douglas Award for the Best Doctoral Dissertation, 1995), for which I was honored. My wife, Ebru, and daughter Elif Ezgi, companions in life and work, shared the burden of this book, as well as its joys. This work is dedicated to my parents for their constant encouragement and support during my whole academic career. Note on transliteration Titles of Ottoman officials and institutions, and Ottoman Turkish names and terms, are rendered in their modern Turkish form. Transliteration of Arab and Persian names and terms is based upon that of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), without the use of diacritical marks. When a name or term is commonly known by a familiar English form, that form is used (e.g. ulama, madrasa). Abbreviations A.MKT.MHM. BEO Sadâret Mühimme Evrakı, BOA A.MKT.UM. BEO Sadâret Umum Vilâyât Evrakı, BOA BD British Documents on the Origins of the War BEO Babıâli Evrak Odası, BOA BOA Bavbakanlık Osmanlı Arvivi, Istanbul BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies BTTD Belgelerle Türk Tarihi Dergisi CAB Cabinet Office, PRO DIA Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Wslam Ansiklopedisi DUIT Dosya Usulü Wradeler Tasnifi, BOA EI(1) Encyclopedia of Islam, first edition EI(2) Encyclopedia of Islam, second edition EIr Encyclopedia Iranica FO Foreign Office, PRO IA Wslam Ansiklopedisi IJMES International Journal of Middle East Studies WÜEF Wstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi MES Middle Eastern Studies PRO Public Record Office, London SO Mehmed Süreyya, Sicill-i Osmani TA Türk Ansiklopedisi TM Gövsa, Türk Mevhurları Ansiklopedisi TTK Türk Tarih Kurumu WO War Office, PRO Y.A.Hus. Yıldız Sadâret Hususi Maruzat Evrakı, BOA Y.A.Res. Yıldız Sadâret Resmi Maruzat Evrakı, BOA YEE Yıldız Esas Evrakı, BOA Y.MTV. Yıldız Mütenevvi Maruzat Evrakı, BOA Y.PRK. Yıldız Perakende Maruzat Evrakı, BOA I R A N Map of Iraq. Introduction There is no need to explain the productive capacity of the land in the provinces of Syria and Iraq, and the capacity of the Asi and Euphrates [rivers] to irrigate the land and transport its produce. Further, as the plains of these regions are broad, and their mountainous areas are small, there is no question that roads, passages and land drainage will cost less than in the Balkan provinces. Yet the Ottoman state cannot draw any benefit from the few million Bedouins who wander about the extensive and fertile plains between the lands of Damascus and Aleppo and Iraq, and to the eastward towards Jabal Shammar and the Najd bor- der; on the contrary, there is seen much harm from their attacks on settled areas. Why not draw benefit from them, and why suffer harm? Has this matter ever been put on the agenda and discussed with attention and care? In your humble servant’s opinion, no idea has ever circulated in central government, other than the forcible repression and devastation of the Arabs. And they [the Arabs] have never been viewed as potential friends...The Arabs are not savage, but they fear and hate us. (Abdüllatif Suphi Pava to Sultan Abdülaziz, 1864)1 Local, Ottoman, and European sources are generally agreed in treating late nineteenth-century Iraq as a “sleepy backwater” of the Ottoman Empire. Whether this perception was justified or not, it arguably holds true for the state of the historiography of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century