HISTORIOGRAPHY AND POLITICS: TWENTIETH-CENTURY ARAB SCHOLARSHIP ON ANTIQUITY Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester by Botan Tofiq Maghdid, BA, MA School of Archaeology and Ancient History University of Leicester 2018 Historiography and Politics: Twentieth-Century Arab Scholarship on Antiquity Botan Tofiq Maghdid Abstract “Both sword and pen are reliant machines for the head of the state on his command”. Ibn-Khaldūn (d. 1406) This thesis examines the various ways in which ancient Arab history has been represented in modern Arab historiography in the twentieth century, from the end of the Ottoman Empire to the end of the Baʿthist regime of Iraq. It is now widely recognised that historiography is influenced by contemporary politics. Over the last few decades, theories about the relationship between politics and historiography have been advanced by Western-based scholars such as Gramsci, Foucault, and Said. It remains unclear, however, whether non-Western traditions of historiography have the same kinds of relationships with politics, or whether politics in historiography in the Arab world exist in a different configuration. To explore this issue, I will address historiographical writing produced in the Arab world during the twentieth century, considering in particular the case of Iraq. It will focus on writing that addressed a specific period of antiquity – the 1st century BCE to the 7th century CE. It is in this period of antiquity that we can first identify a specifically Arab struggle for the statehood, and the coalescing of Arab-dominated states in the Mesopotamian region. This period was therefore one of particular interest for Arab historians writing in the twentieth century, a time when Arab statehood and the nature of the Iraqi state was debated. This thesis will show that in the modern Arab world, history writing and politics have become more entangled than ever. Following the end of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of the Iraqi state, the need for a sufficient justification for this artificial construction became crucial. Iraqi historiography, then, looked to the past to formulate new narratives, lending legitimacy to current social and political initiatives. Historiography became intimately entwined in the political agendas of Iraqi regimes, from the Monarchy up to the Baʿthist period. Finally, I argue that without a serious intellectual debate on epistemology of “knowledge” and what its relationship with political power could be, the problem brought on by their 20th century structures have continued to dominate present socio-political developments. In addition, the future Arab world relationships with worldwide communities depend on the re- structuring of this history-politics relationship. i Acknowledgments I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for many organizations and people who have provided their support, help, and encouragement both before and during my research. First of all, I would like to thank the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for sponsoring my study, as without this help my PhD at a prestigious and world-ranked institution such as the University of Leicester would have remained but a dream. I would like also to express my great thanks to many people who deserve special appreciation and gratitude, and without whom this thesis would not have become a reality. Endless thanks go to my supervisor, Prof. Simon James, whose imprint on my intellectual developments began even before my arrival in the United Kingdom. His knowledge, time, encouragement, guidance, friendship, and supervision have been the key inspiration for this thesis. Great appreciation and thanks also go to my second supervisor, Dr Naoíse Mac Sweeney, not only for her incredible supervision but also for her immense insight, intellectual wisdom, and help in nurturing my strengths. Many thanks go to the staff at the library of the University of Leicester for their help in providing books and different resources from all over the world. I am also grateful to the staff of the library of American University of Beirut and the Central Library of Erbil, who allowed me to access many special documents and books. Gratitude also goes to the Graduate School of the University of Leicester, who provided an English language proof-reader for international students, and also to Dr Michael Tully and Joanna Wilson-Scott for their reading and help with English language. I would like also to express my thanks to my family and friends, who facilitated my study and stay abroad. First and foremost, I wish to thank my lover, friend, partner, and wife, Sairan Mustafa. Without her incredible patient support and encouragement, my stay abroad with three children would have been extremely difficult. My appreciation for her help will remain with me always. I also wish to express my thanks to my parents, who taught me that study is like “digging a hole with a needle”. Thanks also go to my older brother, Dara, who never let me experience any difficulties while I was abroad, including supporting me financially during the economic crisis that affected my sponsor. I am also grateful to the PhD students in the ii school of Archaeology and Ancient History, who made my stay at Leicester a great experience, among them Damjan Krsmanovic, Thomas Derrick, Andy Lamb, Eleonora Zampieri, Sarah Scheffler, Rachel Wilkinson, Jane Ainsworth, and Mohamed Bianco. Finally, I wish to express my love to my children, Mir, Zhin, and Mand. iii Table of Content Abstract i Table of Content iv List of figures v Abbreviations vi A Note on Transliteration and Style vii Part One: Introduction 1 1 Chapter One: Introduction 1 2 Chapter Two: The Ancient Context (1st century BCE – 7th century CE) 10 3 Chapter Three: The Contemporary Political Context (20th century CE) 26 4 Chapter Four: Historiography and politics 41 Part Two: Iraqi Scholarship 63 5 Chapter Five: The early Mandate period (1918-1932) 63 6 Chapter Six: Rise of Arab Nationalism: Darwīsh al-Miqdādī 81 7 Chapter Seven: Professional historiography: Jawad ‘Ali 105 8 Chapter Eight: The Iraqi Baʿthist narrative: Historiography in the service of state ideology 136 Part Three: Levant Scholarship on Antiquity 165 9 Chapter Nine: Lebanon and early interaction with western tradition 165 10 Chapter Ten: Arab nationalism in its cradle; Muḥammad ʿIzzat Darwazah 186 11 Chapter Eleven: the Syrian Baʿthist narrative 207 12 Chapter Twelve: Conclusion 232 Bibliography 248 iv List of figures Figure (1) Cover of the books: Iraq through History; Iraqi-Persians Conflict and Army and weapons ................................................................................................................................. 140 Figure (2) Iraqi Bank note, Twenty-Five Iraqi dinars, showing Ṣaddām with the backdrop portrait of the battle of Qādisīyah between Muslim and Sassanid Arabs............................. 153 Figure (3) Syrian Bank Note. .................................................................................................. 231 v Abbreviations AH = anno Hegiri anon. = anonymous Ar. = Arabic AUB =American University of Beirut BCE = Before Common Era c. = circa CAS = College of Art and Science CE = Common Era Ch. = chapter d. = died DT = Dirasat Tārīkhīyah ed. = editor (pl. eds.) Eng. = English et al. = and others etc. = and so forth HTC= Higher Teachers’ College i.e. = that is ICP = Iraqi communist Party p. = page pl. = plural Ps. = pseudo pt. = part RCC = Revolutionary Command Council Syr. = Syriac SPC = Syrian Protestant College transl. = translated; translation vol. = volume (pl. vols.) vs = versus vi A Note on Transliteration and Style Due to the trans-cultural nature of this thesis and the difficulties of translating the exact meaning of a number of Arabic terms and phrases into English, I have decided to Anglicize them according to the transliteral system used by the International Journal of Middle East Studies. Arabic English Arabic English ṭ ط ʾ ء ẓ ظ b ب ʿ ع t ت gh غ th ث f ف j ج q ق ḥ ح k ك kh خ l ل d د m م dh ذ n ن r ر h ه z ز w و s س y ي sh ش a ة ṣ ص ,For the articles ال ḍ ض al- and –l- ā ی or ا Long ū و ī ي (iyy (final form ī وَ Doubled (uww (final form یَ Diphthongs ū)au or aw ai or ay Short a u i vii For the sake of consistency, I apply this method only for the Arabic language, and as such other non-English languages (e.g., Persian and Turkish terms and phrases) will appear as they are commonly written in English. In addition, I would like to point out that all translations from Arabic to English are my own, unless otherwise stated. viii Part One: Introduction 1 Chapter One: Introduction “I think the intellectual was hounded by political powers, no longer on account of a general discourse which he conducted, but because of the knowledge at his disposal: it was at this level that he constituted a political threat.” (Foucault 1980, 128) “Nothing is more important for Iraq’s future than a clearheaded understanding of its past.” (Makiya 1994, 218) 1.1 Introduction The period spanning the first century BCE to the seventh century CE is often cited as the formative period of Iraqi history, as it was during this time that the key features of what later became the Iraqi state first emerged. Specifically, this was a centralised Arab-ruled state in the Mesopotamian region. Although Arab groups existed from at least the sixth century BCE,1 it was not until the early first century BCE that powerful and centralised Arab-ruled states emerged in Mesopotamia and the Levant, most notably Petra, Palmyra, and Hatra, amongst others. 1 See also Chapter 2 below. 1 These states were able to emerge because of a power vacuum in the region. The Seleucid Empire had fallen, and Mesopotamia was now a disputed region between the Roman and later the Byzantine Empire on one side, and the Parthians and later the Sasanians on the other.