POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN EARLY MODERN STUDIES IN SOCIAL HISTORY

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INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL HISTORY AMSTERDAM

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2. Zvi Rosen. Bruno Bauer and Karl Marx. The Influence of Bruno Bauer on Marx's Thought. ISBN 90 247 1948 8

3. Marian Sawer. Marxism and the Question of the Asiatic Mode of Production. ISBN 90 247 2027 3

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5. Fritjof Tichelman. The Social Evolution of Indonesia. The Asiatic Mode of Production and Its Legacy. ISBN 90 247 2389 2

6. Tom Nieuwenhuis. Politics amd Society in Early Modern Iraq. MamlUk Pashas Tribal Shayuks and Local Rule Between 1802 and 1831. ISBN 9024725763

SERIES ISBN 9024723477 POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN EARLY MODERN IRAQ Mamluk Pashas, Tribal Shayks and Local Rule Between 1802 and 1831

by

TOM NIEUWENHUIS

1982

MARTINUS NIJHOFF PUBLISHERS - THE HAGUE/BOSTON/LONDON Distributors: for the United States and Canada Kluwer Boston, Inc. 190 Old Derby Street Hingham, MA 02043 USA for all other countries Kluwer Academic Publishers Group Distribution Center P.O. Box 322 3300 AH Dordrecht The Netherlands

Librar~ of ('ongrt's~ Cataloging in Publication U()la Nieuwenhuis, Tom. Politics and society in early modern Iraq. (Studies in social history ; 6) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Iraq--History--1534-1921. I. Title. 110 Series: Studies in social history (International Institute for Social History) ; 6. DS77.N48 955 81-22391 ISBN 90-247-2576-3 AACR2

ISBN-l3: 978-94-009-7490-6 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-7488-3 DOl: 10.1 007/978-94-009-7488-3

Published with financial support from the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (z. W. 0.).

Copyright © 1981 by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague. Soflcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st Edition 1981 All rights reserved. No part of th is publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other• wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, P.O. Box 566,2501 CN The Hague, The Netherlands. CONTENTS

Preface vn Glossary xi List ofmaps and figures map I Iraq xiv map II Global indication of the territories of the pashaliks of Baghdad, Mosul and Sulaymiiniyyah xv map III Important sedentary agricultural areas between Mosul and Basra. Beginning of the 19th century xvi map IV Map of the river Tigris to the North of Baghdad by Felix Jones, 1850 xvn map V Global indication of the territoria of the most important tribal formations in 1812 xvin figure 1 Primitive lift-irrigation. Tigris-banks to the south of Mosul xix figure 2 Primitive ploughing. Near Samara xix

I. A LITANY OF DISASTERS

II. THE STRUCTURE OF MAMLUK POWER 13 The Sa'id-Diiwiid Struggle (1815-1816) 16 The build up of Mamliik dominance 24 Aspects of Government 26 Outside Baghdad 30 Military aspects of Mamliik power 34 Revenue and Mamliik power 46 The Marnliiks and Baghdad 59 Religious leaders, military men and the role of the quarters of Baghdad 63 The political position of non-Moslem minorities 71 The Porte and Baghdad 75 The British role 81 Instability and violence in Mamliik politics 87 A short discourse on Mosul 98 vi CONTENTS

III. THE RURAL WORLD 108 The sedentary areas 109 The political position of the villagers 117 The tribal world 121 The large tribal formations: migrations and territorial influence 122 Economics and tribal structure 138 The Tribal Structure 141 Political authority in the tribal world 148 Big shaykhs and the state 158

IV. RESUME. THE BACKGROUND OF IRAQI STATE FORMATION 169 State and countryside 179 The Mamliiks in the history of Iraq 181

Notes 185 Appendix I - The Mamliik pashas 207 Appendix II - Revenues of the pashalik of Baghdad in 1843-1844 and 1845 208 Bibliography 216 Index 224 PREFACE

This study deals with the Mamliik 1 period in Iraqi history (1750- 1831), and more particularly with later Mamliik times (1802-1831). The year 1831 marks the watershed between an era of 'local rule' and one of restored Turkish centralization. During the Mamliik period the influence of external powers in Iraq was not excessive; after that year direct Turkish rule coincided with growing British in• fluence, which increasingly opened the country to the forces of the world market. As an object of study the period of local rule is inter• esting, particularly because it formed the background to, and in some aspects also the start of, the modern history ofIraq.

The literature available on Mamliik rule and tribal power is scarce and unsatisfying in various ways. The best history of 'Ottoman' Iraq is still that of Longrigg, which was written in the 1920's. However, although based on an admirable range of sources, it provides the reader with little more than a political chronology. Generally, the social and political historian of early modern Iraq is confronted with a lack of information of a very basic kind - if indeed he can find any relevant information. 2 For example, there is hardly any information on the Mamliik institution. Only the most scanty evidence exists on the history of the Yanissaris of Baghdad, or on the socio-political history of the lower orders of the town. Again, almost nothing is known about the lower orders of the sedentary rural world. Interest• ing areas of tribal history are largely neglected and many of the con• ditional assumptions about tribal politics and society are ill-founded. Here Longrigg is a case in point. He correctly saw the tribal question as the key issue of early modern Iraqi history, but he considered that tribes had no real history for 'in heart, culture, and interests (they) varied nothing; their civilization, politics, arms were universal and static: and this, more even than his lack of records, absolves the his• torian from a narrative of these myriad changes'. 3 viii PREFACE

To go beyond the traditional historiographical approach to Iraqi history is rather an over-ambitious task for a single historian. Key questions have to be outlined, a great number of primary and second• ary sources have to be consulted, and (perhaps the most time consu• ming) it is necessary to make a systematic search for scattered and un catalogued Ottoman and Arab source material. This book is an attempt to set out parameters of such a project, and provides a fairly tentative analysis of some of the basic issues involved. It is based pri• marily on the French archives, on travel literature and eye witness reports and on a great number of secondary sources. It concentrates on such themes as the sources of Mamliik power, the characteristics of provincial government and the role of the tribal complex in politi• cal history. Special attention is also paid to such subjects as the role of plagues, the relationship between economy and politics, the in• stability and violent overtones of politics and the character of tribal authority. In the last chapter the historical background of modern Iraqi state formation is outlined. This latter theme forms a distinctive perspective of this study. In other studies on the Arab provinces during approximately the same period (cf. Koury, Bodman and Rafeq) different perspectives are prevalent. In comparison, the negative aspects of Ottoman and Mam• liik rule in the 18th and early 19th centuries may seem to have been overemphasized in my book, simply because the potential for modern state formation was not overwhelming. Modern state forma• tion means the formation of nation states, and this process was sub• stantially obstructed in Iraq's case.

Some remarks about periodization and the territory under consider• ation are necessary here. The period of local rule in Baghdad may be divided into three parts. It starts with the government of the found• ing fathers of the Mamliik 'dynasty', J;:Iasan Pasha (1702-1724) and his son Al1mad Pasha (1724-1747). The Mamliik period itself may be divided into the earlier and the later period. The former starts with the reign of Sulayman Abu Laylah (1750-1762) and ends with the crisis years of 1773-1780. The later period starts with the govern• ment of Sulayman the Great (1780-1802) and ends with that of Dawud Pasha (1817-1831). This is followed by the period of direct Turkish rule, which ends during the First World War, after which Iraq became a virtual British colony. Although the study covers the Mam• liik period as a whole, it is primarily concerned with the last three decades (1802-1831) of the later Mamliik period. PREFACE ix

The name Iraq refers to a territorial unit that did not exist before 1918, but for simplicity the term has been used for the geographical area which incorporates Basra, Baghdad and Mosul. (See Maps I and II). Mosul is dealt with, but the Kurdish areas are left out of con• sideration, largely because of their fundamentally different socio• political structure. Kurdish history connects with that of Baghdad and Mosul in many respects, some of which are touched upon, but its study is a separate task.4

A more or less uniform system of transliteration has been used, al• though in some cases names have been spelt in the form in which they were found. Also, names of institutions or officials have some• times been spelt in Turkish, as is the case with such words as dev~irme, nizam-l cedit or when the Porte's representatives, such as Halet Efendi, are concerned. Usually, is chosen for personal names even in cases like that of l:Jasan and his son Al)mad Pasha. Words like 'Iraq, Baghdad, etc., have been spelt Iraq, Baghdad, etc. kh, sh and th have been rejected in favor of kh, sh and th for reasons of con• venience. ' is used instead of ' and'.

Several people deserve special thanks, particularly Dr. Marion Farouk-Sluglett and Dr. Peter Sluglett, who gave me encouragement, help, constructive criticism and highly appreciated hospitality. J am also most grateful for comments and help from Dr. Roger Owen, Dr. Amal Rassam, Rod Aya, Dr. Fritjof Tichelman, Dr. AI-Humaidan and Dr. Abdulra:pman (the latter two from the University of Basra). Percy Kemp kindly gave me a copy of his then unpublished manu• script on Mosul, as well as permission to quote from it. Iohan de Bakker and Annelies Moors helped with the translation of Arab books. I should also like to thank Tracy Metz, who trans• lated most of the book into English, Marcia Wyatt, who corrected the last chapter, and Doenja Verwey, for many kindnesses. The staff of the Universiteitsbibliotheek of the University of Am• sterdam took care of the delivery of many of the books used; I should particularly like to mention Mr. R.B. Knottnerus. The Central Library of the University of Baghdad kindly sent a copy of Nawras' book. A major part of the research was done as research fellow of the Department of Euromediterranean Studies of the University of Am• sterdam. Finally, the Foundation for Cultural Anthropology provi• ded financial support for the translation of Arabic texts. x PREFACE

None of the persons and institutions mentioned here is of course to be held accountable for any of the shortcomings of this study.

Amsterdam, April 1980 Tom Nieuwenhuis GLOSSARY

agha military chief amlr princely title given to shaykhs among others 'ashlrah tribal section 'ashriif descendants from the prophet a~niif guilds a'yiin local notables awiiniyyah forced loan or contribution awqiif pI. ofwaqf bab al-'Arab lit. 'gate to the ', main intermediary between the pasha and the Arab tribes baratulls locally raised infantry bayi (tribal) household beg princely title, given to governors a.o. (also: bey) beylik territory under a bey capitulations a set of commercial and other rights granted to the subjects of European states diibit military officer (often: tax farmer) daftardiir public treasurer diilljah local troops dam In tax farmer dev~irme Ottoman levy of Christian youths to be trained for the sultan's service dlrah tribal domain dlwiin council dlwiin efendi private secretary of the pasha, head of the administrative diwan fakhd group of bayts falliif:zln tribal cultivators hakim governor (usually of a town) bamulah tribal extended family hariim the women's appartments in the pasha's household [chaghalar aghas of the Interior iltizam tax farm intisap patron-client relationship kiif:zyah chief minister kiitib scribe, secretary ketkhuda see: kal;lyah khan inn or hostel for travellers and their wares (also: title) khiiss special military 'fief given to a governor khaznadiir private treasurer of the pasha khUwah tribute or toll paid to a tribal shaykh xii GLOSSARY liilii tutor lawand locally raised troops (usually cavalry) llwii' sub-province rna'diin marshdwellers rnadrasah muslim school rnahallah urban quarter rna~subiyyah protection system malikiinah tax farm granted for life rnamluk ( ex-)slave mewat see: scheme millet administratively autonomous non-Muslim religious community mir see: amir miri see: scheme mufti important religious leader muhassil regional supervisor of tax collection mu~afiz acting military governor mukhtar village chief mulk see: scheme multazim tax farmer mullah religious dignitary mutasallim governor mutawalli custodian na'ib asistent-judge, village chief naqib al-ashriif head of the body of ashraf nidhamiyyah reformed military system, introduced under sultan Mahrnud II nizam-l cedit reformed army (see: nidhamiyyah) pashalik territory under a pasha qabilah tribe qiirfi judge qii'immaqiim acting governor qalpiiqlls local troops ~arriif money dealer ~arriif bii~i chief banker in the service of the pasha sayyid descendant of the prophet serai palace, government offices shari'ah the religious law of Islam shiiwl title given to the bab al-'Arab shaykh chief of a tribe, quarter or guild sipiihi holder of a ziamet or timar sirkiil supervisor of cultivation tamlik -system grants of land in lieu of non-paid salaries tiipu type of state land (here: virtual private property) ta~arruf right of usufruct tatar messenger timar hereditary 'fief timariot holder oftimar tufinkshi local troops (often: riflemen) 'ulamii' learned religiOUS men urta regiment 'ushr tithe voyvoda (deputy-)governor wahhiibls puritanical-religious tribal movement GLOSSARY xiii wiili governor-general of a province waqf (pI. awqrtf) religious or charitable endowments in the form of land or other revenue-yielding source yanissaris urban infantry corps zaims holder of ziamet ziamet hereditary 'fief Map I: IRAQ

I

Diy'r Bakr I I Mardin

-""'"Ni~lbfn. - Sinjiir MOSUL PERSIA

I A1tun Kupri Jazirah • Kirkiik I • Tawq , • Tuz Khurmatu • Khfmiqin • Kifri • Kerm.nshah , Takrit • Qara Tepe• , ,, 'Anah , , \ , Syrian Desert - , Hit Mandah. \ , , , , , , Kii t al-' Amarah , , \ , \

, Najaflt. I " , ' " ,I ~iiq, ash-Shuyiikh BASRA~~ , Zubayr. , _ Approx. territory of the pashaliks of Baghdad , , ,Shott al-'Arab ;J - and Mosul, including some of the ) I territories of Kurdistan under Baghdad , I ARABIA / , L.\ ____ Main waterways \ \ \ \ \ o Old Lamhim \ \ \ \ Map Jl. Global indication of the territories of the pashaliks of Baghdad, Mosul and Sulaymaniyyah

I I \ '...... --" . - / .SULAYMANIYY AH , ...... , ,, , , , \ , , , \ , , " , , , \ , .. , \ \ , \..... I " '-', " ,I " ~ " , Basra ~ , , • Pashalik of Sulaymliniyyah , • Pashalik of Mosul ,

\ \ Source: CCC 5 (1812) \ \ \ \ \ Map III: Important sedentary agricultural areas between Mosul and Basra (indicative). Beginning of the 19th century I I I ; -

I I, , , ,, \ , ,,~ , , ~" , , , , , , \ , \ " I " , I " " , Global dividing line between rainfall and irrigation zone , , Seden tary agricultural areas , , Important agricultural concentration of tribesmen of the , Khaza'iJ, Banu Lam and Muntafiq \ \ \ Sources: Especially CCC 4 and 5; Batatu 1960; Von Oppenheim: v.p.; \ Wirth; Rich 1836; Buckingham; Rousseau 1808, 1809 \ \ \ Map IV: Map of th e nver. Ti . of Baghdad. After rs to the north 1850, in-. W . Wdlco . ehx k Jones IN.. C reation of Cha1d ea.C s,CaHo, .The 1903Re-

, . "

.:.' -if. " (,f-.' II ~

.'+ " ::" Map V: Global indication of the territoria of the most important tribal formations in 1812

I I I Millikurds -,\ ; - , ; - / \ / \ ~.m; I, 'Ugaydat ... I 'Anizah , I , Dulaym , , \ , , \ , , -Tugah , , , , ___ "","_B_an_il~Uim , , , \ , \ , I " " I " , Ka'b " " , Basra ~~ , , ,, Of course, pastljre routes are not indicated, but only a very rough indication of the principal do• , \ main of the tribal formations involved is given. \ \ Main source: CCC 5 (1812) \ \ \ Figure 1. Primitive lift-irrigation. Tigris banks to the south of Mosul. After V.L. Cameron, Our Future Highway to India. London, 1880, p. 250.

Figure 2. Primitive ploughing. Near Samarra. After Cameron, p. 273.