i From Planning to Partition: Great Britain’s Policy Towards The Future of Kurdistan, 1915-1923 ii Kurdistan Regional Government- Iraq Ministry of Education and Youth General Directorate of Information, Printing and Publishing ZHEEN ESTABLISHMENT FOR REVITALIZATOIN OF KURDISH DOCUMETARY AND JOURNALISTIC HERITAGE In the year 2004, Sulemanyah city has seen the establishment of the Zheen Establishment. This centre is specified in collecting, maintaining and republishing old Kurdish newspapers and magazines, Kurdish documents and foreign documents that are particular about the Kurdish nation and their homeland. The centre looks after manuscripts and books written by Kurdish authors in the past time. It also works hard to recollect scattered products of famous Kurdish writers, the memories of foreign experts and the references that take on the Kurdish history, demography and culture. The centre also pays similar attention to the documents that concern the neighbouring countries because of the common history and mutual interests. Besides, the centre has established a library and an index system of its huge collection to facilitate the works of the scholars and researchers. The centre occupies a four storey building of over one thousand square meters. By the end of the 2011, 142 books of which forty of them are in Arabic, four in Persian and the rest is in Kurdish. Three issues of Zheen magazine have also been published, beside the Kurdish language Arabic and Persian has used. It has also three centres for manuscripts, documents and antiquities. A special hall is specified for old photography for celebrities. A great number of documents, photos, manuscripts, magazines, newspapers and books have collected and digitalized. This centre is not dealing with trades whatsoever. Iraq- Kurdistan Region, Sulemanyah. Str. 11 Piramagron, Dis. 11 Baranan, Beside Shaikh Fareed Mosque. Tel. No: 0096533194731-31. Mob. : 00967701565864 or 00967701484633. P. O.: 14. www.binkeyjin.com [email protected] iii Dr. Saad B. Eskander From Planning to Partition: Great Britain’s Policy Towards the Future of Kurdistan, 1915-1923 iv First Published in 2007 by Zheen Establishment in Arabic. Serial no.: 146 Title: From Planning to Partition, Great Britain’s Policy towards the Future of Kurdistan, 1915-1923 Author: Dr. Saad B. Eskander Designer: Las ID no.: 250, 2012 from the General Directorate of Public Libraries Print house: v Content Introduction 1 Chapter One From British Wartime Partition Schemes To The British Occupation Of Southern Kurdistan 15 - Historical Background: The Position Of Kurdistan In Britain’s Ottoman And Persian Policies Before The First World War 16 - The Position Of Kurdistan In Britain’s Imperial Schemes: From The 1915 Bunsen Committee To The 1916 Sykes-Picot (Tripartite) Agreement 24 - The British Occupation Of Southern Kurdistan, 1917-1918 33 - Conclusion 41 Chapter Two British Policy In Southern Kurdistan: October 1918 - August 1920 47 -Indirect British Control And The Establishment Of An Autonomous Kurdish State In Southern Kurdistan: Circumstances And Objectives 47 - The End Of The Autonomous Kurdish State: Circumstance And Objectives 52 -The Imposition Of Direct British Rule And Its Impact On The Political Situation In Southern Kurdistan 58 - London’s Attitudes Towards The Affairs Of Southern Kurdistan 61 -The Consequences Of The Imposition Of Direct British Rule In Southern Kurdistan For The Kurdish Question 65 - Conclusion 67 Chapter Three The Attitudes Of ritish Officials On The Ground Towards The Kurdish Question Between 1918 And 1920: Effects And Reactions 73 - Colonel Wilson’s Attitudes Towards The Kurdish Question Between 1918 and 1920 73 - Major Noel’s Approach To The Kurdish Question, 1918-1920 79 - The Reactions Of British Authorities In The Middle East To The Views Of Wilson And Noel On Kurdistan’s Future 87 - Conclusion 90 Chapter Four Regional Dimensions Of Britain’s Kurdish Policy, 1918-1920 95 - Kurdish Nationalists, Britain And The Turkish Peace Settlement, 1919- 1920 - The Development Of Britain’s Kurdish Policy In Light Of The Political 95 Aspirations Of The Armenians And Other Christians, 1918-1920 101 vi - The Sharifian-Mesopotamian Factor And The British Policy Towards Southern Kurdistan, 1918-1920 111 - Conclusion 117 Chapter Five British Policy Towards Kurdistan At The San Remo Peace Conf-erence: The Terms Of The Sèvres Treaty (August 1920) 123 - Kurdistan’s Geopolitical And Economic Value And The Limits Of Britain’s Direct And Indirect Interest 123 - The Crystallisation Of British Objectives in Kurdistan 126 - The Implications Of The Sèvres Terms In Light Of British Motives 130 - French Imperial Interests And Britain’s Kurdish Policy 133 - Persian Territorial Ambitions And Britain’s Kurdish Policy 137 - Conclusion 140 Chapter Six Southern Kurdistan Under Britain’s Mesopotamian Mandate: From Separation To Incorporation, Autumn 1920- Autumn 1923 145 - The Emergence Of Two British Policy Alternatives At The 1921 Cairo Conference: Separate Entities Versus Unitary State 146 - Cox’s Kurdish Policy In The Wake of The Cairo Conference 148 - Churchill’s Approach To The Question Of Southern Kurdistan’s Futu 151 - The Establishment Of The Second Kurdish Government In Autumn 1922: Circumstances And Objectives 154 - Cox And The Formation Of The Second Kurdish Government 157 -The Reversal Of The British Policy From Separation To Incorporation 160 - Conclusion 164 Chapter Seven The Formation Of The Arab State In Mesopotamia And Its Effects On Britain’s Post-Sèvres Policy Towards Southern Kurdistan 169 - Arab Territorial Ambitions Versus Kurdish Nationalist Aspirations 169 - The Establishment Of The Iraqi State And Its Political Implications For The Future of Southern Kurdistan 174 - The Incorporation Of Southern Kurdistan Into The Newly Established Iraqi State: Oil-Economic Considerations 180 - The Incorporation Of Southern Kurdistan Into The Newly Established Iraqi State: Strategic Considerations 183 - Conclusion 187 Chapter Eight British Kurdish Policy: Post-Sèvres & The Lausanne Conference 193 - Kurdish Nationalists, Britain And The Kurdish Situation Immediately After Sèvres 193 - Defensive Versus Offensive Approach To Northern Kurdistan: Britain And The Containment Of The Kemalist Threat 198 - International And Regional Considerations Influencing British Attitudes vii Towards The Kurdish Question, 1921-1923 205 - Conclusion 212 Concluding Remarks 219 Bibliography 255 Maps Introduction 10 1- The Administrative Division Of Ottoman & Qajar Kurdistan. Chapter One 23 2- Baghdad Railway Line. 26 3- Bunsen Committee: First Scheme Of Annexation In Ottoman Kurdistan. 4- Bunsen Committee: Second Scheme Of Annexation In Ottoman 27 Kurdistan. 28 5- Bunsen Committee: Zones Of Interest In Ottoman Kurdistan. 29 6- Bunsen Committee: Devolutionary Scheme For The Ottoman Empire. 30 7- Sharif Hussein Territorial Claims In Ottoman Kurdistan, 1915-1916. 8- Partition Of Ottoman Kurdistan Among The Allies According To The 32 Sykes-Picot (Tripartite) Agreement Of 1916. Chapter Two 48 9- The Advance Of British Forces In Southern Kurdistan During The War. 50 10- The Autonomous Kurdish State. Chapter Three 79 11- Noel’s Map Of Ottoman And Qajar Kurdistan, 1919. 85 12- Noel’s Scheme For The Future Of The Six Non-Turkish Wilayets, 1919. Chapter Four 97 13- Kurdish Nationalists’ Definition Of Kurdistan’s Frontiers in 1919. 14- Armenians’ Claims To Kurdish Areas According To Their Proposed 102 Map Of Armenia At The Paris Peace Conference In 1919. 15- Assyrians’ Claimed National Homeland In Kurdistan After The First 104 World War. 16- Kurdish Areas Included In The British Proposed Boundaries Of Armenia 105 In 1919. 17- Kurdish Areas Included In The American Proposed Boundaries Of 105 Armenia In 1919. Chapter Five 18- The Partition Of Ottoman Kurdistan Under The Terms Of The 1920 132 Sèvres Treaty. viii A Note On Transliteration With as much consistency as possible, I have used the system of transliteration adopted by the International Journal of Middle East Studies for Arabic and Persian. The only exceptions are those words which have become standard, such is ‘Sheikh’ and ‘Hussein’. The plural of Arabic words has been marked by an additional ‘s’ to the singular. Glossary Of Political & Administrative Terms Eastern Kurdistan Iran’s Kurdistan Northern Kurdistan Turkey’s Kurdistan Southern Kurdistan Iraq’s Kurdistan Western Kurdistan Syria’s Kurdistan Amir: Prince (An Arab Term) Hakim-i-Shar’ In charge Of Qadha (A Kurdish Term) Hukmdar: Governor (A Kurdish Term) Levies: Troops Of Assyrian Soldiers Led By British Officers (Later Included Arabs And Kurds) Liwa: Largest Unit Of Local Administration In Iraq (Division) Mir: Prince (A Kurdish term) Mudirliq: Sub-district Mudir: Administrator Of A Mudirliq (Nahiah) Mutassarif: Administrator Of A Liwa Nahiya: Smallest Unit In Local Administration In Iraq (Mudirliq=Sub-district) Qada: An Administrative Unit Between A Nahiyah And A Liwa (District) Qaimmaqam: Administrator Of A Qada Senjaq: Largest Administrative Unit within A Wilayet (Liwa) Wilayet: Main Administrative Unit In The Ottoman Empire (Province) Wali: Administrator Of A Wilayet Guide To Abbreviations In Citations CAB Cabinet Records, Public Record Office, (PRO) Kew Capt. Captain CO Colonial Office Records, PRO ix Col. Colonel DBFP Documents On British Foreign Policy Egy.Ex.Force Egypt Expeditionary Force FO Foreign Office Records, PRO GHQ General Headquarters GOC General Officer Commanding HMSO His Majesty’s Stationery Office IDCM Interdepartmental