Iranian References and Iraqi Shiite Uprising in 1920

Sajad Dadfar[1]
Noor Aldin Nemati [2]

Abstract

The uprising of 1920 or the revolution that is known as "Surat Alasharein" is one of the most important events in modern history of Iraq. This uprising was a response to the invasion of Iraq by the British colonial government after the World War I, on the one hand, and an attempt to establish an independent Shia Islamic State, or at least a non-aligned one, on the other hand. Following the invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi Shiites—led by authorities and clerics who were mostly Iranians—organized a major uprising against the occupying forces. Although this uprising didn't provide Iraq with complete independence, but played a major role in the defeat of the British colonial government policies and establishment of the first national government in Iraq. The main concerns of the present paper are how this uprising took place, what the roots were, what the consequences were, and what the role of the Iranian references living in Atabat was. The main assumption of the present paper is that lack of local political experience in this uprising, along with British serious dominance over the regional policies, can be considered as the serious weak points in obtaining desirable results.