Tribes and telegraphs in lower Iraq
The Muntafiq and the Baghdad–Basrah telegraph line of 1863–65
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10279800 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Soli Shahvar (0000-0002-3647-4668, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 89-116 |
| Publication date | 2003-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Middle Eastern Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0026-3206 • E-ISSN: 1743-7881 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00263200412331301607 |
| OpenAlex | W2086365895 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 4 |
The introduction of the electric telegraph into the tribal areas of lower Iraq in the early 1860s was a major component in the Ottoman policy of imposing central authority over the unruly tribes inhabiting that area.' During the implementation of this policy the Sublime Porte was confronted with one of the major tribes of lower Iraq, the Muntafiq. At the same time, the Indo-European telegraph line project, and its passage through Iraq, was an expression of the increasing British involvement in Iraq and Iraqi affairs. The role played by some British representatives in Iraq during the clash between the Ottoman authorities and the Muntafiq is a further example of such an involvement. Iraq came under Ottoman rule when it was occupied by Suleiman Qanuni (also called 'the Magnificent') in 1534. The country was divided into the three vilayets (provinces) of Mosul, Baghdad and Basrah, each headed by a vali (goveruor), with both the vali and vilayet of Baghdad enjoying a higher status and prestige in relation to the other two. The population of Iraq around 1850 was estimated at 1,600,000.2 Only 20 per cent of this number were urban dwellers, while the majority of the population consisted of tribesmen, who were either nomads3 (in search of agricultural grazing land or plunder and booty in settled areas) or settled and semi-settled (living as peasants in villages).4 Although nominally subjects of the Ottoman sultan and his representatives, the valis of Iraq, the true loyalty of these tribes was to their shaykhs (chief of a tribe) and their tribal tradition. Each tribe had its own defined area of influence in which only its own members were entitled to utilize the land, whether for grazing, cultivation or any other purpose which was approved by their shaykh. The tribal claims to land ownership and independence ran counter to the Sublime Porte's view that all conquered lands were state property, and their inhabitants the sultan's subjects. In the age of pre-modern (and westernstyle) nationalism, the loyalty of the inhabitants of the Ottoman empire was
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| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,54 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2018 (6) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |