The fundamental questions that this study seeks to answer are:
Who were the people of Mesopotamia at the time of the British occupation?
What kind of administration and changes did the British implement in the country?
What caused the Iraq revolution of 1920?
Did the revolution bring any change to Mesopotamia?
These are the central questions to be answered in this thesis, focusing between the years of
1918 and 1921. There seems to be a connection between the British methods of controlling
Mesopotamia and some of the reasons for the Iraqi revolt. The purpose of this thesis is, to
take a closer look at the British administration of Mesopotamia during the last two years
before the rebellion that challenged the British control of that country.

Master´s Thesis in History
Department of Archeology, Conservation, and History
(IAKH)
University of Oslo
Spring 2015
Author: Rafael René Ortega Fabal