Legendary Gertrude Bell of Iraq and Arabia
When a British (Yorkshire) woman died in Baghdad in 1926, it was reported that the whole city, together with Islamic leaders and desert sheikhs, turned out to follow her coffin. Who was this woman? And what is her relevance today?
An excellent biography of Gertrude Bell, the woman behind the creation of modern Iraq, goes far towards making her a true heroine, a Gertrude of Arabia to match her friend, T.E. Lawrence, says The Economist. “By all accounts Gertrude Bell was a phenomenon. Plus she wore beautiful clothes.
“At Oxford in 1888, she was the first woman to take a First in Modern History. She fell in love with the desert and its archaeological remains, and between 1900 and 1913 journeyed about 20,000 miles (more than 30,000km), from Istanbul to the Syrian desert, from Damascus to the Tigris.
“An unveiled woman, leading her caravan, she conversed with warrior chieftains and wrote it all down in her diary: the feuds and alliances, the routes and water sources, the flowers and ruins…
“But the first world war changed all that. Turkey entered on Germany’s side. All her knowledge and friendships were now hot information. In 1915 came the order: Major Miss Bell was to join the intelligence men in Cairo, ‘the first woman officer in the history of military intelligence’….”
It is said: “Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) was a lone English woman in the male Muslim world of the Middle East; a famous author who wrote about the Arabs, an acknowledged archeologist, a courageous traveler who dined with china and crystal, dressed in extravagant clothes, rode on a camel and horse and penetrated dangerous regions of the Arabian desert.
“Ms. Bell was the most powerful woman in the British Empire in the years after WW1. She was named to the high post of Oriental Secretary and achieved nothing less than a miracle by creating the modern state of Iraq. Gertrude was the winner of the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society; the honorary director of antiquities at the Baghdad Museum; and the recipient of a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.”
It is also said that: “Though she is remembered today mainly by Middle East scholars and travel writers, there has recently been a modest revival of interest in Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) because of the key role she played in the creation of modern Iraq in the early 1920s.
“She was involved not only in putting King Faisal, son of the Hashemite Sharif of Mecca, on the throne in Baghdad, but helped draw the new country’s borders and mobilized its tribes and religious groups to support the new nation-state.
“To read her copious letters from Baghdad during the 1920s is like scanning this week’s headlines: many of the issues she confronted are the same ones the U.S. administrators and the new Iraqi government are dealing with today.”
As I said in one of my earlier posts, at times a woman can do a job far better than a man!!!
8 Responses to “Legendary Gertrude Bell of Iraq and Arabia”
The key here is took time to get to know the people, and how they thought. Talking to people goes a long way.
They made certain they designed a country that would be no threat to the British Empire and the crown jewel, India. After WW1 the Kurds were denied a country contrary to Wilson’s 14 points. The Sunni minority was placed in charge, a safe bet with a Shia majority country and the kingdom beholding to the British to stay in power. There was a Shia revolt, put down with air power and armored cars, and afterwards Iraq was peaceful due to fear. Saddam inherited Sunni power and used ruthless repression to rule the constantly restless minorities. All we did was to take the lid of this witches brew and let the built up passions of past wrongs out, now we have revenge and more revenge. Gertrude worked in the interests of Britain, not the people of Iraq.
Gertrude pursued the policy of what is called ‘enlightened self-interest’. And that’s what good diplomacy and international relations are all about.
Most important is the fact that she was a pioneer who laid the foundation of trust and dialogue in a hostile and unknown world. And established what is called a ‘human contact’ with the people around.
She did not move about in armoured vehicles and displayed macho traits, which turns even friends into enemies. She was dealing with the same people which the US- led allies are now dealing with.
The British rulers living in London delegated the power to those who knew the ground realities.
Today we have world leaders who simply ride roughshod over decisions taken by those who know the ground realities.
Hence, the consequent bloody mess and the threat to international peace and order.
Your version of history is very different than mine, Bell enthusiastically supported the British suppression of the revolt that eventually put Fiasel on the throne. The “enlightened� British used air bombardment and village burning to suppress the Shiites. The British commander even wanted to use mustard gas but it was not available. By the time the revolt was over 10,000 Iraqis died, including women and children caught up in the bombing. This is my version.
Just a thought…If the British were so cruel to ‘everyone’ then why this:
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