Mudbir al-Far'un (d. 1918) was a chieftain of the al-Fatlah tribe who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in 1913. British records describe him as having been "one of the best-known men on the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

" in the 1910s.

Biography

Over the course of his chieftaincy, Mudbir was employed by the Ottomans as an unofficial intelligence officer, and for a short time represented the Shàm ìyah on the

Wilayat council A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes fr ...

1913 Euphrates rebellion

In 1913, Mudbir addressed a tribal gathering in

Diwaniyah Al Diwaniyah ( ar, ٱلدِّيوَانِيَّة ''ad-Dīwānīyah''), also spelt Diwaniya, is the capital city of Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate. In 2002 the population was estimated at 440,927. Overview The area around Al Diwaniyah, which i ...

, lamenting Ottoman rule: Subsequently, rebels led by Mudbir clashed with Ottoman forces throughout the mid-

region of Mesopotamia. Although this rebellion ended in failure, Mudbir would continue to be the al-Fatlah chieftain.

World War I

In 1914, the Ottoman Empire called upon various chieftains to aid them in a Jihad against the British Empire. Mudbir al-Far'un was initially supportive, however, following British victories in the

Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...

, he adopted a more neutral, if not pro-British stance. A British report described Mudbir as follows: Mudbir condemned the Ottoman massacre that followed the

1916 uprising in Hilla The 1916 uprising in Hilla or the Akif incident was an Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1916. Background The Ottoman defeat in the Battle of Shaiba in April 1915 had damaged the authority of the Ottomans in the eyes of the Arabs, lea ...

Death and succession

Mudbir died in September 1918. According to British records, he was succeeded by his brother, 'Mujbil al Fara'un. 'Mujbil had an elder brother, Mizhir (born ), but he did not become head as his mental incapacity made him unsuitable for this position. British records note that Mujbil was "very useful to us immediately after the occupation" and "a fairly honest and not too intelligent man who is played upon by the astuter 'Abdul Wáhid, his nephew". The above account of Mudbir's succession differs from that of Peter Sluglett in ''Britain in Iraq: Contriving King and Country'' (2007). In this account, Mudbir's tribal lands were divided between 5 of his children after his death, one of which was 'Abd al-Wahid Sikkar, who would later participate in the

Iraqi revolt against the British The Iraqi revolt against the British, also known as the 1920 Iraqi Revolt or the Great Iraqi Revolution, started in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations by Iraqis, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman ...

and the 1935–36 Iraqi Shia revolts. According to Ahed Al Amiri in ''The Role of Karbala Scholars in Confronting the British Occupation'' (2017), Mujbil would be "one of the prominent personalities of Al- Fatlah tribe and took part in the leadership of the Iraqi revolution in 1920". British records state Abdul Wahid was the chief of the Fatlah at the time of the 1935–36 Iraqi Shia revolts.

Historiography

The speeches in this article are taken from Fariq al Mizhir al Fir’awn's 1952 book ''Al Haqa’iq al Nasi’a fil Thawra al Iraiya Sanat 1920 wa Nata’ijoha''. However, Fanar Haddad's 2012 analysis doubts whether these speeches were accurately recorded (these were recorded decades after the events in question, and may reflect sentiments that developed later), and if so, is uncertain if speeches were sincere.

Notes

References

{{reflist Arab rebels 1918 deaths Rebels from the Ottoman Empire Tribal chiefs