Aspects of the social and political history of the Yazidi enclave of Jabal Sinjar (Iraq) under the British mandate, 1919-1932

Abstract

This thesis focuses on various aspects of the social and political history of the Yazidi Kurds of Jabal Sinjar ( Iraq)during the British mandate. When relevant to the history of mandatory Sinjarit also deals with the neighbouring Yazidicommunity of Iraqi Shaikhan. Chapters I and II are primarily concerned with the society and economy of Jabal Sinjarin theperiod under consideration with particular emphasis on the socio-economic and political organization of the Yaziditribes settled in the area. They also provide a general historical perspective of the socio-economic development ofthe region. Chapter III discusses the late Ottoman period in detail with a view to defining community-state relations andthe development of Yazidi inter- tribalaf fairs in Jabal Sinjar. Chapters IV and V examine the history of the YazidiMountain in the years of the British mandate when the emerging structures of the Iraqi state had significantrepercussions on Sinjari society, especially on the attitude of a number of Yaziditri al leaders. These developments areanalysed primarily in the context of the policies implemented in the northern Jazirah by the British and Iraqiadministrations and by the French mandatory authorities who controlled its Syrian section. Particular emphasis is placedon the dispute between Great Britain and France concerning the elimination of the Syro- Iraqi border in the Sinjar areawhich affected relations between the Yazidis, the British mandatory administration and the Iraqi authorities ChapterVI gives an account of the Sinjari Yazidis' quest f or autonomy which became increasingly associated with theAssyro-Chaldean autonomist movement in the last years of the mandate.