The problems of history... and ignorance

On The Sciolist, I made the following comment in passing, and was pulled up on it by someone signing himself "mdl" -

A large part of the fault here lies at the feet of the British. They by themselves were responsible for the "installation" of "royal families" in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran during the late 1800s and prior to WW1.

He replied thusly...

Probligo, you are wrong on almost every point here. None of the four monarchies were active in the late 1800s, and none were independently established until after WW I. The British did install the Hashemite monarchies in Iraq and Jordan, but not the Sau'di nor Pahlavi (Iran). For the latter two, to claim even that the British were the primary influence is dubious; to say they were "by themselves" responsible is absurd

Right mdl, I apologise for being about 20 years early with my recollection of the history of British Petroleum, or (if I know it right) the Anglo Persian Oil Company.

Now for a history lesson...


Saudi Arabia
Nationmaster - Saudi Arabia
In 1902 Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud captured Riyadh, the Al-Saud dynasty's ancestral capital, from the rival Al-Rashid family. Continuing his conquests, Abdul Aziz subdued Al-Hasa, the rest of Nejd, and the Hijaz between 1913 and 1926. On January 8, 1926 Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud became the King of Hijaz. On January 29, 1927 he took the title King of Nejd (his previous Nejdi title was Sultan). By the Treaty of Jedda, signed on May 20, 1927, the United Kingdom recognized the independence of Abdul Aziz's realm (then known as the Kingdom of Hijaz and Nejd). In 1932, these regions were unified as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

cias - Saudi Arabia
1902: Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud retakes Riyadh.
1906: The Saudis have once again control over Najd.
1913: Conquering of Hasa, the region east of Najd.
1921: Conquering of Jabal Shammar, the region northwest of Najd.
1923: Britain stops transferring money to both Abdul Aziz and the Hashimite king of Hijaz, the Sharif. This tilts the power balance in favour of Abdul Aziz.
1924: The Sharif declares himself Caliph.
- October 13: Mecca is conquered bloodlessly, and Abdul Aziz declares himself guardian of the Holy Places.


Iran
Encyclopaedia - Iran
The discovery of oil in the early 1900s intensified the rivalry of Great Britain and Russia for power over the nation. Internally, the early 20th cent. saw the rise of the constitutional movement and a constitution establishing a parliament was accepted by the shah in 1906. Meanwhile, the British-Russian rivalry continued and in 1907 resulted in an Anglo-Russian agreement (annulled after World War I) that divided Iran into spheres of influence. The period preceding World War I was one of political and financial difficulty. During the war, Iran was occupied by the British and Russians but remained neutral; after the war, Iran was admitted to the League of Nations as an original member.

In 1919, Iran made a trade agreement with Great Britain in which Britain formally reaffirmed Iran's independence but actually attempted to establish a complete protectorate over it.


1906: The constitutional revolution.
1907: Russia and Britain divides Persia into protecting zones.
1914-18: Persia is neutral in World War 1, but becomes nonetheless a battle ground, where the oil of the country was the goal.
1919-21: Due to the threat from Bolshevik Russia, Persia becomes British protectorate for a period.


IRAQ
Encyclopeadia - Iraq

In World War I the British invaded Iraq in their war against the Ottoman Empire; Britain declared then that it intended to return to Iraq some control of its own affairs. Nationalist elements, impatient over delay in gaining independence, revolted in 1920 but were suppressed by the British. Late that year the Treaty of Sèvres established Iraq as a mandate of the League of Nations under British administration, and in 1921 the country was made a kingdom headed by Faisal I.Yes, from the same family as was installed in Saudi Arabia, brothers I believe . With strong reluctance an elected Iraqi assembly agreed in 1924 to a treaty with Great Britain providing for the maintenance of British military bases and for a British right of veto over legislation. By 1926 an Iraqi parliament and administration were governing the country. The treaty of 1930 provided for a 25-year alliance with Britain. The British mandate was terminated in 1932, and Iraq was admitted to the League of Nations.

cias - Iraq
1914: As a part of World War 1, British forces invade southern Iraq.
1917: British occupation of Baghdad begins.
1920: Arabs of southern Iraq starts military actions towards the British, who did not fulfill their promises to leave the area to the locals after the Turks were defeated. The British responded military in the beginning, but soon realized that it would be impossible to control the area.
1921: Prince Faisal of Hijaz (now: southwestern Saudi Arabia) wins a popular election, with 96% of the ballots, and is declared king of Iraq August 23. The new state did not get an easy birth, as the Shi'is in the south and the Kurds in the north fought for their independence. And outer forces, like Arabia in the south and Turkey in the north, tried to destabilize Iraq, and the cooperated with the Kurds to take control over the Mawsil area in the north. British forces stayed in the country, much because of a request from king Faisal. Hands up those who think there are no lessons to be learned from history...
1922 October 10: Alliance with Britain is signed.


Are you seeing anything of a common thread here yet?

JORDAN

Encyclopaedia - Jordan
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the region came under (1919) the government of Faisal I Not the same family again!!, surely , centered at Damascus. When Faisal was ejected by French troops in July, 1920, Transjordan (as Jordan was then known) was made (1920) part of the British League of Nations mandate of Palestine. In 1921, Abdullah I (Abdullah ibn Husayn), a member of the Hashemite dynasty and the brother of Faisal, was made emir of Transjordan, which was administered separately from Palestine and was specifically exempted from being part of a Jewish national home. A Jordanian army, called the Arab Legion, was created by the British, largely through the work of Sir John Bagot Glubb .

In a treaty signed with Great Britain in 1928, Transjordan became a constitutional state ruled by a king, to be hereditary in the family of Abdullah I, who was placed on the throne by the British.


cias - Jordan
1920: Jordan was established under the name of Transjordania, in 1920, as a British mandate.
1921: Abdullah, one of the fighters of power in the later Saudi Arabia, is made king.


Well, that is fairly "potted", sussinct, and I confess would leave out most of the nuances that "historians" like to write into sequences of events.

One of the factors that is not mentioned above, and which is a second common string in many of the events across the region is the role of the Anglo Persian Oil Company. That name might not ring a bell, but British Petroleum should.