Gertrude Bell: Influential in the Creation of Modern Iraq, Book Review Example

In antiquity, Iraq was known as Mesopotamia, a loosely-governed area of several Arab monarchies. It existed for more than 10,000 years and is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Mesopotamia sided with Germany in the First World War. Following the close of the war, British troops entered Mesopotamia and the name of the region became Iraq (Wilson Quarterly, 54)

Known by British society as the queen of the desert (Howell ix), Gertrude Bell came from a strong, influential family. Her background included graduate education at Oxford University. Following a few years beyond Oxford, her family moved to Constantinople. There she met a British diplomat, Henry Cadogan (Furst 39). Her love affair was brief; Cadogan died shortly thereafter. Perhaps it was Cadogan who influenced Bell and created in her a love for Arabic affairs. Although research suggests this mutual interest there is nothing in Bell’s memoirs that speaks about Cadogan other than their brief love affair (Howell 33). Following Cadogan’s death, Bell’s trips to the desert cemented her love of the region and helped her gain fluency in the Arabic languages.

Prior to World War I Bell traveled repeatedly in the desert. The area which in antiquity was Mesopotamia was after the beginning of the 20^th century, the Ottoman Empire (Wallach 219-220). Many Arab cultures were impressed by Bell’s self-educated knowledge of the Arabic languages (Time Magazine 219). In addition, the Arab peoples with whom she made contact were equally impressed by a female of such knowledge, recognizing that Arab women were generally unrecognized in their male dominated culture (Time Magazine 222).

During World War I Bell’s enterprises were depended upon by both the Allied and Axis leaders. Both sides were especially interested in knowing the opinions of the Arabs and on what side of the war they would offer their support. The “Bell Report” was ordered by the British consulate in the region (Wallach, 278). It made its way up the chain of command and cemented Bell’s name in the British political scheme of the time. In 1915, based on Bell’s report and as part of her request, the British sent agents to the area (Howell 312). Their task was to organize a revolt against the Ottoman Empire, the ruling group at the time of the World War and for many centuries prior to that war.

Following the cessation of fighting, Gertrude Bell returned to the desert as part of the Arab Bureau, that agency of the British government that oversaw Middle East activities (Wallach 272). Bell’s task was cataloging and documenting the different Arab factions that resided in the Middle East. Bell’s involvement with the Arab Bureau was strictly informational. She believed she was supplying to the British government information about the indigenous tribes of the Middle East. However, the British government was more interested in wrestling away the area from free rule (HMSO 135). The areas of classical Mesopotamia, each with their own ethic populations and each with their own idea of rule were left in shambles. It was from this rubble that Bell took on her new role, that of that of identifying the boundaries and creating Iraq (HMSO 138).

Bell knew that she had to satisfy both her own conscious and the people who supported her, the British government. Following World War I, Iraq and the areas surrounding Iraq simply did not exist. The area was a loosely formed group of Arab monarchies, each with its own beliefs. Although the Muslim faith was the dominant religion of the area, each government in the area had its own ideas and expectations for its citizens. On the other hand, the British government was also devoid of resources following the World War. It really wanted to cultivate the Arab tribes as colleagues but could give no aid to strengthen the region.

During her early years of the love affair that Bell created with the desert, she became an historian, cartographer, and photographer. In addition to her native English, she learned the various dialects of the Arab culture. She also became fluent in German, French, and Italian, Persian, and Hebrew (Howell 318). In addition to her language skills, her travel skills familiarized her with the survival skills of the desert. At the beginning of her love of desert lore she tried to distinguish herself by being “strictly British.” However, she soon learned that desert survival required her wearing the traditional keffiyeh, a head scarf with only small eyelets for vision. She also learned to protect her feet, even though she wore boots, from the blazing sun. Finally, she wove a special sleeping bag to protect her from the sand fleas that attacked her when she slept. Bell traveled the desert on horseback, accompanied by a small caravan of cooks, muleteers, and a guide. According to her notes she felt more secure on a horse, still used for transportation in most parts of the world, than she did riding a camel (Winstone 77-79).

By this time, Bell had spent two years in the Arabian Desert. She was considered an expert in both the policies and politics of the region, undertakings of her own choosing. Bell would have preferred a united Arab nation, but even she determined that was likely impossible. She was summoned to Cairo, Egypt by British Intelligence and was presented with the rank of Major (HMSO 10). In an era when women did not hold public office above the rank of secretary, this was a huge accomplishment for Bell. The area was still in turmoil: The British were fighting the Turks because they wanted access to the oil; by this time in history the Royal Navy had been fully converted to oil for fuel. Coal burning ships simply didn’t exist anymore in Britain and they were being phased out in most other civilized nations. In addition to gaining access to the oil, Britain was fighting India to stop them from annexing Mesopotamia.

Bell was given the title of Oriental Secretary in 1917. Her status was that of Assistant Political Officer (Howell 313-315). Because of her new post she relocated to Basra where she was immediately responsible for creating the Basra Province. She later moved to Baghdad to continue her work. Baghdad would remain as her permanent home the rest of her life.

It was in Baghdad that Bell became active in creating a new kingdom. After first conferencing with Bell, the incoming Judicial Officer, Sir Edgar Bonham-Carter, took the first steps by setting the Arabic language as the official language and by creating courts for civil and Sharia law (Winstone 135-137). For the first time since antiquity women began having some say in the governance that affected them. To these ends Sir Bonham-Carter created five schools specifically for the education of females.

Although any and all actions by Bell needed Bonham-Carter’s approval, they agreed with each other that they were starting out with a piece of barren wasteland. They still needed something—or someone—to bring unity to the area. Bell found that support in Faisal bin Al Hussein of Saudi Arabia (HMSO 19-23). According to Faisal, he was a direct descendent of the Muslim prophet, Muhammad. However, unlike Muhammad, his interests favored Arab nationalism and independence over religion (Lawrence 179-181). He believed that nationalism and independence would create for the Arabs a substantial place among the influential peoples of the world. He viewed religion as a form of personal guidance and from this guidance a form of actions and relationships from one Arab brother to another. Literature suggests that Faisal’s success in overthrowing the Ottoman Empire came as a result of his first meeting Captain T.E. Lawrence from British Intelligence—not Gertrude Bell or Bonham-Carter, although Bell played later roles in representing Faisal in an agreeable light to Great Britain (Lawrence 37-41).

The Paris Peace Conference was held in 1919. Faisal, Lawrence, Bonham-Carter, and Bell argued for the establishment of independent Arab emirates formerly held by the Ottoman Empire. Immediately prior to the peace conference British troops with help from the Arabs, took Syria away from Turkish rule. In 1919, just before the Paris Peace Conference, Faisal became King of Syria through elections held by the Syrian National Congress. The Balfour Agreement of 1919 was a pact between Faisal and Dr. Chaim Weizmann, President of the World Zionist Organization. In the Balfour Agreement, Faisal acknowledged and welcomed the reestablishment of the Jewish State of Israel (Jewish Virtual Library). Unfortunately, Faisal was unable to fully convince his Arab electors of the need for the Jewish state. For the most part his statement went unheeded until the United Nations’ vote in 1948.

In early 1920, Faisal was installed as King of Syria, an act which caused the Franco-Syrian War. Following France’s victory Faisal was expelled from Syria and lived for a year in Great Britain. It was during this time in Great Britain that Gertrude Bell was able to best influence her government to give Iraq to Faisal (Winstone 53). Few people in Iraq knew Faisal but many Arabs of the region knew Bell and she was able to influence the people of that region. Bell knew more about Iraq than did Faisal (Winstone 57), but being a female in a male-dominated society and not being of Arab descent, she lacked the influence to personally create a place for herself in this new government. Faisal recognized Bell as a friend and was willing to listen to her advice, but he was unwilling to create a decision-making position for her in his male dominated government.

Faisal enjoyed Bell’s company and relied on her as his personal confident in political matters. He also commissioned her to create Iraq’s first flag and his personal standard. By this time Bell was known as the foremost person of archeological expertise. Because of her extensive knowledge Faisal appointed her as his Director of Antiquities. Her task, which kept her busy, was writing antiquities laws that would balance the rights of the host nation and the many excavators from different parts of the world. Faisal recognized that the new Iraq was squarely in the middle of the ancient Mesopotamia, an area written about as far back as the Old Testament Bible. Although Iraq was originally part of a different nation, Bell believed that Iraq was entitled to artifacts of its own past. Therefore, she was instrumental in creating the Baghdad Museum. The main wing of the Museum was named for her.

Toward the end of her life (1925), Bell returned to London for a visit. By this time her family had lost most of their money. The mansion of her childhood was gone. Many members of her immediate family had passed away. During her lifetime she had personally suffered from malaria, jaundice, and bronchitis. Her family’s physician advised her not to return to Baghdad’s oppressive heat. She did not follow her physician’s directions, returning to Baghdad where she contracted pleurisy. Gertrude Bell lived in an era when women were simply not recognized for their efforts in public life. The roles of women in that era were childcare and household duties. Although a woman like Gertrude Bell might have excelled at activities more specifically thought of as belonging to the opposite gender, their efforts were generally cast asunder. On July 26, 1926, Bell told her maid she was going to bed early and she didn’t want to be disturbed. She was found the next morning, the victim of an overdose of sleeping pills.

Gertrude Bell was honored posthumously by the British government for her work. In October 1917 Bell was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Five months later the Royal Geographical Society posted the Founder’s Day Medal in her honor. At her death, King George V sent personal condolences to Bell’s parents.

In her own right, Bell was a unique woman. She created a love affair with the area that would eventually become the Arabian Desert. To say that she fell in love with Iraq would be an understatement because at the time that she committed herself to this region of the world there was no Iraq, or, for that matter, other specifically identified countries beyond the biblical references to Mesopotamia.

Bell might be described as a bit of a tomboy. Her interests seemed more related to men of her day than to women of that era (Howell 319). She sought cartography, photography, and archeology—interests that were more geared to a male dominated society. Historically, women have improved their roles in life as the decades have passed by and humankind has entered the 21^st century. But in the early 20^th century, women’s roles practically never crossed gender barriers. Bell, her duties in Iraq reduced and her popularity disappearing because of changing times, committed suicide in 1925. Bell lost her popularity working for a government which was not actively seeking change, and where change was forthcoming chose to given the credit to men serving in the intelligence service who were at approximately the level as Bell.

Bell had a strong education and came from a financially secure family. What caused Bell’s attractiveness to the desert is not discussed in her memoirs. If she was searching for personal fame she could have stayed in England where her education and financial security would have supported women’s causes of the early 20^th century: better healthcare for all, better childbearing—changing midwifery to hospital-based nursing care, and women’s suffrage.

In all businesses including government employment there are those individuals who are elected and/or appointed officials who are deemed by their superiors to take the credit for successful events that occur within normal operations of the entity. Backing up these individuals are large groups of individuals known as support staff. Typically, support personnel do the legwork while their supervisors take the credit. The positions held by Gertrude Bell, with the exception of Director of Antiquities, were always support staff related. Although Bell was consulted with and sought out for her knowledge, she never received full credit for the creation of Iraq. That honor was given to her male colleagues. Support personnel come and go; they are remembered for as long as their services are needed but quickly forgotten once their tasks have been completed. So it was with Gertrude Bell.

Works Cited

Bell, G. (1920). Review of the Civil Administration in Mesopotamia. London: His Majesty’sStationery Office. (In 1920 the British monarch was male).

Furst, B. (2005, February). Déjà Vu All Over Again. American Diplomacy Journal. Chapel Hill,NC: Diplomacy Publications.

Howell, G. (2006). Gertrude bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations. New York: Farrar,Straus, & Giroux.

Jewish Virtual Library. Faisal’s Acceptance of the Balfour Declaration.www.jewishviurtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/faisal­balfour.html

Lawrence, T.E. (1926; retrieved 2008, July 14). Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Australia: GutenbergPress.

Naiden, F. (2007). Lines in the Sand. Wilson Quarterly 31:52-63.Time Magazine. (1933, August 28; retrieved 2009, August 18). Border Massacre. Author unknown.

Wallach, J. (1996) Desert Queen. The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia. New York: Nan A. Talese.

Winstone, H. V. F. (1978) Gertrude Bell. New York: Quartet Books, Inc.