T. E. Lawrence is sent by the British to Sharif Hussein of Mecca to foment an Arab revolt against the Ottomans, aimed at weakening the Ottoman position near the Persian
Gulf to Britain’s advantage.
Faisal, the son of Sharif Hussein, leads the revolt alongside Lawrence.
Signature of the Sykes–Picot Agreement, a contract between Britain and France carving up the Ottoman Empire, including the Arab provinces, into spheres of control.
Gertrude Bell, traveller and archaeologist, arrives in Basra to serve as the only female British political officer with knowledge of the terrain and the Arab tribes of Iraq. Bibi and Hadi are married.
1917
Baghdad is captured by British troops marching from the south.
1918
Word War I ends and Rushdi is born.
The British occupy the provinces that make up Iraq.
The French occupy Syria and Lebanon.
1919
The Paris Peace Settlement is signed. Faisal heads an Arab delegation to the conference, accompanied by T. E. Lawrence, to lobby unsuccessfully for Arab independence.
1920
The Treaty of San Remo is decided at a meeting to determine fate of former Arab Ottoman territories, based on the previous Sykes–Picot agreement and overlooking British promises to Sharif Hussein for an Arab Kingdom.
Gertrude Bell becomes Oriental Secretary to British Commissioner Sir Percy Cox and plays a key role in supporting Arab rule in Iraq.
Faisal is crowned King of Syria but is driven out by the French after the battle of Maysaloun in June.
Revolt breaks out in southern and central Iraq among Shi’a tribes and there is joint Sunni–Shi’i resistance to the British in Baghdad.
The idea of the India Office running Iraq as an administration is abandoned by the British in favour of national rule.
1921
In April, the Cairo Conference is called by Winston Churchill to decide the fate of Iraq, which is now too costly for the British to run. Lawrence and Bell attend. Faisal is chosen as King of Iraq.
King Faisal arrives in Basra in June, then through the main Iraqi cities to Baghdad. He receives a cool reception, but among those welcoming him is Abdul Hussein Chalabi.
Faisal is crowned at a ceremony in Baghdad in August. Gertrude Bell is charged with setting up his court.
Hassan is born.
1922
Abdul Hussein becomes Minister of Education, breaking with the Shi’a fatwa forbidding participation in government. He is banished from Kazimiya.
The Chalabi family moves to the Deer Palace late November.
1923
Thamina is born.
1924
Raifa is born.
Hassan loses his sight.
Tensions that will later explode under Saddam Hussein begin to brew in the Ministry of Education, under Sunni Arab nationalist Director of Education Sati’ al-Husri.
1925–8
Abdul Rasul studies at Cambridge.
1926
Gertrude Bell founds the Iraqi Museum in June, then commits suicide in July.
1929
Abdul Rasul is diagnosed with cancer and travels to Europe with Hadi to seek treatment.
The Turkish Petroleum Company becomes the Iraqi Petroleum Company. Majority shares are still held by European partners, with Iraq benefiting from only 20 per cent of revenue.
1930
Abdul Rasul dies of a brain tumour. Hadi becomes a Member of Parliament for the town of Diwaniya.
Hadi becomes the agent for Andrew Weir & Co., supplying wheat and barley – Iraq’s main agriculture exports along with dates.
1932
Faisal struggles with a tension between local demands and Britain’s intervention in what has until now remained a British mandate. This year, Iraq officially becomes independent.
Iraq joins the League of Nations.
Rebellion breaks out in the north and is dealt with brutally by the British. 4000 die.
1933
Umm Kalthoum holds her first concert in Baghdad. Bibi attends with Shamsa.
Talal is born. King Faisal dies unexpectedly. Ghazi becomes king.
1935
Hazem is born. Hadi is arrested on charges of treason, imprisoned and sentenced to death, but released three months later.
1936
Abdul Hussein serves his final parliamentary term and becomes a senator.
A military coup d’état is attempted.
Hadi becomes the first head of the Iraqi stock exchange.
1937
Rushdi travels to London to study, then transfers to the American University of Beirut.
1938
The Chalabi family move from the Deer Palace to new house built by Hadi, now called the Sif Palace.
Jamila dies.
1939
Abdul Hussein dies.
King Ghazi dies in car crash. Popular opinion holds that the British killed him because he was a nationalist and popular with the military.
The Second World War breaks out while the Chalabi family is travelling back from holiday in Lebanon, then under French rule.
1940
Hassan starts his degree at the law college and is introduced to Jamila.
Minister of Finance and former adviser to King Faisal Rustum Haidar is killed in his office. The murder is widely seen as a sectarian attack against the Shi’a.
1941
A successful pro-Nazi coup d’état is led by Rashid ’Ali Gailani. The royal family flees.
