Irak

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['A Tommy'; Mesopotamia Campaign, British Army, First World War; Iraq; Indian Army; Ottoman Turks]:Biblio.com

The Campaign in Mesopotamia British Army First World War. Duplicated Typescript apparently contemporary of satirical poem by British soldier by ‘A Tommy’ titled ‘Alphabet of Mesopotamia’.

réf. 24124Without date or place but apparently written in Mesopotamia in late 1916. This poem is said to be an earlier work by ‘A Tommy’ the pseudonymous author of the collection ‘If I Goes West’ published in London by Harrap in 1918. WorldCat has no entries to support a second claim: that the present poem was published in 1917 with the subtitle ‘Verses written by a “Tommy” who has fought suffered and triumphed in Mesopotamia and is still on active service there’. While there is no indication that the poem has ever been published in its entirety extracts from it appeared in ‘The Bystander’ 27 November 1916; and ‘The Near East’ 6 July 1917; the latter headed ‘An Alphabet from Mesopotamia’ being preceded by the following: ‘A member of our Fighting Forces in Mesopotamia has composed some verses which he entitles “ The Alphabet of Mesopotamia.” Through the kindness of a correspondent we are allowed to reproduce here some specimens’. There may also be a reference in Catherine W. Reilly’s 1978 bibliography ‘English Poetry of the First World War’. Duplicated typescript titled ‘ALPHABET OF MESOPOTAMIA.’ 2pp foolscap 8vo. Text complete on two leaves of air mail paper glued together. Apparently contemporary and with the look of an item that has been handed around the mess room. Twenty-six four-line stanzas: one for each letter of the alphabet apart from a joint stanza for S and T and ending with an ‘ENVOI’. The first stanza reads: ‘ “A” Was an apple that grew so they say In the Garden of Eden down Qurnah way Till Eve came along and ate it one day And got thrown out of Mesopotamia.’ The poem includes the following stanzas: ‘ “F” Stands for Fritz who flies in the sky To bring down the brute we’ve many a try But the shells that we shoot seem to all pass him by And fall --- on Mesopotamia.’ ‘ “J” Is the jam with the label that lies And states that in Paris it won the first prize But out here we use it for catching the flies That swarm in Mesopotamia.’ ‘ “U” Is the Lake we call Umm-el-Brahm And guards our flanks from all possible karm sic And waters Gorringe’s Barley Farm In the middle of Mesopotamia.’ ‘ “V” Is the Victory we won at Dujailah I heard of it first from a friend who’s a sailor Who read it in Reuter’s on board a mahela On the Tigris in Mesopotamia.’ ‘ “W” Stands for the wonder and pain With which we regard the infirm and insane Old Indian Generals who guide the campaign Which we’re waging in Mesopotamia.’ ‘ “Y” Is the yearning we feel every day For a passage to Basra and thence to Bombay If we get there we’ll see that we stay right away From this wilderness - Mesopotamia.’ Without date or place, but apparently written in Mesopotamia in late 1916. unknown

Richard M. Ford Ltd · Royaume-Uni220,00 £GB≈ 261,82 €

[MIDDLE EAST - IRAQ] [KURDISH REVOLUTION]Biblio.com

The Displaced Mullah Is the Shining Face of Kurdistan's Revolutionary Movement

1990réf. 83129Kurdistan: New Organization 1990's. Original silkscreened poster 63.5cm x 46cm printed in red and white on heavy black paper. Slight wear to edges almost neglible and some minor surface cracking to the very heavily applied paint are the only things that could be considered defects. A very good example. An exceptionally striking image printed in dramatic red and white onto black card depicting a heavily armed figure in traditional Kurdish dress beneath the legend in Kurdish: "The Displaced Mullah; The Shining Face of Revolutionary Kurdistan" The figure depicted is in all likelihood a stylized portrait of Mahmoud Barzanji a national Kurdish hero from the unrest of the early 20th century who became the first King of Kurdistan and was appointed Governor of the region by the British after the formation of the Kurdistan Protectorate after WW1. Barzanji not universally popular in Southern Kurdistan was a leader of considerable energy and ambition which far outstripped British plans for his 'control' of the region. The British and Barzanji came into direct conflict when he began arresting and imprisoning British officials who put up any opposition to his plans and embarking upon a localised uprising. The British predictably enough put a stop to his ambitions by ambushing him on the Sulamaniah road wounding him and then graciously commuting his death sentence to one of imprisonment in the British stronghold of Lahore in India where Barzanji was kept prisoner until 1922. The other possibility and with a stronger resemblance is that the poster depicts Simko Shakik early 20th century warlord and revolutionary who aside from massacring Armenians and Assyrians for the greater good of Kurdistan also led a rebellion against Iran. Although not conspicuously working from a Kurdish nationalist perspective modern critical thought suggests that Shikak should be placed "within the confines of Kurdish ethno-nationalism" Kamal Soleimani; "The Kurdish image in statist historiography: the case of Simko" 2017. Shikak himself was mainly interested in plunder and what he no doubt considered 'punitive justice against' basically anyone who sought to extert power over him or as a secondary consideration other Kurds; the results of his aggressive energy and willingness to fight anybody however are historically considered evidence of his benefit to Kurdish freedoms. No other examples of this poster can currently be traced in trade or institutional database. New Organization unknown