EN
In the valley of the Tigris-Euphrates, at the end of World War I, the British occupied Basra, Baghdad and Mosul, which had been the seats of three separate Ottoman provinces. There was great uncertainty over the future. When the news from San Remo arrived, a rebellion burst out. For four months in 1920, war raged in Iraq, with resistance forces encouraged by the Shiite mujtahids and led by tribal shaykhs in control of the Euphrates region, as well as attacks in some areas north and east of Baghdad. The large cities and the Kurdish areas for the most part did not play a role in the fighting. The British selected Faysal, ex-king of Syria, as king of Iraq. After a referendum was held, Faysal was enthroned on 23 August 1921. The British provided Faysal, a king without a kingdom, to Iraq, a kingdom without a king. In 1922 the first Anglo-Iraqi treaty was signed giving the British military and economic control over Iraq. British advisers were accepted in all offices. The treaty meant subjection and colonization and justified the objections by the nationalists.