

The 18th-century Mamlūk regime

The early 18th century was a time of important changes both in Istanbul and in Baghdad. The reign of Sultan Ahmed III (1703–30) was marked by relative political stability in the capital and by extensive reforms—some of them influenced by European models—implemented during the “Tulip Period” (Lāle Devri, 1718–30) by Grand Vizier İbrahim Paşa.

In Baghdad, Hasan Paşa (1704–24), the Ottoman governor of Georgian origin sent from Istanbul, and his son Ahmed Paşa (1724–47) established a Georgian mamlūk (slave) household, through which they exercised authority and administered the province. The mamlūks (Turkish: kölemen) were mostly Christian slaves from the Caucasus who converted to Islam, were trained in a special school, and were then assigned to military and administrative duties. Hasan Paşa made himself indispensable to the Ottoman government by curbing the unruly tribes and regularly remitting tribute to the treasury in Istanbul, and Ahmed Paşa played a crucial role in defending Iraq against yet another Iranian military threat. These pashas extended their authority beyond the eyālet of Baghdad to include Mārdīn, ʿUrfa, and much of Kurdish Shahrizūr and thus dominated the northern trade routes and secured additional sources of revenue. They also held sway over Al-Baṣrah and the trade lanes leading to the Persian Gulf, Arabia, and India. Mosul retained its separate provincial status and from 1726 to 1834 was governed by members of the powerful Jalīlī family. But, whereas the Jalīlīs, whose relationship to the sultan had some characteristics of vassalage, regularly made military contributions to Ottoman campaigns beyond their provincial frontiers, the pashas of Baghdad did not. The military forces at their disposal remained in Iraq, guarding against tribal unrest and threats from Iran.

After the collapse of Ṣafavid power in 1722, first the Afghans and later Nādir Shah (1736–47) seized power in Iran, which led to a resumption of hostilities in Ottoman Iraq. In 1733, before assuming the title of shah, Nādir unsuccessfully besieged Baghdad. He also failed to capture Mosul in 1742, and a settlement was reached in 1746 that confirmed the terms of the Treaty of Qaṣr-e Shīrīn. The assistance provided by the pashas of Baghdad and Mosul in countering the Iranian threat further enhanced their value in the eyes of the sultan’s government and improved their position in their respective provinces.

When Ahmed Paşa died in 1747, shortly after the death of Nādir Shah, his mamlūks constituted a powerful, self-perpetuating elite corps of some 2,000 men. After attempts to prevent these mamlūks from assuming power failed, the Ottomans were obliged to accept their rule. By 1750 Süleyman Abū Layla, son-in-law of Ahmed Paşa and already governor of Al-Baṣrah, had reentered Baghdad and been recognized as the first Mamlūk pasha of Iraq.

In the second half of the 18th century, Iraqi political history is largely the story of the autonomous Georgian Mamlūk regime. This regime succeeded in suppressing revolts, curbed the power of the Janissaries, and restored order and some degree of prosperity to the region. In addition, it countered the Muntafiq threats in the south and made Al-Baṣrah a virtual dependency of Baghdad. Following the example set by the Afrāsiyābs in the preceding century, the Mamlūks encouraged European trade by permitting the British East India Company to establish an agency in Al-Baṣrah in 1763. Their failure to develop a regular system of succession and the gradual formation of several competing Mamlūk households, however, resulted in factionalism and instability, which proved advantageous to a new ruler of Iran.

Karīm Khan Zand ended the anarchy after Nādir Shāh’s assassination and from 1765 ruled over most of Iran from Shīrāz. Like the Mamlūk rulers of Iraq, he was interested in the economic returns derived from fostering European trade in the Persian Gulf. His brother, Ṣādiq Khan, took Al-Baṣrah in 1776 after a protracted and stubborn resistance directed by its Mamlūk governor, Süleyman Ağa, and held it until Karīm Khan’s death in 1779. Süleyman then returned from Shīrāz, where he had been held captive, and in 1780 was given the governorship of Baghdad, Al-Baṣrah, and Shahrizūr by Sultan Abdülhamid I (1774–80). He was known as Büyük (the Great) Süleyman Paşa, and his rule (1780–1802) is generally acknowledged to represent the apogee of Mamlūk power in Iraq. He imported large numbers of mamlūks to strengthen his own household, curbed the factionalism among rival households, eliminated the Janissaries as an independent local force, and fostered trade and agriculture. His attempts to control the Arab Bedouin were less successful, and Wahhābī incursions from Arabia into Al-Hasa and along the fringes of the desert, climaxing in the sack of the Shīʿite shrine at Karbalāʾ in 1801, added to his difficulties.

Iraq Flag

1Includes 8 seats reserved for minorities.

2Includes some 2 million refugees in neighbouring countries.

Official nameAl-Jumhūriyyah al-ʿIrāqiyyah (Republic of Iraq)
Head of statePresident: Fuad Masum
Head of governmentPrime Minister: Haider al-Abadi
Official languagesArabic; Kurdish
Official religionIslam
Monetary unitIraqi dinar (ID)
Population(2014 est.) 34,796,0002
Total area (sq mi)167,618
Total area (sq km)434,128
Urban-rural populationUrban: (2011) 66.5%
Rural: (2011) 33.5%
Life expectancy at birthMale: (2011) 69.2 years
Female: (2011) 72 years
Female: (2010) 70.6%
GNI per capita (U.S.$)(2013) 6,710
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