ABSTRACT
T he impact of British rule in shaping modern iraq has been second only to that of Ottoman rule. In some respects, the British left remarkably little behind; in others, they made a more lasting impression. Before the British mandate, there was no Iraq as a cohesive political entity; after it, a new state with the beginnings of a modern government had come into being. The British bequeathed Iraq its present boundaries and, as a result, potential minority problems and border problems with its neighbors.
