ABSTRACT
Iraq within its current borders was created shortly after the end of World War I. Which peoples and territories to include or exclude from the new state were in great part decided with the interests of other countries in mind, especially Great Britain. Britain had earlier detached Kuwait from Basra province and later helped establish it as an independent state. British policies provoked a widespread, though disorganized, rebellion in 1920 lasting about six months, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 6,000 Iraqis and about 500 British and Indian soldiers. The new British policies were formulated at the Cairo Conference of 1921, where Britain decided to impose an imported monarchy on Iraq. The 1922 British-Iraq Treaty was intended to create the impression that the relationship between Britain and Iraq was based on mutual agreement. Social complexity, involving multiple forms of social organization, identification, and solidarity, has been an important characteristic of Iraq.
