Abstract:
Gertrude Bell was Oriental Secretary to the British High Commission in Iraq
from 1916 up to her death in 1926. Among other administrative duties as Oriental
Secretary, her main job was to be the link between the High Commission and the native
population. In being so, contemporary literature has regarded Bell as being a ‘King
Maker’ in the placing of Faisal as the first monarch of Iraq in 1921 after the fall of the
Ottoman Empire.
Making Sherif Faisal the first King of Iraq would require a great deal of
planning, propaganda, public relations, media manipulation, and clandestine decision
making on Bell’s part amongst a disunited population. This thesis therefore hopes to
explore what her king making role was during the period of March 1921 (Faisal’s
nomination) up to August 1921 (Faisal’s coronation).
To demonstrate his power a King would also need to be surrounded by
pageantry and spectacles that would support his regal status and help him to gain
credibility in the eyes of both the British and his subjects. After Faisal’s coronation, I will
also explore what Bell’s efforts were, in creating such pageantry where Bell, as part of
the ‘king-making’ endeavor would also be Faisal’s ‘court maker.’
Being the only woman to serve in the administration Bell was regarded as being
the, ‘Daughter of the Desert’ and ‘Uncrowned Queen of Iraq.’ Titles with feminine
connotations, the fact that she was the only woman officer in a man’s domain is
intriguing. As a woman she stood out amongst her colleagues and the Iraqi people, and it
may have been due to her gender that she acquired much exposure, fame and respect.
Description:
Thesis (M.A.)--American University of Beirut, Center of Arab and Middle Eastern Studies, 2006.;"Advisor: Dr. Mary Wilson, Professor, Department of History and Archaeology--Member of Committee: Dr. Tarif Khalidi, Professor, Center of Arab and Middle Easter
Bibliography: leaves 74-81.