14 July Revolution

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The 14 July Revolution also known as the 14 Tammuz Revolution, the Massacre of al-Zuhoor Palace or the coup d’état of 1958 was the coup d'etat of the Hashemite monarchy by the Iraqi Army.

Iraq's ruler at the time was King Faisal II (Faisal II of Iraq) (1935-1958), the only son of King Ghazi of Iraq and Queen Aalya. He was about four when his father, King Ghazi I, died and therefore the regency was assumed by his uncle, 'Abd al-Ilah (alternate spelling - Abdul Ilah), during the period of April 1939 to May 1953. Iraq took part in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War during this regency.

Faisal II was very shy and rarely seen in public. The young King and most of his family, including several female members and servants, were killed in the revolution that occurred early on the morning of 14 July 1958. Most versions of the events at the al-Zuhoor Palace that morning go like this: When confronted by the army, the Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, (who was also the regent), had ordered the Palace Guard not to fire and offered to leave the country with the entire Royal Family. This truce was agreed to and King Faisal II, Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, Princess Hiyam, Abdul Ilah's wife, Princess Nafeesa, Abdul Ilah’s mother, Princess Abadiya, the king’s aunt and several servants were ordered into the courtyard pre-dawn. Once there, they were told to turn towards the palace wall and an army captain opened fire on them with a sub-machine gun. Other soldiers joined in the the shooting. 'Abd al-Ilah's body was dragged through the streets, mutilated and left hanging from a balcony of the Defense Ministry for all to see. The next day, Nuri as-Said (alternate spelling - Nuri Said, al-Sa`id), who had been named Prime Minster of Iraq fourteen times and who had been on the cover of Time magazine the previous year, was dismembered by an angry mob after being caught trying to escape the city dressed in women's clothes and a veil.

The 14 July Revolution was the culmination of a number of uprisings and coup attempts, beginning with the 1936 Bakr Sidqi coup and including the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, the 1948 Wathbah Uprising, and the 1952 and 1956 protests. It was headed by Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim (alternate spelling - Abdel Karim Kassem, Qassim), who disliked the socially conservative and pro-Western policies of the monarchy, policies which had become quite unpopular at the time. He had the reputation of being the King's most loyal soldier but was in fact the leader of a group of Iraqi Army conspirators known as the Free Officers. His main co-conspirator was Colonel Abdul Salam Arif (alternate spelling - Abdul Salam Aref).

During the actual "revolution" / coup d’état, Qasim stayed just outside the city of Bahgdad at Mansur Camp with the Iraqi 19th Infantry Brigade. Arif was one of three commanders of the Iraqi 20th Brigade located at Jalawla Camp. The 20th Brigade was then actually due to proceed immediately to Jordan to assist King Hussein, who feared that an anti-Western revolt in Lebanon might spill over to Jordan and had requested Iraqi assistance. On the night of 13 July, Arif instead took control of the Brigade and marched it upon Bahgdad. That night they surrounded both the al-Zuhoor Palace and Nuri as-Said's house and also occupied other strategic points around the city.

After the young King and the others were murdered early the next morning, Arif read a proclamation claiming that the army had "liberated the homeland." Qasim and Arif then appeared on television and proclaimed that a republic would be inaugurated. A few hours later, martial law was declared. Qasim appointed himself Prime Minister of the new republic, appointed himself commander of the National Forces and assumed the portfolio of defense, proclaiming his desire to improve the living standards of the population and save them "from living in slums". Qasim, who called Arif "my son, my pupil, my brother", appointed him as his deputy, head of the Department of the Interior and deputy commander of the National Forces. The military hierarchy was filled with Free Officers but the cabinet was filled with a group of relatively moderate politicians. This was well accepted by the public at large. Other than the unfortunate Royals and their retainers, bloodshed was not widespread, although angry crowds severely damaged the British embassy and set it afire, the palace and many other properties, especially western ones, were looted. The popular notion amongst the Iraqis was that they had gained their independence but an unseen consequence was that by altering the old power structure the revolution revived tribal, sectarian and ethnic conflicts, including those between Arabs and Kurds and between Shias and Sunnis.

A supporter of Nasser and a pan-Arab nationalist, Arif was soon at odds with Qasim, (a confirmed Iraqi nationalist), who subsequently ordered him into "exile" as Ambassador to West Germany. This led to Arif's pulling a gun in Qasim's presence but he was disarmed and ultimately condemned to death as a traitor in 1959. Qasim commuted the sentence to life imprisonment but then relented even that and set Arif free in 1961 - a decision that would come back to haunt him.

Qasim continued to rule Iraq for two more years until he was ousted in the bloody coup d’état of 1963. Following a mock trial, he was summarily executed by firing squad just past noon on the day after the coup. The 1963 coup against him was led by a six man military junta, whose "head of state" was none other than Qasim's erstwhile "son, pupil, and brother", Abdul Salam Arif. Arif then assumed power immediately after eliminating Qasim. In 1966 Arif was killed in a helicopter accident, whereupon his real brother, Abdul-Rahman Arif, succeeded him until he too was ousted, in the Ba'athist coup d'état of 1968.

See also: 1941 Iraqi coup d'état

ar:حركة يوليو 1958

[edit] Sources

Iraq Since 1958: From Revolution to Dictatorship By Marion Farouk-Sluglett, Peter Sluglett, 1987

Historical Dictionary of Iraq By Edmund Ghareeb, 2004

Iraq: Historical Setting, Library of Congress Country Study, Republican Iraq

Friends & Brothers, Time Magazine, Friday, Feb. 15, 1963

Rulers Of Iraq - Various

Contemporaneous news articles - Various