Breaking Boundaries: Gertrude L. Bell: A Woman Who Shaped A Country
Gertrude Lowthian Bell, a linguist, first-class archaeologist, British political officer, and the woman who shaped the nation of Iraq. Gertrude Bell broke boundaries in history because she paved the way for woman-lead roles in politics. Especially, when Bell played a pivotal role in the shaping of Iraq due to her position as the advisor to King Faisal of Iraq and the British Government, by granting them access to the secrets of the Middle Eastern religious tribal leaders. As well as the boundaries between Muslim men and woman as she often was not permitted to veil in their presence. In the deserts of the Arabian Nights, the prelude of the shaping of Iraq began. Bell spoke with sheiks, naqibs, and shariffs in order to learn valuable information that would make her a pivotal asset to the Bristish Government during World War I. At that time, she was the torchbearer of Iraq; a frail, chaotic country in which she led to its’ heavenly greatness. It is because of Gertrude; a woman, that the country of Iraq stands today.
In her early life, Bell was curious and intelligent. “Often climbing trees and reading books, she would absorb as much information as she possibly could.”, according to the book Desert Queen [Wallach, 27]. Born into a wealthy English family in 1868, Bell was able to study at prestigious schools, such as Oxford; where she made history. Since Bell was a woman, she was prohibited from graduating at Oxford. Albeit, as an alternative, she was able to earn a first-class honors degree in history and was among the first women to ever do so. Gertrude Bell did not just break boundaries, she shattered them. She was not married, she was not a mother, and she was not a feminist. She was an intellectual. Through her bold defiance and relentless determination, Bell was able to shape a nation, influence the Middle East, and construct a stairway that would inspire women to climb.
After Bell graduated from Oxford in 1892, then 24, she traveled to the British Embassy in Iran to visit her uncle Sir Frank Lascelles, the Ambassador of Iraq. Fascinated by their exotic culture and art, Bell became ignited with passion. She dedicated her time to become fluent in Farsi and Arabic, which would then lead to her inspiration for traveling the desert. Initially, Bell had no intention of becoming a political officer or an advisor to the King of Iraq. She simply wanted to explore the desert and quench her curiosities in this magical world; a world that was lost in time. Where cities and civilization were scarce, her servants, guides, and the tales of the Arabian Nights accompanied her.
The British Government needed prominent specialists to advise them on the shaping of the Middle East after they gained control after WW1. Gertrude was that specialist. In the book A Woman in Arabia {Howell, 85] “Bell was given an official position in the British diplomatic service due to her extensive knowledge of the geography of the Middle East as well as her acquaintance with its people and history.”. Serving under British Intelligence, Bell worked as a cartographer, advisor, spy, and political officer in order to gather intel on the politics of Mesopotamia [Iraq] during WWI. She was, in 1916, the first and only woman working for British Intelligence on the frontlines of war. While traveling across the desert, there was fear of encountering hostile Bedouins, such as the Druze and the Beni-Sakhr. Fortunately, she was granted protection by the British Government, which enabled her to surpass the violent Druze and other hostile tribes that speckled the desert unscathed. After 14 years of the triumphant expedition, Bell traveled a lengthy total of 20,000 miles across the desert; riding a camel that is.
Bell gained an astounding amount of respect in the Middle East as a person; as a woman. For her boldness and intelligence, the people of Mesopotamia trusted and believed in her. For them, she was a symbolic hope of peace and independence. The Arabs often affectionately called her, Khatun, meaning lady of the court. Her devotion and knowledge of the Middle East lead to her future role as the Oriental secretary of Iraq, a title bestowed upon her by King Faisal [successor of the Royal Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq]. It is here, the shaping of Iraq began, and the boundaries between sexes shattered.
For the first year of WW1, Gertrude worked in the War Office, cataloguing the names of the men who were missing or dead in the war. David Hogarth, a friend of Gertrude’s, was in charge of gathering information for the Office of Military Intelligence; as well as supplying the Foreign Office with details from his work in archaeology, politics, and journalism. In the book Desert Queen [Wallach, 135] “Gertrude’s reports were studied by the War Office and the Foreign Office in London and Military Intelligence in Cairo, regarding information on tribes.”. That information allowed insight to the geography of Iraq and where the tribes were located.
Though Gertrude wanted to improve Iraq and advise ways to maintain a stabilized and balanced government, she strongly opposed the notion of Arab unity and denied the idea of Arab nationalism. Desert Queen [Wallach, 144] “…the increasing weakness of the Ottoman Empire had caused the Sultan to reclaim his role as caliph; the chief religious leader of the Muslims, threatening the religious leaders in Arabia.”. Quite surprisingly, Bell actually wanted the British to rule Iraq and decrease the power of the Arabians in politics for fear that they are too barbaric and hostile to peacefully rule a balanced country. Her views changed shortly after the Britishes “good” intentions were deemed a facade in order to gain trading power versus forming a stable nation and protecting its art, people, and history. Additionally, Bell opposed the integration of the Zionist movements in Iraq, for she believed this integration would cause religious hostility in terms of the unfairness of imposing Jewish rule on Arab inhabitants in Palestine. Knowing of Gertrude’s views, King Faisal rashly signed an agreement with the Zionist leaser, Chaim Weizmann, on January 3, 1919, in recognition that the homeland of the Jews is Palestine.
Bell advised the great King Faisal of the Hashemite Dynasty of Iraq during his rule, which lasted from August 23, 1921 to September 8, 1933. The Hashemite Kingdom, founded August 23, 1921; the day Prince Faisal was crowned king, was formed under British Administration following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign during WW1. According to the book Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations [Howell, 176] the Iraqi Revolt of 1920 occurred due to the British intention of mandating Iraq as a British administered semi-independent kingdom under the Hashemite Kingdom. In 1932; one year before the end of King Faisal’s reign, the Hashemite Kingdom was granted full independence from the British, following the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1950. The British controlled most parts of Iraq as a mandate from the League of Nations, with the intention of controlling the trade route between Europe and India. Fortunately, with the intervention of Bell, she was able to advise Faisal on how to gain independence from the British. Adhering to her influence, however subtle, her advisements shaped Iraq by her ability to bring hostile Muslim tribes together and unify under one rule. The rule of King Faisal and the beginning of a new country.
Sometimes, King Faisal chose not to follow Bells advisements, such as the time when he agreed to General Allenby’s proposal that if Faisal allowed the French to monitor his rule, his government would be promised an Arab flag. Though this tempting deal had open seams, King Faisal agreed. Though in turn, a compromise had to be made; King Faisal would have French advisers who would control Syria’s finances and politics. Bell discouraged this proposal because her influence would be lessened and the future of Syrian affairs would be in the hands of a country who didn’t care for them.
As mentioned earlier, Bell attained a first-class honors degree in history and was an archaeologist; and as an archaeologist, Bell strived to protect and preserve artefacts. Supported in the book A Woman in Arabia [Howell,41] in 1922, Gertrude drafted an antiquities law for Iraq, and in 1923, founded the Iraqi Museum. If it weren’t for Bell, most of the Ur artefacts would have been completely removed and exported from Iraq by foreign excavators like Leonard Woolley.
At 57 years old, Gertrude Lowthian Bell had lived one hundred years. For she had been deemed a part of history. She experienced the fall of the great Ottoman Empire, which has never ceased to be resilient; she was the first person to climb all the Swiss Alps, only have begun in 1899 and completed in 1902; she was a scholar of many talents, an Oxford graduate with the highest degree in history; the founder of the Iraqi Museum, an archaeologist who witnessed the excavation of Mesopotamian history at the site of Ur [ancient Sumer] and finally, the woman who shaped Iraq. Even after her death on July 12, 1926, she was still revered, for statues were erected in her honor, and the desert still spoke her name; telling tales of a queen who travelled one thousand miles and blessed one thousand grains, a queen who was bold, defiant, and untame, a woman who was once gone and then once came; the Queen of the Desert… that was her name. Like Omar Khayyam quotes in his Rubaiyat, a phrase in which Gertrude once translated from Farsi, “Like water I come and like wind I go.”. That is how Gertrude came.
A woman. A symbol. A queen.
Bibliography
Howell, Georgina. A Woman in Arabia: The Writings of the Queen of the Desert.
Penguin Classics, 2015.
The insight of Gertrude Bell’s writings allows me to understand her viewpoints of the political situation in the middle east as well as her experiences and discoveries in the desert.
Wallach, Janet. Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell, Adventurer,
Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia. Anchor Books, 2005.
This source accounts for the life of Gertrude Lowthian Bell through her letters and other sources. This insight contributes to an in-depth understanding of what life was like for Gertrude Bell and how she shaped the nation of Iraq.
Bell, Gertrude Lowthian, and Florence Eveleen Eleanore Olliffe Bell. Gertrude Bell:
Complete Letters. Createspace, 2014.
This primary source is a collection of Gertrude’s letters of correspondence throughout the years of September 24, 1872 to July 7, 1926. Relaying her life, in all aspects, I have met the thoughts and feelings of Bell. I was able to see the world from her perspective; her eyes. This source provided me much insight on the politics of the Middle East and the shaping of Iraq. The letters begin from when she was six years of age, to the last year of her life.
Howell, Georgina. Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations. Farrar
Straus Giroux, 2008.
Howell records the political aspect of Gertrude’s life. How she impacted the Middle East and how she influenced politics as well as shattering boundaries between men and woman.
By Serenaty Lumpkin
