Gertrude Bell

Bell, aged 41, before her tent while visiting archaeological excavations in Babylon (1909).

Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was a British writer, traveler, political officer, administrator in Arabia, and an archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly important to British imperial policy-making due to her extensive travels in Greater Syria, Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1917. Bell, along with T. E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), helped establish the Hashemite dynasties in Jordan as well as in Iraq. She played a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq utilizing her unique perspectives from her travels and relations with tribal leaders throughout the Middle East. During her lifetime she was highly beloved and trusted by British officials and given an immense amount of power for a woman in that time period.

Early life

Bell was born in Washington Hall in County Durham, England, to a prestigious family. The prestige of her family gave her high status and protection as well as the confidence and freedom to travel. She is described as having “reddish hair and piercing blue-green eyes, with her mother’s bow shaped lips and rounded chin, her father’s oval face and pointed nose.” Her personality was that of a rebel against society’s expectations of womanhood encompassing good wife and mother. She was characterized by energy, intellect, and thirst for adventure which shaped her path in life. Her grandfather was Isaac Lowthian Bell, an Industrialist as well as a Liberal Member of Parliament in Benjamin Disraeli’s second term. His role in British policy-making exposed Gertrude at a young age to international matters and most likely encouraged her curiosity for the world and later involvement in British politics.

Bell experienced death at a young age, with the loss of her mother when she was three years old resulting in her close relationship with her father. Throughout her life she often asked his advice in political matters. Some biographies say the loss of her mother had caused underlining childhood trauma that was revealed through periods of depressions and risky behavior. At age seven Bell acquired a step-mother, Florence Bell, who was a playwright and author of children’s stories as well as having written a study of Bell factory workers. She instilled concepts of duty and decorum to an undisciplined Gertrude and also contributed to her intellect and feminist activities in the Anti-Suffrage League. Florence Bell’s activities with the wives ironworkers may have helped influence Gertrude’s later stance promoting education of Iraqi women .

Gertrude Bell received her early education from Queen’s College in London and then later at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University at age 17. History was one of the few subjects women were allowed to study due to the many restrictions imposed on women at the time. Therefore, she specialized in modern history in which she received first class honors degree in two years.

Gertrude Bell never married, but she did have an unconsummated affair with Major Charles Doughty-Wylie, a married man and her second love next to Persia, with whom she exchanged love letters from 1913-1915 . Upon his death in 1915, Bell became depressive and launched herself into her work. After Doughty-Wylie it seems Bell was never able to find another romantic interest.

Travels and writings

Bell's uncle, Sir Frank Lascelles, was British minister at Tehran, Persia. In May 1892, after leaving Oxford, Bell travelled to Persia to visit him. She described this journey in her book, Persian Pictures. She spent much of the next decade travelling around the world, mountaineering in Switzerland, and developing a passion for archaeology and languages. She had become fluent in Arabic, Persian, French and German as well as also speaking Italian and Turkish.

In 1899, Bell again went to the Middle East. She visited Palestine and Syria in that year and in 1900 travelled to Jerusalem to look for the Druze. She reached Jebel Druze and befriended the Druze king Yahya Bey. In 1905, Bell was again in the Middle East and travelled widely, studying local ruins and staying with both the Druzes and Beni Sakhr and meeting many Arab chieftains, emirs and sheiks. She published her observations in the book Syria: The Desert and the Sown published in 1907 (William Heinemann Ltd, London). In this book she described, photographed and detailed her trip to Greater Syria's towns and cities like Damascus, Jerusalem, Beirut, Antioch and Alexandretta. Bell's vivid descriptions opened up the Arabian deserts to the western world. In March 1907, Bell journeyed to Turkey and began to work with the archaeologist and New Testament scholar Sir William M. Ramsey. Their excavations were chronicled in A Thousand and One Churches.

In January 1909, she left for Mesopotamia. She visited the Hittite city of Carchemish, mapped and described the ruin of Ukhaidir and finally went to Babylon and Najaf. Back in Carchemish, she consulted with the two archaeologists on site. One of them was T. E. Lawrence. Her 1913 Arabian journey was generally difficult. She was the second foreign woman after Lady Anne Blunt to visit Ha'il.

Anti-Suffrage League

Bell also became honorary secretary of the British Women's Anti-Suffrage League. Her stated reason for her anti-suffrage stand was that as long as women felt that the kitchen and the bedroom were their only domains, they were truly unprepared to take part in deciding how a nation should be ruled.

War and political career

At the outbreak of World War I, Bell's request for a Middle East posting was initially denied. She instead volunteered with the Red Cross in France.

Later, from the WWI period until her death she was the only woman holding political power and influence in shaping British imperial policy in the Middle East. As an unmarried woman traveler she often acquired a team of locals which she directed and led on her expeditions. Throughout her travels Bell established close relations with tribe members across the Middle East. Additionally, being a woman gave her exclusive access to the chambers of wives of tribe leaders which gave her access to new perspectives of activities and functions of these tribes of which other male British officials were unaware. She was highly liked and respected by many of the leaders due to her knowledge, curiosity, and love of the different cultures of the area as well as political influence she held.

Work in the Middle East

In November 1915, however, she was summoned to Cairo to the nascent Arab Bureau, headed by General Gilbert Clayton. She also again met T. E. Lawrence. At first she did not receive an official position, but, in her first months there, helped Lt Cmdr David Hogarth set about organizing and processing her own, Lawrence's and Capt. W. H. I. Shakespear's data about the location and disposition of Arab tribes that could be encouraged to join the British against the Turks. Lawrence and the British used the information in forming alliances with the Arabs.

On 3 March 1916, after hardly a moment's notice, Gen. Clayton sent Bell to Basra, which British forces had captured in November 1914, to advise Chief Political Officer Percy Cox regarding an area she had visited the most. She drew maps to help the British army reach Baghdad safely. She became the only female political officer in the British forces and received the title of "Liaison Officer, Correspondent to Cairo" (i.e. to the Arab Bureau where she had been assigned). She was Harry St. John Philby's field controller, and taught him the finer arts of behind-the-scenes political manoeuvering.

When British troops took Baghdad (10 March 1917), Bell was summoned by Cox to Baghdad and presented with the title of "Oriental Secretary." She, Cox and T. E. Lawrence were among a select group of "Orientalists" convened by Winston Churchill to attend a 1921 Conference in Cairo to find a way to reduce the expense of stationing British troops in its post-WWI mandates. Gertrude is supposed to have described T.E.L. as being able "to ignite fires in cold rooms", but so could she. Throughout the conference, the two worked tirelessly to promote the establishment of the countries of Transjordan and Iraq to be presided over by the Kings Abdullah and Faisal, sons of the instigator of the Arab Revolt against Turkey (ca. 1915-1916), Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca. Until her death in Baghdad, she served in the Iraq British High Commission advisory group there. Referred to by Iraqis as "Al Khatun" (a Lady of the Court who keeps an open eye and ear for the benefit of the State), she was a confidante of King Faisal of Iraq and helped introduce him to Iraq's tribal leaders at the start of his reign. He helped her to found Baghdad's great Iraqi Archaeological Museum from her own modest artifact collection and to establish The British School of Archaeology, Iraq, for the endowment of excavation projects from proceeds in her will. The stress of authoring a prodigious output of books, articles of correspondence, intelligence reports, reference works, white papers; of recurring bronchitis attacks brought on by years of heavy smoking in the company of English and Arab cohorts; of bouts with malaria; and finally, of coping with Baghdad's summer heat ... all took a toll on her health. Somewhat frail to start with, she became nearly emaciated.

Like T. E. Lawrence, she had attended Oxford and earned First Class Honours in Modern History. Bell spoke Arabic, Persian, French and German. She was an archaeologist, traveller and photographer in the Middle East before World War I. Under recommendation by renowned archaeologist and historian David Hogarth, first Lawrence, then Bell, were assigned to Army Intelligence Headquarters in Cairo in 1915 for war service. Because both Bell and Lawrence had traveled the desert and established ties with the local tribes and gain unique perspectives of the people and the land prior to WWI, Hogarth realized the value of Lawrence and Bell’s expertise. Both Bell and Lawrence stood hardly 5'5", yet both could ride with great determination and endurance through the desert for hours on end. Both died prematurely after recurring bouts of depression, burn-out and exhaustion. Her work was specially mentioned in the British Parliament, and she was awarded the Order of the British Empire. Some consider the present troubles in Iraq are derived from the lines Bell helped draw to create its borders. Perhaps so, but Gertrude's reports indicate that problems were foreseen, and that it was clearly understood that there were just not many (if any) permanent solutions for calming the divisive forces at work in that part of the world.

Creation of Iraq

As the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire was finalized by the end of the war in late January 1919, Bell was assigned to conduct an analysis of the situation in Mesopotamia. Due to her familiarity and relations with the tribes in the area she had strong ideas about the kinds of leadership needed in Iraq. She spent the next ten months writing what was later considered a masterful official report. A. T. Wilson, had different ideas of how Iraq should be run, but his ideas were dismissed for a more favorable approach that which the Arab government would be the mask of British officials who would retain control with the acceptance of the unknowing people. Due to the Iraqi Revolt of 1920, this new system of government was neccessary to reframe from further revolts against the British government rule.

On 11 October 1920, Percy Cox returned to Baghdad and asked her to continue as Oriental Secretary, acting as liaison with the forthcoming Arab government.

Gertrude Bell essentially played the role of mediator between the Arab government and British officials. Bell had to often mediate between the various groups of Iraq including a majority population of Shi’is in the southern region, Sunnis in central Iraq, and the Kurds, mostly in the northern region, who wished to be autonomous. Keeping theses groups united was essential for political balance in Iraq and British imperial interests in the century. Iraq not only contained valuable resources in oil but would act as a buffer zone, with the help of Kurds in the north as a standing army in the region to protect against Turkey, Persia, and Syria. British officials in London, especially Churchill, were highly concerned with cutting heavy costs in the colonies that included squashing infighting between the groups in Iraq. Another, important project for both the British and new Iraqi rulers was creating a new identity for these people in order that they identify together as one nation .

British officials quickly realized that the usual strategies in governing were adding to their costs and the alternative option to reduce expenses was to have Iraq become a self-governing state. A conference was held in Cairo in 1921 to work out the details and come to a conclusion on the system of government in Iraq. Here British officials determined the political and geographic structure of what would become Iraq. Significant input was given by Gertrude Bell in these discussions thus she was an essential part of its creation. Also at the Cairo Conference Bell and Lawrence highly recommended Faysal bin Hussein, (the son of Hussein, Sherif of Mecca), former commander of the Arab forces that helped the British during the war and entered Damascus at the culmination of the Arab Revolt. He had been recently deposed by France in 1920 as King of Syria, and British officials at the Cairo Conference decided to make him the first king of Iraq. They believed that due to his lineage as a Hashemite and diplomatic skills he would be respected and have the ability to unite the various groups in the country. The British behind the Shias would respect him because of his lineage from Prophet Muhammad and Sunnis, including Kurds, would follow him because he was Sunni from a respected family and a war hero. Keeping all the groups under control in Iraq was essential to balance the political and economic interests of the British. Bell was the influential force to persuade Churchill that Faysal could do that. Another important aspect of the Cairo Conference agenda was to convince the people of Iraq that the election of Faysal was their will and that the election was done with their interests in mind.

Upon's Faysal's arrival in 1921, Bell advised him in local questions, including matters involving tribal geography and local business. She also supervised the selection of appointees for cabinet and other leadership posts in the new government.Although Bell helped Faysal as he reigned as king to balance the different groups and acquaint him with the region it was a very difficult task and multiple conflicts and rivalries remained, which continue to cause friction within Iraq even today.

Throughout the 1920’s Bell was an integral part of the administration of Iraq. Her influence is found in many examples. While the new Hashemite monarchy began using the Sharifian flag, which consisted of a black stripe representing the Abbasid caliphate, green stripe representing the Ummayad caliphate, and a white stripe for Fatimid Dynasty, and lastly a red triangle to set across the three bands symbolizing Islam, Bell felt it essential to customize it for Iraq by adding a gold star to the design . These flags would later be adorned in the street for Faysal’s 1921 arrival in Baghdad the capital of Iraq. Faysal was crowned king of Iraq on 23 August 1921, but he was not completely welcomed. Utilizing Shi’i history to gain support for Fayal, during the holy month of Muharram, Bell compared Faysal’s arrival in Baghdad to Huysan, grandson of Prophet Muhammad and considered the third Imam by shi’is, attempting to come to Iraq in 680 to become caliph. She tried to shame shi’is by portraying the distain and lack of support Huysan received, as well as his eventual martyrdom, was similar to the attitudes towards Faysal in 1921 . It was efforts like these that made her a very influential administrator in Iraq. Due to her influence with the new king, Bell earned the nickname, "the Uncrowned Queen of Iraq. "

However working with the new king was not easy: "You may rely upon one thing — I'll never engage in creating kings again; it's too great a strain."

Baghdad Archaeological Museum

Gertrude’s first love had always been archeology and Persia, thus she began forming what would later become the Baghdad Archaeological Museum. Her goal was to preserve Iraqi culture and history which included the important relics of Mesopotamian civilizations, and keep them in their country of origin, thereby ensuring that the museum would retain a collection of Iraq's heritage. She also supervised excavations and examined finds and artifacts. She brought in extensive collections dating back into antiquity, such as from the Babylonian Empire . The museum was officially opened in June 1926.

Death

Bell briefly returned to Britain in 1925, and found herself facing family problems and ill health. Her family's fortune had begun to decline due to the onset of post-WWI worker strikes in Britain and economic depression in Europe. She returned to Baghdad and soon developed pleurisy. When she recovered, she heard that her younger brother Hugo had died of typhoid.

On 12 July 1926, Bell was discovered dead, of an apparent overdose of sleeping pills. There is much debate on her death, and many theories have been propsed, but it is unknown whether the overdose was an intentional suicide or accidental since she had asked her maid to wake her . Another theory argues she was diagnosed with a terminal illness during her last visit to England in 1925. Given her heavy smoking, the illness may have been lung cancer, and to avoid the unpleasant closing stages of cancer which may have started to appear she may have chosen an overdose.

She had never married or had children, therefore some say the death of Major Charles Doughty-Wylie affected her for the rest of her life and may have added to a depressive state. She was buried at the British cemetery in Baghdad's Bab al-Sharji district. Her funeral was a major event, attended by large numbers of people including her colleagues, British officials and the King of Iraq. It was said King Faysal watched the procession from his private balcony, his face concealed by a white agal as they carried her coffin to the Baghdad British cemetery .

An obituary written by her peer David G. Hogarth expressed the amount of respect British officials held for her. Hogarth honored her by saying, “No woman in recent time has combined her qualities – her taste for arduous and dangerous adventure with her scientific interest and knowledge, her competence in archaeology and art, her distinguished literary gift, her sympathy for all sorts and condition of men, her political insight and appreciation of human values, her masculine vigor, hard common sense and practical efficiency – all tempered by feminine charm and a most romantic sprit.” This beautiful language used to describe a woman with whom British officials all so closely worked suggested a deep respect and love for her as a friend and maybe even placing her at an equal stature to that of a man.

A year after her death, in 1927, her stepmother edited and published two volumes of Bell's collected correspondence written during the 20 years preceding World War I.

References

• Bell, Gertrude. Gertrude Bell: From Her Personal Papers 1914-1926. London: Ernest Benn Limited,1961. Print.
• Goodman, Susan, Gertrude Bell (1985)
• Hogarth, David G. "Obituary: Gertrude Lowthian Bell." The Geographical Journal 68.4 (1926): 363-368. JSTOR. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1783440>.
• Howell, Georgina , Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007) ISBN 0374161623. Also issued as Daughter of the Desert: the remarkable life of Gertrude Bell (Macmillan, Basingstoke and Oxford, 2006) ISBN 1405045876.
• Lukitz, Liora, A Quest in the Middle East: Gertrude Bell and the Making of Modern Iraq (I.B. Tauris, 2006) ISBN 9781850434153
• Meyer, Karl E. and Shareen Blair Brysac, Kingmakers: the Invention of the Modern Middle East(W.W. Norton, 2008) ISBN 978-0-393-06199-4.
• O'Brien, Rosemary, ed. Gertrude Bell: The Arabian Diaries, 1913-1914. USA: Syracuse

University Press, 2000. Print.

• Wallach, Janet, Desert Queen (1999)
• Winstone, H.V.F., Gertrude Bell (Barzan Publishing, England, 2004) ISBN 0-9547728-0-6.

Further reading

• Poems from the Divan of Hafiz English Translation by Gertrude Lowthian Bell, 1897

External links

• The Gertrude Bell Project based at Newcastle University Library
• Gertrude Bell Biography also Gertrude Bell on her translations of Hafiz
• Template:Worldcat id
• "Archival material relating to Gertrude Bell". UK National Archives.
• British "Queen of Iraq" rests in Baghdad cemetery
• Gertrude Bell, a Masterful Spy and Diplomat
• Gertrude of Arabia, 7 September 2006, The Economist, review of Daughter of the Desert: The Remarkable Life of Gertrude Bell by Georgina Howell
• Review of the Civil Administration of Mesopotamia, London: H.M. Stationery Office. I920
• Gertrude Lowthian Bell, Gertrude Bell (1907). Syria.
• Gertrude Bell (1911, rep.1924) 'From Amurath to Amurath', complete text with illustrations.
• ebooks of works by Gertrude Bell at Project Gutenberg Australia