The Making of Modern Iraq & Jordan | IHP 6-3

The British-led installation of the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq and Transjordan served as a desperate attempt to stabilize a region reeling from the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Following the chaos of World War I, the Geopolitics of Transjordan and Iraq became a central puzzle for the British Empire as they navigated the conflicting interests of France and Zionist ambitions.

In this episode, we dive into the Cairo Conference of 1921, where Winston Churchill and his advisors—including T.E. Lawrence—crafted a plan to satisfy Hashemite Ambitions while maintaining colonial control. We explore the "manufactured" election of King Faisal and the simultaneous Rise of the Saudi State under Ibn Saud, whose puritanical movement threatened the very Hashemite leaders Britain sought to protect. Finally, we examine the Colonial King-Making Process, a period of intense diplomacy that defined the modern borders of the Middle East and set the stage for decades of conflict.