Cecil J. Edmonds
Encyclopedia
Cecil J. Edmonds was a British
political officer who served with the British Expeditionary Forces in Mesopotamia
and western Persia, and later in the civil administration of Iraq
. From 1935 to 1945 he was adviser to the Ministry of Interior in Iraq. Edmonds recorded down his observations and experiences as a political officer in Iraqi Kurdistan between 1920 and 1925 in his famous book Kurds, Turks, and Arabs: Politics, Travel and Research in North-Eastern Iraq, 1919-1925, which provides detailed notes on social and political conditions, personalities and local practices in the districts where he served.
Edmonds showed great interest in the various heterodox religious communities that he had encountered while serving in Kurdistan. Trained as an Orientalist
, he had become acquainted with the Kurds when serving the British Administration of Iraq.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
political officer who served with the British Expeditionary Forces in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and western Persia, and later in the civil administration of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. From 1935 to 1945 he was adviser to the Ministry of Interior in Iraq. Edmonds recorded down his observations and experiences as a political officer in Iraqi Kurdistan between 1920 and 1925 in his famous book Kurds, Turks, and Arabs: Politics, Travel and Research in North-Eastern Iraq, 1919-1925, which provides detailed notes on social and political conditions, personalities and local practices in the districts where he served.
Edmonds showed great interest in the various heterodox religious communities that he had encountered while serving in Kurdistan. Trained as an Orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
, he had become acquainted with the Kurds when serving the British Administration of Iraq.