The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq: A Study of Iraq’s Old Landed and Commercial Classes and of its Communists, Ba‘thists and Free Officers
by Hanna Batatu, Saqi Books, 2004, 1,284 pp.
Reviwed by Peter Sluglett
No serious study of the modern history of Iraq can be undertaken without a
period of immersion in Hanna Batatu’s massive The Old Social Classes and the
Revolutionary Movements of Iraq, first published by Princeton University Press in
1978. It is a pleasant duty to commend Saqi Books for having had the courage to
republish a paperback of 1284 pages. As one reviewer wrote in 1981: ‘Hanna Batatu
has constructed a masterpiece of historical literature that single-handedly catapults
Iraq from the least known of the major Arab countries to the Arab society of which
we now have the most thorough political portrait.’[1] Let me take advantage of the
luxury of a long review to say something about the author and his work. [2]
https://www.dissentmagazine.org/wp-content/files_mf/1389811754d4Sluglett.pdf

RIP
Hanna Batatu, 74, Authority On Politics of Iraq and Syria

By Eric Pace
June 29, 200

Hanna Batatu, an authority on the contemporary Arab world who was best known for his writings on Iraq and Syria, died on Saturday at his home in Litchfield County in northwestern Connecticut. He was 74.

He had cancer, Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies said in announcing his death.

Dr. Batatu retired in 1994 as holder of the Shaykh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah Chair of Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown.

He wrote a highly regarded book on Iraq, another on Syria and articles on the two countries that appeared in scholarly journals. His writing could be vivid. In an account derived from official government sources, he wrote that after the Baath Party members who dominated Iraq's governing council were ousted by an army coup late in 1963, in the cellar of one building ''were found all sorts of loathsome instruments of torture, including electric wires with pincers,'' and ''small heaps of bloodied clothing were scattered about.''

Dr. Batatu ''was probably the greatest political scientist to study the Middle East in the past 50 years,'' said Yahya Sadowski, a professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. ''His analyses of Iraq and Syria were unprecedented in their level of detail, their nuanced understanding, and the authority of their conclusions.''

The book on Iraq by Dr. Batatu is ''The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq: A Study of Iraq's Old Landed and Commercial Classes and of Its Communists, Baathists and Free Officers (1978, Books on Demand).

Abbas Amanat, professor of modern Middle Eastern history at Yale, said that book ''still maintains its place as one of the major works of history of the 20th-century Middle East.'' It begins at the turn of that century and draws on interviews that Dr. Batatu had with many out-of-office Iraqi political figures, either in Iraq or in exile.

The interviews, Professor Amanat said, provided Dr. Batatu ''with a thorough and unique account of the events that otherwise would have been lost to historians.''

His book about Syria, ''Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics'' (1999, Princeton) was applauded in a review in the journal Foreign Affairs by L. Carl Brown, a historian of the Middle East. He called the work ''vintage Batatu, with awesomely thorough research,'' and added, ''This solid sociopolitical study of modern Syria's rural population will take its place among the classics of rural history.''

He was born in Jerusalem, the son of Shukri Batatu and the former Yvonne Nicodene, and had a job with the Palestine government in Jerusalem in the 1940's. After the state of Israel was established in 1948, he came to the United States as an immigrant and worked for a carpet company in Stamford, Conn.

Then he entered academe and received a bachelor's degree summa cum laude in 1953 from Georgetown University's school of foreign service and his doctorate in political theory in 1960 from Harvard. His Harvard dissertation had the title ''The Shaykh and the Peasant in Iraq, 1917-1958,'' and was the beginning of his Iraq book.

He taught at the American University of Beirut from 1962 to 1981 and at Georgetown's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies from 1982 to 1994.

Dr. Batatu is survived by his brother, Anthony Reynaud of Winsted, Conn.; three nieces, Brenda Davis, of Winchester, Conn., Cindy Fox, of Waterbury, Conn., and Mary Anne Sok, of Torrington, Conn.; and four nephews, Anthony Reynaud Jr., of Winsted, John Reynaud, of Torrington, and Jamil Abdallah and Sukri Abdallah, both of Jerusalem. A sister, Mary Abdallah, died earlier.

He was to have been honored this week by the American University of Beirut as one of its Millennium Scholars.

A version of this article appears in print on June 29, 2000, Section A, Page 29 of the National edition with the headline: Hanna Batatu, 74, Authority On Politics of Iraq and Syria. 

The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq
https://saqibooks.com/books/saqi/the-old-social-classes-and-the-revolutionary-movements-of-iraq/


The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq
A Study of Iraq's Old Landed and Commercial Classes and of its Communists, Ba'thists and Free Officers
Hanna Batatu
9780863567711
June 2004
Paperback 1283pp
Over 40 black & white illustrations

About the Book
This comparative study analyses the traditional elite of Iraq and their successors – the Communists, the Ba’thists and Free Officers – in terms of social and economic relationships in each area of the country. The author draws on secret government documents and interviews with key figures, both in power and in prison, to produce an engrossing story of political struggle and change.
About the Author

Hanna Batatu was born in 1926 in Jerusalem. He immigrated to the United States in 1948, receiving his PhD from Harvard University in 1960. Apart from research fellowships at Harvard, MIT, and Princeton, Batatu held two major teaching appointments: at the American University of Beirut (1962–81), and at Georgetown University (1982–94), where he was named Professor Emeritus upon retirement. He died in 2000.

Reviews

‘A landmark in Middle Eastern historical study … it will be imitated, confronted, argued about, banned – and perhaps even burned – as no other book written on the region in the recent period.’
Roger Owen, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

‘By far the best book written on the social and political history of modern Iraq.’
Ahmad Dallal, Stanford University

‘An indispensable foundation for any thoughts regarding the creation of a new Iraqi political order.’
L. Bushkoff, Christian Science Monitor

THE OLD SOCIAL CLASSES AND THE REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS OF IRAQ: A STUDY OF IRAQ'S OLD LANDED AND COMMERCIAL CLASSES AND OF ITS COMMUNISTS, BAʻTHISTS, AND FREE OFFICERS
Batatu, Hanna, 1926-
© Princeton University Press •c1978.
Table of Contents
Frontmatter
List of Tablespage ix
List of Illustrationspage xvii
List of Mapspage xix
Prefacepage xxi
Book One The Old Social Classes
PART I INTRODUCTION
1 The "Old Social Classes": Practical and Theoretical Clarifications; Applicability of Concept; Difficulties of Analysispage 5
2 Of the Diversity of Iraqis, the Incohesiveness of Their Society, and Their Progress in the Monarchic Period toward a Consolidated Political Structurepage 13
3 The Geographic Distribution of the Principal Racial-Religious Groups and Relevant Causative Factorspage 37
4 Some Religious-Class and Ethnic-Class Correlationspage 44
PART II THE MAIN CLASSES AND STATUS GROUPS
5 The Mallaks or Landownerspage 53
6 The Shaikhs, Aghas, and Peasantspage 63
7 The Sadahpage 153
8 The Old "Aristocracy" of Officalspage 211
9 The Chalabis and the Jewish Merchants and Merchant-Sarrafspage 224
10 The Crown and the Ex-Sharifian Officerspage 319
Book Two The Communists from the Beginnings of Their Movement to the Fifties
PART I BEGINNINGS IN THE ARAB EAST
11 The Earliest "Levelers"; the Armenian Hentchak; the Jewish Communists; and the Communist Internationalpage 367
PART II BEGINNINGS IN IRAQ
12 Husain ar-Rahhal, as-Sahifah Group, and at-Tadamun Clubpage 389
13 Pyotr Vasili and the Basrah and Nasiriyyah Communist Circlespage 404
14 The Founding of the Iraqi Communist Partypage 411
15 Two Iraqis-Three Sectspage 434
16 Beginning again; or the Communists in the Period of the Coups d'Etat (1936-1941)page 439
PART III CAUSES
17 Of the General Causes That Made for the Increase of Communism in the Two Decades before the July Revolutionpage 465
PART IV FAHD AND THE PARTY (1941-1949)
18 Fahdpage 485
19 Toward a Tightly Knit, Ideologically Homogeneous Partypage 493
20 New Situations, New Approachespage 523
21 The Arrest of Fahd and afterpage 537
22 Al-Wathbahpage 545
23 The Disaster; the Death of Fahd on the Gallows; the "Children Communists"page 567
24 Fahd, the Communist International, the Soviets, the Syrian Communists, and the People's Partypage 574
25 The Communists and the Question of Palestinepage 597
26 The Character, Scope, and Forms of Party Activitypage 604
27 The Organization, Membership, and Social Structure of the Party (1941-1949)page 628
28 The Finances of the Partypage 653
PART V THE PARTY IN THE YEARS 1949-1955, OR THE PERIOD OF THE ASCENDANCY OF THE KURDS IN THE PARTY
29 Baha'-ud-Din Nuri Rebuilds the Partypage 659
30 The Intifadah of Novemberpage 666
31 More and More Extremism, Less and Less Sensepage 671
32 A Defeat for the Party, or the Birth of the Baghdad Pactpage 679
33 A Bit of Forgotten History, or the Tragic Occurrences at the Baghdad and the Kut Prisonspage 690
34 A Debate on Religionpage 694
35 The Composition of the Party (1949-1955)page 699
Book Three The Communists, the Ba'thists, and the Free Officers from the Fifties to the Present
36 The Communist Helm Changes Hands, the Communist Ranks Closepage 709
37 The New Strong Men of the Communist Party: Hussain Ahmad ar-Radi, 'Amer 'Abdallah, and Jamal al-Haidaripage 712
38 The Ba'th of the Fifties: Its Origins, Creed, Organization, and Membershippage 722
39 The Arabization of the Communist Party's View and the Risings at Najaf and Hayy in 1956page 749
40 The Formation of the Supreme National Committee, February 1957page 758
41 The Free Officers, the Communists, and the July 1958 Revolutionpage 764
42 "Sole Leader," Dual Powerpage 808
43 Mutual Antagonism, Mutual Defeatpage 861
44 Mosul, March 1959page 866
45 The Flowpage 890
46 Kirkuk, July 1959page 912
47 The Ebbpage 922
48 The Self-Flagellationpage 926
49 The Recoverypage 931
50 The Bogus Partypage 936
51 From Pillar to Postpage 942
52 The Ba'thists Make Preparation, the Communists Give Warningpage 966
53 "The Bitterest of Years"page 974
54 The Composition and Organization of the Communist Party (1955-1963)page 995
55 The First Ba'thi Regime, or toward One-Party Rulepage 1003
56 The Younger 'Aref, the Nasirites, and the Communistspage 1027
57 Under the Elder 'Aref, or the Rift in the Communist Rankspage 1062
58 The Second Ba'thi Regimepage 1073
59 Conclusionpage 1113
APPENDIX ONE. EARLIEST BOLSHEVIK ACTIVITIES AND CONTACTS
A. "O Moslems! Listen to This Divine Cry!"page 1137
B. The Bolsheviks and the 'Ulama' of the Holy Citiespage 1141
C. The Bolsheviks, the Comintern, and the Arab Nationalistspage 1148
D. An Overture in Teheranpage 1156
APPENDIX TWO. SUPPLEMENTARY TABLES
Bibliographypage 1231
Glossarypage 1253
Index I; Names of Families and Tribespage 1259
Index II: Personal Namespage 1262
Index III: Subjectspage 1272
Reviews
AJS: 88.2 (Sep. 1982): 469-471
APSR: 74.2 (Jun. 1980): 529-530
AHR: 85.2 (Apr. 1980): 439-440
CSSH: 28.3 (Jul. 1986): 552-557
IJMES: 13.1 (Feb. 1981): 126-128
IA: 56.4 (Autumn 1980): 741-742
MERIP: 97 (Jun. 1981): 22+24-25
MERIP: 97 (Jun. 1981): 23+26-27
MERIP: 97 (Jun. 1981): 23+28-29+31-32
Catalog record
Title The old social classes and the revolutionary movements of Iraq : a study of Iraq's old landed and commercial classes and of its Communists, Baʻthists, and Free Officers / Hanna Batatu.
Author Batatu, Hanna, 1926-
Extent 600dpi TIFF G4 page images
E-Distribution Information MPublishing, University of Michigan Library
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Permission must be received for any subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Please contact info@hebook.org for more information.
Source Version The old social classes and the revolutionary movements of Iraq : a study of Iraq's old landed and commercial classes and of its Communists, Baʻthists, and Free Officers / Hanna Batatu. 
Batatu, Hanna, 1926-
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, c1978.
URL http://hdl.handle.net/2027/heb.00859.0001.001
Subject Headings • Ḥizb al-Shuyūʻī al-ʻIrāqī
• Social classes -- Iraq
• Iraq -- Politics and government