NCJ Number
147649
Journal
Past and Present Volume: 112 Dated: (August 1986) Pages: 112-143
Date Published
1986
Length
32 pages
Annotation
A rebellion of the Iraqi city of Karbala against central government rule led to a catastrophic invasion by Baghdad-based Ottoman Turkish forces in January 1843. This analysis examines the role of urban gangs in leading the rebellion in coalition with other social groups.
Abstract
Data obtained from archival and manuscript sources provide a detailed profile of gang organization and activities in Karbala. They also show the general role of the urban gangs active in many cities in south Iraq and throughout Iran during the 19th century. When state power waned in the first half of the 19th century, the gangs took control of some towns. Efforts by the Ottomans to increase the power of the central government, beginning in 1826, provoked regional clashes in Iraq, with urban violence and gang-led revolts occurring frequently. Factors that facilitated gang rule of towns were the opposition of local elites and tradespeople to central government control, as well as factional divisions among local elites that allowed gangs to divide and rule. The role of "mafias" in defending a provincial area against a distant government has long been recognized. The authors conclude that criminals emerge from particular classes and when their wealth and the means of obtaining it are threatened by various political and social forces, they will participate in revolts. Such efforts to expand control over the forces in their arena of operation will succeed only when there is a vacuum in state power. 84 footnotes