Golden Square (Iraq)
{{Short description|1930s–1940s cabal of pro-fascist Iraqi military officers}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox militant organization
| name = Golden Square
| logo = Golden Square symbol.png
| caption = The Golden Square logo is a letter that says "Baath"
| native_name = المربع الذهبي
| native_name_lang = ar
| other_name =
| leader = Salah al-Din al-Sabbagh
Kamil Shabib
Fahmi Said
Mahmud Salman
| foundation =
| dates = {{Start date|1930||}}–{{End date|1941||}}
| dissolved =
| merger =
| split =
| predecessor =
| merged =
| successor =
| country = {{flag|Kingdom of Iraq|name=Kingdom of Iraq}}
| allegiance =
| motives = Overthrow of the Kingdom of Iraq
| area =
| headquarters = Baghdad, Iraq
| newspaper =
| ideology = {{ubl|class=nowrap
| Arab ultranationalism{{Cite book|title=The German Side of the War in the Middle East 1939-1942|page=41|publisher=Stanford University|year=1962|quote=the notorious "Golden Square", four young ultra-nationalist colonels}}
| Fascism
}}
| position = Far-right
| crimes =
| attacks = 1941 Iraqi coup d'état
| status =
| size =
| revenue =
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| partof = Axis Powers
| allies = {{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Arab_Federation.svg}} National Brotherhood Party
{{flag|Nazi Germany}}
{{flag|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|name=Fascist Italy}}
{{flag|Vichy France}}
| opponents = {{flag|British Empire}}
{{flagicon image|Mecca (Ottoman Empire).svg}} Hashemites
| battles = Anglo-Iraqi War
| flag = File:Golden Square flag.png
| website =
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}}
The Golden Square ({{langx|ar|المربع الذهبي}}, al-Murabbaʿ al-dhahabī), also known as the Four Colonels ({{langx|ar|العقداء الأربعة}}, al-ʿiqdā' al-arbaʿa), was a cabal of pro-Fascist and pro Nazi army officers of the Iraqi armed forces who played a part in Iraqi politics throughout the 1930s and early 1940s. They conspired to overthrow the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq and expel the British presence in Iraq. The activities of the Golden Square culminated in supporting Rashid Ali al-Gaylani in his overthrow of government in 1941,{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,772682,00.html |title=Near East: Trouble in Paradise |magazine=Time |date=21 April 1941}} briefly instituting the Golden Square National Defense Government. However, the Anglo-Iraqi War resulted in the disbandment of the Golden Square.
The officers desired full independence from Britain, and the formation of a pan-Arab state from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, and a settlement of the intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine.{{Cite web |title=eARMOR Axis and Allied Strategic Posturing in Palestine: Hidden Lessons from World War II |url=https://www.moore.army.mil/armor/EArmor/content/Historical/Aboul-Enein2.html |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=www.moore.army.mil}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
Details
The Golden Square included the four most important leaders of the "Circle of Seven". The Circle of Seven was a group of Sunni Arab nationalist military officers who were greatly influenced by Italian and German emissaries, including German Ambassador Fritz Grobba, in turn, greatly influenced politics in Iraq during the 1930s and early 1940s.Tripp, p. 99
Members
The members of the Golden Square were Colonel Salah al-Din al-Sabbagh, Colonel Kamil Shabib, Colonel Fahmi Said, and Colonel Mahmud Salman. During the Anglo-Iraqi War, the four members of the Golden Square commanded units located in the Baghdad area. Salah ad-Din al-Sabbagh was commander of the Iraqi 3rd Infantry Division. Kamal Shabib commanded the 1st Infantry Division. Fahmi Said commanded the Independent Mechanized Brigade. Mahmud Salman, the one non-Army officer, was the chief of the Air Force.Lyman, p. 21
The members of the Golden Square were virulently anti-British. In time, these men represented real power as successive Iraqi governments sought the support of the military for survival. The members of the Golden Square looked to Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany to support them and, for his part, Grobba enthusiastically encouraged them to do so,Lyman, p. 11 as did Italian ambassadors.
Iraqi coup d'état
On 1 April 1941, Rashid Ali and the Golden Square launched a coup d'etat to topple the government of the regent, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah. The subsequent Anglo-Iraqi War ended disastrously for Rashid Ali and the members of the Golden Square who, for the most part, fled Iraq as the British closed in on Baghdad. Shabib, Said, Salman, Sabbagh were all eventually returned to Iraq and executed.{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,795336,00.html |title=World War: Middle Eastern Theater: Everybody Loses |magazine=Time |date=9 June 1941}}
See also
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite book| first=Ibrahim |last=Al-Marashi |author2=Salama, Sammy| title=Iraq's armed forces: An analytical history | url=https://archive.org/details/iraqsarmedforces0000alma | url-access=registration | publisher=Routledge | location=Oxon and New York| year=2008 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/iraqsarmedforces0000alma/page/254 254] | isbn=978-0-415-40078-7 }}
- {{cite book| first=Robert|last=Lyman| series=Campaign| title=Iraq 1941: The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad| publisher=Osprey Publishing | location=Oxford and New York| year=2006 | pages=96 | isbn=1-84176-991-6}}
- {{cite book| first= Mohammad A. |last=Tarbush | series=Campaign| title=The Role of the Military in Politics: A Case Study of Iraq to 1941 | publisher=Kegan Paul | location=London and Boston| year=1982 | pages=285 | isbn=978-0-7103-0124-6 }}
- {{cite book| first=Charles |last=Tripp | title=A History of Iraq | publisher=Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge | location=Cambridge | year=2002 | pages=311 | isbn=978-0-521-52900-6}}
{{Collaboration with Axis Powers}}
Category:Anti-British sentiment
Category:1941 disestablishments in Iraq
Category:Arab nationalist organizations
Category:Fascism in the Arab world
Category:Collaboration with Fascist Italy
Category:Collaboration with Nazi Germany