In 1920 the League of Nations granted Britain a mandate to control Iraq. Britain provided Iraq with a constitution and arranged for Faisal ibn Ali, the son of Sharif Husain of Mecca, to become king of Iraq. The Kurds were unhappy with this arrangement and were involved in several uprisings against British rule.
The mandate came to an end in October, 1932 when Iraq entered the League of Nations as an independent state. However, Britain bound Iraq closely to the British Empire by a 25 year military alliance. Britain retained military bases in Iraq and exerted a strong political influence in the country. This included ensuring that the concession for oil exploration and exploitation to the Iraq Petroleum Company, a conglomerate of British, French and United States interests.
During the 1930s there were seven military coups. These all failed but Faisal I rule came to an end when he was killed in a car accident in 1939. He was now replaced by Faisal II and as he was only four years old his uncle, Emir Abd al-llah, became regent.
