Talk:Iraq Levies

Tag and Assess 08

The article mentions their role in the Rashid Ali revolt in 1941, but this is not expanded upon in the text of the article; this needs to be corrected. Parsecboy (talk) 20:30, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Name of article

Its the Assyrian Levies, not Iraq...come on! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.99.80.208 (talk) 18:20, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

Their official name was the Iraqi Levies no matter the actual ethnic makeup. Just like the Gurkhas of Nepal were part of the British or Indian Armies.--Degen Earthfast (talk) 13:54, 31 March 2012 (UTC) The name was base on the geographical area of recruitment. See also Palestine Gendarmerie and Transjordan Frontier Force. British ethnically recruited organizations reflected this in their names; Arab Legion and Kings African Rifles.--Degen Earthfast (talk) 14:11, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Requested move 14 February 2015

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: Not moved majority hold that proposed title is not the common name in reliable sources. (non-admin closure)  — Amakuru (talk) 10:24, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

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Iraq Levies → Assyrian LeviesAssyrian Levies – Per WP:COMMONNAME. Google Books: "Assyrian Levies" 1270 results and "Iraqi Levies" 266 results . Google search: "Assyrian Levies" 3050 results and "Iraqi Levies" 651 results . Shmayo (talk) 19:49, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

My mistake here. The article doesn't have the "-i" suffix. Shmayo (talk) 13:58, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

"Iraq Levies" is about 2,170 results in Google Books and in Google Search it is about 3,790 results. In case anyone was interested. Dabbler (talk) 21:04, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

Iraq Levies was the official name of the organization no matter what the ethnic composition. The article should reflect the actual name of the organization.--Degen Earthfast (talk) 14:08, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

NOTE: the quintessential history of the Levies, The Iraq Levies 1915 – 1932 by Brigadier J. Gilbert Browne CMG, CBE, DSO, constantly refers to the organization as the Iraq Levies. Only the website http://assyrianlevies.info/ refers to the organization as the Assyrian Levies. Note als that http://assyrianlevies.org is a dead link.--Degen Earthfast (talk) 14:42, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Dabbler, correct, as I said, my mistake. Degen, do you mean that WP:COMMONNAME is not applied for organisations? By the way, "Assyrian Levies" is well used: . Shmayo (talk) 16:34, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

If Assyrian Levies was vastly more used than the correct name Iraq Levies, then under WP:COMMONNAME, it could be used for the article title even though there is a more officially correct name. As it is, it seems that the official name is used as least as much if not more than the alternative Assyrian Levies. For example, British Raj, an unofficial name is used in Wikipedia whereas the more official British Indian Empire is not. Dabbler (talk) 18:14, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for answering my question regarding common names. I agree on this case, I realized my mistake with the suffix the day after this requested move. Shmayo (talk) 18:42, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

• Oppose. Odd, considering I've almost always seen them referred to in British military history as the Iraq Levies. Note that the London Gazette, the official British government gazette, refers to them as the Iraq Levies every time they're mentioned and never as the Assyrian Levies. -- Necrothesp (talk) 16:54, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
• Oppose. To formally record my view. Dabbler (talk) 17:12, 18 February 2015 (UTC)

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The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Another user is attempting to misquote a source.

Ive recently modified the page to not include the claim “40,000 assyrians” were in the levies and the use of the word “nazi arabs”. The source for the former is a non-scholarly online source. The source cited for the latter is a scholarly source, but totally misused by a poster accusing others of “vandalism”.

The user had it as saying “ The Levies distinguished themselves in May 1941 during the Anglo-Iraqi War where Assyrians defeated a large force of 15.000 Iraqi Nazis with British air support in multiple battles. The Assyrians also defeated other Nazi Arabs in campaigns in Syria and Lebanon and were also used in other theatres of the Second World War, including in the Balkans and Italy. The force thereafter grew and survived until it was disbanded when control of RAF Habbaniya and RAF Shaibah was handed to Iraq in 1957.”

What it actually said was (he omitted the page number when sourcing it, conveniently for him) “ Assyrian Levies under British officers on loan from the Royal Air Force. Originating in 1915, they were formally constituted in 1919. They became a central instrument to ensure internal security in the chronically volatile Iraqi state. Their loyalty to the British and their hghting prowess became legendary among all who knew or heard of them. The Assyrian Leviesdistinguished themselves, for example, in the fighting to overcome the Rashid Ali revolt of May 1941. The force thereafter grew and survived until the final British military withdrawal from Iraq in 1955, when they too were disbanded at Habbaniya west of Baghdad.“

He continues this distortion.135.26.114.214 (talk) 17:34, 5 August 2025 (UTC)

Interesting. Noted. Augmented Seventh🎱 17:44, 5 August 2025 (UTC)

I’ve removed another distortion from this article “majority Assyrian force” — at times it seemingly was, but the source is again misquoted. The Iraq Levies were local forces under British command who were key to Britain's neocolonial enterprise in Iraq. Many sources use the alternative name Assyrian Levies to refer specifically to the detachments of these forces that were made up entirely of Assyrian refugees. Assyrians made up the majority of the Iraq Levies by 1924”. This is a claim for a specific period, it is not appropriate as a general all encompassing statement in the lead. Let me be clear: Im not saying the source is unreliable but its placement there is not appropriate. If that information is to be given, it should be in the main body of the article with the full context given. 135.26.114.214 (talk) 17:48, 5 August 2025 (UTC)