To produce conflict as a mechanism of suppression, the case of Sheikh Khazal suppression
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2018-10-25

In recent decades, the conflicts and wars of modern times have enjoyed more attention. But the Middle East, has been scarcely investigated archaeologically. For thousands of years, the diverse people of Middle East used to speak with different languages and experienced very different beliefs and religions. The historical order fell into a chaos just after discovering oil in the region in 1900. Followed by the First World War, the disintegration of Ottoman Empire and Qajar kingship, and the birth of new nation states the region involved in bloody struggles. However the new governments in the region, Iran and Turkey, claimed modernization and socio-political reforms, they started massive suppression.
Iran’s first modern state produced the conflict to suppress the diversity of identities in particular among ethnicities, where a sense of belonging to the group is very significant. Ina nutshell, the suppression includes some economic mechanisms completed by military attacks resulted in the destruction of collective identities. The case of Sheikh Khazal Bin Jaber, the local governor of Khuzestan province in late Qajar, presents how Arab minority of south western Iran became the victim, among too many others, of new state. He has lost his traditional power and dominance over Arab tribes.
Augmenting the case of Khazal, the paper tries to clarify how modern conflict can find very complex aspects including the production the very conflict in the purpose of systematic suppression. It also calls for more active contribution of indigenous archaeologist as they can provide a contextual understanding of the situation. The Middle East crisis has rooted at least in policies led by Europeans and modern states in the beginning of 20th century. Conflict archaeology can participate not only in the study of last phases of conflict or its outcomes and material remains but also should investigate the underlying phases.

Author: Dr. Dezhamkhooy, Maryam - Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Heidelberg Universität, (Presenting author)