Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell , CBE ( 14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926 ) was an English writer , traveller , political officer , administrator , archaeologist and spy who explored , mapped , and became highly influential to British imperial policy - making due to her skill and contacts , built up through extensive travels in Greater Syria , Mesopotamia , Asia Minor , and Arabia . Along with T . E . Lawrence , Bell helped establish the Hashemite dynasties in what is today Jordan as well as in Iraq . She played a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq , utilising her unique perspective from her travels and relations with tribal leaders throughout the Middle East . During her lifetime she was highly esteemed and trusted by British officials and given an immense amount of power for a woman at the time . She has been described as " one of the few representatives of His Majesty ' s Government remembered by the Arabs with anything resembling affection " . Early life . Bell was born on 14 July 1868 in Washington Hall , County Durham , England – now known as Dame Margaret Hall – to a family whose wealth enabled her travels . She is described as having " reddish hair and piercing blue - green eyes , with her mother ' s bow shaped lips and rounded chin , her father ’ s oval face and pointed nose " . Her personality was characterised by energy , intellect , and a thirst for adventure which shaped her path in life . Her grandfather was the ironmaster Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell , an industrialist and a Liberal Member of Parliament , in Benjamin Disraeli ' s second term . His role in British policy - making exposed Gertrude at a young age to international matters and most likely encouraged her curiosity for the world , and her later involvement in international politics . Bell ' s mother , Mary Shield Bell , died in 1871 , while giving birth to a son , Maurice . Bell was just three at the time , and the death led to a lifelong close relationship with her father , Sir Hugh Bell , 2nd Baronet , who was three times mayor of Middlesbrough , High Sheriff of Durham 1895 , Justice of the Peace , Deputy Lieutenant of County Durham , Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire . Throughout her life she consulted with him on political matters . Some biographies say the loss of her mother had caused underlying childhood trauma , revealed through periods of depression and risky behaviour . At seven Bell acquired a stepmother , Florence Bell , and eventually , three half - siblings . Florence Bell was a playwright and author of children ' s stories , as well as the author of a study of Bell factory workers . She instilled concepts of duty and decorum in Gertrude and contributed to her intellectual and anti - feminist activities in the Anti - Suffrage League . Florence Bell ' s activities with the wives of Bolckow Vaughan ironworkers in Eston , near Middlesbrough , may have helped influence her step - daughter ' s later stance promoting education of Iraqi women . Gertrude Bell received her early education from Queen ' s College in London and then later at Lady Margaret Hall , Oxford University at age 17 . History was one of the few subjects women were allowed to study , due to the many restrictions imposed on them at the time . She specialised in modern history , in which she received a first class honours degree in two years . Bell never married . She had an unconsummated affair with Maj . Charles Doughty - Wylie , a married man , with whom she exchanged love letters from 1913 to 1915 . Upon his death in 1915 at Gallipoli , Bell launched herself into her work . Travels and writings . Bell ' s uncle , Sir Frank Lascelles , was British minister ( similar to ambassador ) at Tehran , Persia . In May 1892 , after leaving Oxford , Bell travelled to Persia to visit him . She described this journey in her book , " Persian Pictures " , which was published in 1894 . She spent much of the next decade travelling around the world , mountaineering in Switzerland , and developing a passion for archaeology and languages . She had become fluent in Arabic , Persian , French and German as well as also speaking Italian and Turkish . In 1899 , Bell again went to the Middle East . She visited Palestine and Syria that year and in 1900 , on a trip from Jerusalem to Damascus , she became acquainted with the Druze living in Jabal al - Druze . She travelled across Arabia six times over the next 12 years . Between 1899 and 1904 , she conquered a number of mountains including the La Meije and Mont Blanc as she recorded 10 new paths or first ascents in the Bernese Alps . One Alpine peak in the Bernese Oberland , the 2632m Gertrudspitze , was named after her after it was first traversed by her and her guides Ulrich and Heinrich Fuhrer in 1901 . However . she did fail in an attempt of the Finsteraarhorn in August 1902 when inclement weather including snow , hail and lightning forced her to spend " forty eight hours on the rope " with her guides , clinging to the rock face in terrifying conditions which nearly cost her her life . She published her observations in the book " Syria : The Desert and the Sown " published in 1907 ( William Heinemann Ltd , London ) . In this book she described , photographed and detailed her trip to Greater Syria ' s towns and cities like Damascus , Jerusalem , Beirut , Antioch and Alexandretta . Bell ' s vivid descriptions opened up the Arabian deserts to the western world . In March 1907 , Bell journeyed to the Ottoman Empire and began to work with the archaeologist and New Testament scholar Sir William M . Ramsey . Their excavations in Binbirkilise were chronicled in " A Thousand and One Churches " . In 1907 , they discovered a field of ruins in northern Syria on the east bank of the upper course of the Euphrates to the steep slope of the former river valley . From the ruins , they created a plan and described the ramparts : " Munbayah , where my tents were pitched – the Arabic name means only a high - altitude course – was probably the Bersiba in Ptolemy ' s list of city names . It consists of a double ramparts , situated on the river bank " In January 1909 , she left for Mesopotamia . She visited the Hittite city of Carchemish , mapped and described the ruin of Ukhaidir and finally went to Babylon and Najaf . Back in Carchemish , she consulted with the two archaeologists on site . One of them was T . E . Lawrence . Her 1913 Arabian journey was generally difficult . She was the second foreign woman after Lady Anne Blunt to visit Ha ' il . Anti - Suffrage League . Bell also became honorary secretary of the British Women ' s Anti - Suffrage League . Her stated reason for her anti - suffrage stand was that as long as women felt that the kitchen and the bedroom were their only domains , they were truly unprepared to take part in deciding how a nation should be ruled . War and political career . At the outbreak of World War I , Bell ' s request for a Middle East posting was initially denied . She instead volunteered with the Red Cross in France . Later , she was asked by British Intelligence to get soldiers through the deserts , and from the World War I period until her death she was the only woman holding political power and influence in shaping British imperial policy in the Middle East . She often acquired a team of locals which she directed and led on her expeditions . Throughout her travels Bell established close relations with tribe members across the Middle East . Additionally , being a woman gave her exclusive access to the chambers of wives of tribe leaders , giving her access to other perspectives and functions . Work in the Middle East . In November 1915 , however , she was summoned to Cairo to the nascent Arab Bureau , headed by General Gilbert Clayton . She also again met T . E . Lawrence . Like Lawrence , Bell had attended Oxford and earned First Class Honours in Modern History . Bell spoke Arabic , Persian , French and German . She was an archaeologist , traveller and photographer in the Middle East before World War I . Under recommendation by renowned archaeologist and historian Lt . Cmdr . David Hogarth , first Lawrence , then Bell , were assigned to Army Intelligence Headquarters in Cairo in 1915 for war service . Because both Bell and Lawrence had travelled the desert and established ties with the local tribes and gained unique perspectives of the people and the land before World War I , Hogarth realised the value of Lawrence and Bell ' s expertise . Both Bell and Lawrence stood hardly 5 ' 5 " , yet both could ride with great determination and endurance through the desert for hours on end . At first she did not receive an official position , but , in her first months there , helped Hogarth set about organising and processing her own , Lawrence ' s and Capt . W . H . I . Shakespear ' s data about the location and disposition of Arab tribes that could be encouraged to join the British against the Ottoman Empire . Lawrence and the British used the information in forming alliances with the Arabs . On 3 March 1916 , after hardly a moment ' s notice , Gen . Clayton sent Bell to Basra , which British forces had captured in November 1914 , to advise Chief Political Officer Percy Cox regarding an area she knew better than any other Westerner . She drew maps to help the British army reach Baghdad safely . She became the only female political officer in the British forces and received the title of " Liaison Officer , Correspondent to Cairo " ( i . e . to the Arab Bureau where she had been assigned ) . She was Harry St . John Philby ' s field controller , and taught him the finer arts of behind - the - scenes political manoeuvering . When British troops took Baghdad ( 10 March 1917 ) , Bell was summoned by Cox to Baghdad and given the title of " Oriental Secretary . " She , Cox and Lawrence were among a select group of " Orientalists " convened by Winston Churchill to attend a 1921 Conference in Cairo to determine the boundaries of the British mandate and nascent states such as Iraq . Gertrude is supposed to have described Lawrence as being able " to ignite fires in cold rooms " . Throughout the conference , she , Cox and Lawrence worked tirelessly to promote the establishment of the countries of Transjordan and Iraq to be presided over by the Kings Abdullah and Faisal , sons of the instigator of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire ( ca . 1915 – 1916 ) , Hussein bin Ali , Sharif and Emir of Mecca . Until her death in Baghdad , she served in the Iraq British High Commission advisory group there . Referred to by Iraqis as " al - Khatun " ( a Lady of the Court who keeps an open eye and ear for the benefit of the State ) , she was a confidante of King Faisal of Iraq and helped ease his passage into the role , amongst Iraq ' s other tribal leaders at the start of his reign . He helped her to found Baghdad ' s great Iraqi Archaeological Museum from her own modest artefact collection and to establish The British School of Archaeology , Iraq , for the endowment of excavation projects from proceeds in her will . The stress of authoring a prodigious output of books , correspondence , intelligence reports , reference works , and white papers ; of recurring bronchitis attacks brought on by years of heavy smoking in the company of English and Arab cohorts ; of bouts with malaria ; and finally , of coping with Baghdad ' s summer heat all took a toll on her health . Somewhat frail to start with , she became nearly emaciated . Her work was specially mentioned in the British Parliament , and she was awarded the Order of the British Empire . Some consider the present troubles in Iraq are derived from the lines Bell helped draw to create its borders . Perhaps so , but her reports indicate that problems were foreseen , and that it was clearly understood that there were just not many ( if any ) permanent solutions for calming the divisive forces at work in that part of the world . Creation of Iraq . As the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire was finalised by the end of the war in late January 1919 , Bell was assigned to conduct an analysis of the situation in Mesopotamia . Due to her familiarity and relations with the tribes in the area she had strong ideas about the leadership needed in Iraq . She spent the next ten months writing what was later considered a masterful official report , " Self Determination in Mesopotamia " . A . T . Wilson , had different ideas of how Iraq should be run , preferring an Arab government to be under the influence of British officials who would retain real control . On 11 October 1920 , Percy Cox returned to Baghdad and asked her to continue as Oriental Secretary , acting as liaison with the forthcoming Arab government . Gertrude Bell essentially played the role of mediator between the Arab government and British officials . Bell had to often mediate between the various groups of Iraq including a majority population of Shi ’ as in the southern region , Sunnis in central Iraq , and the Kurds , mostly in the northern region , who wished to be autonomous . Keeping these groups united was essential for political balance in Iraq and for British imperial interests . Iraq not only contained valuable resources in oil but would act as a buffer zone , with the help of Kurds in the north as a standing army in the region to protect against Turkey , Persia ( Iran ) , and Syria . British officials in London , especially Churchill , were highly concerned to cut heavy costs in the colonies , including the cost of quashing tribal infighting . Another important project for both the British and new Iraqi rulers was creating a new identity for these people so that they would identify themselves as one nation . British officials quickly realised that their strategies in governing were adding to costs . Iraq would be cheaper as a self - governing state . The Cairo Conference of 1921 was held to determine the political and geographic structure of what later became Iraq and the modern Middle East . Significant input was given by Gertrude Bell in these discussions thus she was an essential part of its creation . At the Cairo Conference Bell and Lawrence highly recommended Faisal bin Hussein , ( the son of Hussein , Sherif of Mecca ) , former commander of the Arab forces that helped the British during the war and entered Damascus at the culmination of the Arab Revolt . He had been recently deposed by France as King of Syria , and British officials at the Cairo Conference decided to make him the first king of Iraq . They believed that due to his lineage as a Hashemite and his diplomatic skills he would be respected and have the ability to unite the various groups in the country . Shi ' as would respect him because of his lineage from Prophet Muhammad . Sunnis , including Kurds , would follow him because he was Sunni from a respected family . Keeping all the groups under control in Iraq was essential to balance the political and economic interests of the British . Upon Faisal ' s arrival in 1921 , Bell advised him in local questions , including matters involving tribal geography and local business . She also supervised the selection of appointees for cabinet and other leadership posts in the new government . Throughout the early 1920s Bell was an integral part of the administration of Iraq . The new Hashemite monarchy used the Sharifian flag , which consisted of a black stripe representing the Abbasid caliphate , green stripe representing the Umayyad caliphate , and a white stripe for Fatimid Dynasty , and lastly a red triangle to set across the three bands symbolising Islam . Bell felt it essential to customise it for Iraq by adding a gold star to the design . Faisal was crowned king of Iraq on 23 August 1921 , but he was not completely welcomed . Utilizing Shi ' ite history to gain support for Faisal , during the holy month of Muharram , Bell compared Faysal ' s arrival in Baghdad to Huysan , grandson of Prophet Muhammad . However , she did not find working with the new king to be easy : " You may rely upon one thing — I ' ll never engage in creating kings again ; it ' s too great a strain . " National Library of Iraq . In November 1919 , Bell was an invited speaker at a meeting for the promotion of a public library in Baghdad , and subsequently served on its Library Committee , as President from 1921 to 1924 . The Baghdad Peace Library ( " Maktabat al - Salam " ) was a private , subscription library , but in c . 1924 was taken over by the Ministry of Education and became known as the Baghdad Public Library ( or sometimes as the General Library ) . In 1961 , this became the National Library of Iraq . Baghdad Archaeological Museum . Gertrude Bell ' s first love had always been archaeology , thus she began forming what became the Baghdad Archaeological Museum , later renamed the Iraqi Museum . Her goal was to preserve Iraqi culture and history which included the important relics of Mesopotamian civilisations , and keep them in their country of origin . She also supervised excavations and examined finds and artefacts . She brought in extensive collections , such as from the Babylonian Empire . The museum was officially opened in June 1926 , shortly before Bell ' s death . After her death , at the Emir ' s suggestion , the right wing of the Museum was named as a memorial to her . The original buildings ( Old Museum building , Administration Building , Library , and Old Storage Building ) were rebuilt on the present site with the help of the German Government in 1964 – 1966 and opened in 1966 . The New Museum Building was built by the Italian Government in 1983 . It was extensively looted during the US invasion of 2003 . The newest building , the New Collections Building , was built by Kortage Construction in 2006 , sponsored by the Iraqi Government . Death . Bell briefly returned to Britain in 1925 , and found herself facing family problems and ill health . Her family ' s fortune had begun to decline due to the onset of post - World War I worker strikes in Britain and economic depression in Europe . She returned to Baghdad and soon developed pleurisy . When she recovered , she heard that her younger brother Hugo had died of typhoid . On 12 July 1926 , Bell was discovered dead , of an apparent overdose of sleeping pills . There is much debate on her death , but it is unknown whether the overdose was an intentional suicide or accidental since she had asked her maid to wake her . She never married or had children . Some say the death of Major Charles Doughty - Wylie affected her for the rest of her life and may have added to a depressive state . She was buried at the British cemetery in Baghdad ' s Bab al - Sharji district . Her funeral was a major event , attended by large numbers of people including her colleagues , British officials and the King of Iraq . It was said King Faisal watched the procession from his private balcony as they carried her coffin to the cemetery . Legacy . Contemporary . An obituary written by her peer D . G . Hogarth expressed the respect British officials held for her . Hogarth honoured her by saying , No woman in recent time has combined her qualities – her taste for arduous and dangerous adventure with her scientific interest and knowledge , her competence in archaeology and art , her distinguished literary gift , her sympathy for all sorts and condition of men , her political insight and appreciation of human values , her masculine vigour , hard common sense and practical efficiency – all tempered by feminine charm and a most romantic spirit . In 1927 , a year after her death , her stepmother Dame Florence Bell , published two volumes of Bell ' s collected correspondence written during the 20 years preceding World War I . A stained glass window to her by Douglas Strachan was erected in St Lawrence ' s Church , East Rounton , North Yorkshire . It depicts Magdalen College , Oxford , and Khadimain , Baghdad . The inscription reads Modern . Gertrude Bell is remembered in Iraq in the twenty - first century . The British diplomat and Member of Parliament Rory Stewart wrote that Stewart notes that Bell was " both more lively and more honest " than political statements in his time . He quotes six examples of her writing , the shortest of which is " No one knows exactly what they do want , least of all themselves , except that they don ’ t want us . " He quotes Bell ' s colleague , T . E . Lawrence ( of Arabia ) , as saying that she was " not a good judge of men or situations " , and observes that " If there was no ideal solution , however , there were still clear mistakes . Bell should never have acquiesced in the inclusion of the Kurdish - dominated province of Mosul in Iraq . " However , he praises her 1920 White Paper , comparing it to General Petraeus ' s report to Congress .