Kuwait’s position to the north of the Arabian Gulf has made its connection to Iraq an inevitability, as historically Kuwait was the only seaport for both Ottoman and Hashemite Iraq. Yet, geography was not the sole determinant of this connection. Socio-political, economic, and cultural ties have also played an important role in Kuwait’s relationship with Ottoman and Hashemite Iraq. These ties have fluctuated with changes in political conditions, such as the fall of the Ottomans and the rise of Hashemite rule, as well as economic factors, including the discovery of oil in Kuwait and the devaluation of pearls. Despite this, in depth historical exploration of these connections remains wanting. This chapter focuses on the influence of Southern Iraq, particularly the al-Zubayr Emirate, as well as Baghdad to a lesser degree, on the educated class in Kuwait from the end of the nineteenth century until the establishment of the Hashemite Kingdom in Iraq in 1921.

With respect to scholarly work published on Kuwaiti-Zubayri intellectual relations, several books and articles provide narratives of the relations between Kuwaiti intellectuals and scholarly life in Ottoman Iraq between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, despite the importance and influence of al- Zubayr on Kuwait, few of these books focus on Zubayri-Kuwaiti cultural relations in any great depth. Imara al-Zubayr bayn Hijratayn (The Emirate of al-Zubayr between Two Migrations), for example, by ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Sani‘, only broadly mentions these relations. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Nassir, in his book, al-Zubayr wa Safahat Mushriqa min Tarikhiha al-‘Ilmi wa-l-Thaqafi (al-Zubayr and Bright Pages of its Scientific and Cultural History), offers more depth. In it, al-Nassir discusses al- Zubayr’s cultural life in greater detail, mentioning the development of the theatre and the educational system and expanding the narrative on those scholars who benefited from al-Zubayr as a centre of religious knowledge. Kuwaiti resources that have discussed cultural life in Kuwait, such as Tarikh al-Kuwayt (History of Kuwait), ‘Ulama al-Kuwayt wa A‘lamuha (The Scholars and Notables of Kuwait) and al-Thaqafa fi al-Kuwayt (Culture in Kuwait), reiterate more or less the same narrative found in the aforementioned books about al-Zubayr, without providing new empirical research.