The Assyrians did not have an amicable relationship with their neighbours. Their historical feud with the Kurds, which culminated in 1915, was centuries old. Bitterness between the Assyrians and the Arabs was reported by British historians as far back as 1920. These tensions were increased by the British officers of the Levies, many of whom encouraged the Assyrians in their supremacism. This, coupled with the fact that the British Army and Assyrian Levies succeeded in suppressing Kurdish revolts when the Iraqi Army failed, created an inferiority complex among some Iraqi corps towards the British and the Assyrians.