With direct Ottoman rule now imposed over Iraq, the local Mamluq garrisons and locally-raised troops, hitherto at the beck and call of semi-independent governors, were now integrated into the Ottoman army. Military schools were established to train members of the local Iraqi elite for careers in the modernized armed forces. Some primary and secondary schools were also opened, and foreign (both Christian and Jewish) missionaries also opened schools. A small elite educated along western lines has thus began to appear in the country, from which the ranks of local provincial officials are recruited, along with the Ottoman officer corps (Iraqi officers in fact have come to form a large element within the Ottoman military leadership.)

Over the past decade or two, new roads have been built, a telegraphy system set up, and trade has expanded. Steamships now ply the ancient waterways of the Tigris and Euphrates.