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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [64v] (135/1814)
The record is made up of 2 volumes with inserts (898 folios). It was created in 1892-1924. It was written in English, Urdu and German. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
PAGE
His appearance and conversation—The Naib-es Sultaneh Rest of the
Royal Family—Brothers of the Shah—Council of State Scheme of
its functions—Present condition—Ministers of State Ihe Amin-es-
Sultan—The Amin-ed*Dowleh—The Kawam-ed-Dowleh Yahia Khan,
Mushir-ed-Dowleh—Other ministers—The Amir-i-Nizam Ihe Sahib
Diwan—Council of Five .
CHAPTER XIY
THE GOVERNMENT
An absolute monarchy—Modern pretensions—Real curtailment of preroga
tive—Effective restraints—Administrative hierarchy—Modifications of
royal power—Administrative divisions—System of purchase and of
presents— Mudakhil —Practical illustrations—Effect on the peasantry
—Reasons of popular acquiescence—Meagreness of official salaries—•
Duration in office ^—Pislihesh or gifts—The Royal hTielat —Corrupt
administration—Neglect of public works—Hosts of retainers—Bureau
cracy—Salaries and titles—Twofold division of law—Shar or Ecclesi
astical Law—Abridgment of authority—Urf or Common Law—Civil
cases and arbitration—Pains and penalties—Prisons—Defects and
abuses of the system—Attempts at reform—Royal Proclamation of
Freedom of Life and Property—Proposed codification of the law—
Effect on national character ......... 433
CHAPTER XV
INSTITUTIONS AND REFORMS
Ambiguous panorama—Petition-boxes—Scheme of chapter—Letter-Post—•
Electric Telegraph—Newspapers—Their history, past and present—
French papers—The coinage—Government Mint—Modern currency—
Circulation of gold—Need of European banks—New Oriental Bank—
Imperial Bank of Persia—Terms of concession—Opening of premises—-
Monopoly of bank-notes—Ancient experiment of the Mongol—Modern
opinion—Notes of the Imperial Bank—First year of existence—-The
Reuter Concession of 1872—Its rescis|ion—Reasons of failure—Con
cession-mongers—Recent schemes—Roads in the East—Need in Persia
Existing carriage-roads—Minor roads —Chapar routes—Pack-roads—•
New Teheran-ShushDr road—Projected roads—Road-making policy—
Messrs. Andreas and Stolze—Persian education—Primary schools—-
Secondary education—Royal College at Teheran—Management and
discipline Provincial colleges—Limited scope—Religious questions—
The Babi movement -Later developments—Modern proselytism—Perse
cution—Heroism—Not a political movement—Religious tenets Ob
servances future of Babism—Persia as a field for Christian Missions
—History of Christianity Religious liberty in Persia—Source of hos-
tility 1 ractical results The strength of Islam—The Jews in Persia—-
Backward condition—Disabilities and persecution—Summary , »
About this item
- Content
These two volumes are George Curzon's own personal annotated copies of both volumes of his book Persia and the Persian Question , which was published in 1892. Alongside the volumes are various loose papers relating to Persia [Iran], consisting of the following: received correspondence; newspaper cuttings; publishers' press releases; cuttings from various booksellers' catalogues; various journal and magazine articles; two items of printed official British correspondence; several prints of photographs and sketches; and a few handwritten notes by Curzon.
In most cases these papers, which range in date from 1892 to 1924, relate to the chapters in the book where they were originally inserted, suggesting that they were kept by Curzon with the intention of using them to inform a revised edition of the book.
Of particular note among the small amount of correspondence are two letters received by Curzon in 1914 and 1915 from retired schoolmaster and Islamic scholar Sayyid Mazhar Hasan Musawi of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India (ff 5-9 and ff 44-53). These letters, which are written in Urdu and are accompanied by English translations, discuss in detail several inaccuracies found in the Urdu version of Persia and the Persian Question .
The various prints of photographs and sketches, which were originally inserted into volume two, are of different locations in the Gulf region. Several of these appear to have been produced in preparation for the publication of the second volume of John Gordon Lorimer's Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Oman and Central Arabia (i.e. the 'Geographical and Statistical' section) in 1908, as they are identical to the versions found in that volume.
Also of note among the loose papers are an illustrated article from Country Life dated 5 June 1920, entitled 'The People of Persia' (ff 36-37), and a printed family tree of the Shah of Persia [Aḥmad Shah Qājār], produced in preparation of his visit to Britain in 1919 (f 233).
Volume one of Persia and the Persian Question contains a map of Persia, Afghanistan and Beluchistan [Balochistan], which is folded inside the front cover (f 1).
The German language material consists of a publisher's press release for two books authored by German archaeologist Ernst Emil Herzfeld (ff 29-30).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes with inserts (898 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this shelfmark consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the first folio of volume one (1-463), and terminates at the last folio of volume two (ff 464-898); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Each volume contains a large number of loose leaves, which have been foliated in the order that they were inserted into the volume; for conservation reasons, these loose folios have been removed from the volume and stored separately. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers of the two volumes.
Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English, Urdu and German in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [64v] (135/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x00008e> [accessed 18 June 2026]
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/33
- Title
- Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Questionby George Curzon, with Inserted Papers
- Pages
- 54r:135v, 147r:149v, 158r:180v, 183r:221v, 224r:224v, 227r:246v, 248r:257v, 259r:260v, 268r:362v, 364r:364v, 367r:388v, 390r:400v, 402r:416v, 419r:432v, 434r:444v, 448r:462v, 464r:471v, 475r:481v, 483r:513v, 516r:525v, 527r:544v, 546r:563v, 566r:598v, 600r:622v, 624r:656v, 658r:665v, 667r:675v, 678r:684v, 687r:688v, 691r:691v, 693r:693v, 695r:708v, 711r:721v, 724r:726v, 728r:729v, 731r:736v, 742r:742v, 746r:757v, 759r:761v, 763r:763v, 765r:765v, 772r:777v, 780r:789v, 793r:794v, 797r:809v, 811r:821v, 825r:840v, 843r:898v
- Author
- Curzon, George Nathaniel, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
- Usage terms
- Public Domain