Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [91r] (188/1814)
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.
WAYS AND MEANS
49
dretta-
Aleppo
route
thence to Deir on the Euphrates, 10 stages; thence to Hit on the
Euphrates, 10 stages; and thence to Baghdad, 4 stages; total,
2 . Alexan- 28 stages. 1 From Alexandretta to Aleppo the distance
can be covered either by horse or carriage in two days.
From the latter place horses must be hired to Baghdad;
and according to the impedimenta carried by the traveller he will be
able to complete this section of his journey in from fourteen to six
teen days. A longer route from Aleppo may also be pursued, via
Diarbekir (11 stages) and Mosul (13 stages), whence it is 12
stages by land to Baghdad. 2
From Damascus, which is connected by an excellent carriage
road and daily diligence service (9 hours) with Beirut, the
8 D amas _ alternative routes are as follows : (1) via Tadmor or
cus route Palmyra and Deir, a total distance by ordinary camel
of 20 days, by fast dromedary of 13 days, no other means of
locomotion being possible, and the security being none of the best; 3
(2) via the old Desert or Dromedary Postal Route straight across
the desert, a distance for the ordinary traveller of about 150 hours
1 They are as follows :—Alexandretta-Khan Diarbekirlich (4 hours), Ain-el-
Bedeh (7), Fermanin (7), Aleppo (8), Deir Hafir (8), Meskineh (7), Abu Hureira
(8), Humam (9), Shariat Mohammed Agha (5), Sabkha (5), Hamad el Kelaib (7),
Tebni (8), Deir (10), Miadin (10), Salahieh (11), Abu Kamah (6), Gaim (6),
Nahieh (8), Ana (7), Fehaimieh (7), Haditha (6), Jubba (8), Hit (8), Remadi (10),
Fellahieh (8), Abu Gfhraib (6), Baghdad (7). This route (with small variations)
is described by Lady Anne Blunt in Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates. Wonder
may be felt that, so much of the above journey being upon the banks of or near
to the Euphrates, the waterway is not used to facilitate communication. For a
short time the attempt v;as made. During the vigorous government of Midhat
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
at Baghdad a small paddle-steamer plied on the Euphrates between Hiilah
(Babylon) and Meskineh. But the intention was rather to keep an eye upon the
Bedouins than to encourage traffic; and with the departure of its founder the
.scheme fell through.
2 This route is described by Tristram Ellis, On a Raft and Through the Desert,
vol. i. The stages between Aleppo and Diarbekir are as follows :—Akharin (7),
Begler Begi (6), Muslim (7), Mazar (7), Berajik (4), Hawah, or Dewak (9), Mish-
mishieh (7), Severak (6), Kainak (6), Kara Bakcha (6), Khan (6), Diarbekir (6).
The route from Mosul to Baghdad is described by Thielmann (1872), Journey in
the Caucasus, fyc., vol. ii. cap. vi. ; Binder (1884), An Kurdistan, cap. ix.
* This route is described by Tristram Ellis, vol. ii. The stages between
Damascus and Deir are as follows:—Jerud, Kasseir, Karyatain, Ain-el-Baida
(Bedeh), Tadmor, Rakha, Sukhneh, El Bowaib, Bir Kabakib, Deir. Those between
Deir and Baghdad have already been given. M. von Thielmann in 1872 rode
from Kerbela via Palmyra to Damascus. Journey in the Caucasus, &c. vol. ii.
cap. vii.
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VOL. I.
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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 [91r] (188/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000c3> [accessed 9 July 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
![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎91r] (188/1814) Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎91r] (188/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0199.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg)