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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎125r] (256/1814)

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. .

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113
CHAPTER VI
FROM KUCHAN TO KELAT-I-NADIRI
And one a foreground black with stones and slags,
Beyond—a line of heights, and higher
All barred with long white cloud the scornful crags,
And highest snow and fire.
Tennyson, The Palace of Art.
From Kuchan it was my intention, if possible, to visit the famous
frontier stronghold of Kelat-i-Nadiri, the Fort of Nadir Shah,
intention described by previous travellers as one of the most
KelIT-t mg extraordinary natural phenomena in the world, and
Nadhi famous e\en in this land of mountain fastnesses and
impregnable defiles for its inaccessibility and amazing natural
strength. Ever since the rumour had been spread, and even
circulated in Europe, that Russia coveted this particular possession
[a question was asked in the House of Commons in the spring of
1889 as to whether it had not actually been ceded to the Czar],
the Persians had looked with a jealous eye upon any intruder, and
I accordingly judged it prudent to say nothing of my desire. I
had ascertained that it was impossible for me to fortify myself
before starting with a special permit from the Shah, the latter not
having as yet returned to Teheran from Europe, and the British
Minister not being at the capital, in order to approach the
sovereign s representatives. Nor in any case should I have solicited
such permission, knowing that if granted it would at once have
been treated as a precedent by the Russians for demanding a
similar concession, which might in the case of their emissary have
meant something very different from the visit of so innocent a
traveller as myself. I was still less willing to telegraph for leave
to the Governor-General of Khorasan at Meshed, because I doubted
his ability to grant it, and felt certain that my footsteps would at
once be dogged by spies, if I was not actually turned back. The
Persians are so extravagantly suspicious of foreigners, and
particularly of such as sketch, or ask questions, or measure, or
VOL. i.
I

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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
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎125r] (256/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00003f> [accessed 6 June 2026]

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