Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [148v] (299/1814)
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.
enclosure over sixty miles in circumference. The real ,
kelat is as a basis of operations and starting point fn ^ Ue of
movements against Transcaspia. Well guarded at the e°f enSive
and held by a strong garrison, it might have been made
still become, a veritable thorn in the side of an enemv ’
the Atek below. A hostile force quartered here might for" “
descend without warning and with overwhelming stren' th 6 ’
he Tianscaspian Railway, and cut the Russian line of m ^ UP011
tion with the Caspian. But Persia is not the power ST* 103 '
thing one half so heroic; and Nadir’s fortress is in th °- ^
degree unlikely ever to be made a sally-port agaW r g ^
Annenkofi’s railway. Should the Russians take Kelt wl r!^
appear to be excessively anixous to do the gain to the ’ • ^
would be considerable; for ever since
also acquire what might be made a suitable depot for stol t
arsenal for a limited number of troops (neither the water nor tl
gram supply would sustain many), and there wonlrl 1 in T ^
negative advantage of preventing ^ so formldSett
hands of an enemy from falling into an enemy’s hands But a
an offensive measure against Khorasan I do not see that H
d r ’“r" ‘ n ‘ i
leacnmg Meshed, and as no modern army would trust itself i
phaceT Inta f0 L quite fort y miles between the two
looks northward no!southward 0 ; ^7111 archlJl’o S ° ^ SPeak ’
sav ~ 7 h f ° 1 ' t 7 milital ' y ValU0 ° f Kelat -i-Nadiri. Let me now
7 • ething about its interior features. How little was known
gate? 6 I 0 ! ^ ?f° re tl16 VisitS ° f Baker and MacGregor may be
qaw s ra e y the scanty description furnished from hear-
say by Fraser, who doubled both its length and breadth.' Entrance
• 6 ? 61-101 18 gained by one of five gates, of which the two
Tl T ai ’i e i Argawan Sbah 011 tlle south and Nafta on the north.
, lle ® i’ ers aie kaslitani on the south-east, Chubast on the
tn h ' e icia 011 bbe north-west. All of these gates are said
o be fortified and defended by troops; of the two main entrances it
• undoubtedly true. There are also several footpaths (it is said
Vide Journey into Khorasan, Appendix B (1).
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 [148v] (299/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00006a> [accessed 8 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
![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎148v] (299/1814) Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎148v] (299/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0310.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg)