![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎169r] (340/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0351.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎169r] (340/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [169r] (340/1814)
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.
tllat of Tv n „
u ge patt erDS;
the P ri ncip a i
as erected br
al % Persia^
1 ail( i it is the
‘ the ttiosq^
r endowed by
or sixty
er madressehs,
eat refectory’
ighness (each
board), at the
3 is said that
guests of the
scholarly and
ut the library
its foundation
iah Rukh, the
3 reign. The
1 Shah Sultan
re KhanikofPs
^ry contained
Korans (189
great dimen-
pilgrims, 246
, of the Shiah
,est benefactor
presented it
ire very large.
: of the Sefavi
century, they
the figures as
int for 20,000
) 000 i
O the informa-
tea uivalent at
ft
&vfn" c~" .
' , " J 1 MESHED
tzz ytC 3 ^ J/t-X-Xj ,
the present rate of exchange to 17,0000 and 10,000 hharvms ■ of
giain. e landed property of the Imam is scattered all over
1 ersia, and there is a good deal of estate besides in the shape of
houses, caravanserais, shops, and bazaars. There are 600 paid
servants of the mosque, 100 for each day of the week. The total
retinue connected with the holy buildings, and consisting of
mujtaheds, mullahs, mutawalis, attendants, menials, and hangers-on
has been estimated at 2,000. g ’
< I f ? d of stands at about the same
( 45 . 000 ) « , dtd m the d.va of Conolly. But how ]„ge a part h,
ofTS 1 116 18 P ayed by reli g ious element is shown by the
_ computation that within the year as many as 100.000
pi gnms enter its walls, and that the average number at any time
to be found m the city is from 5,000 to 8,000. From these figures
anc rom what has been said above, some idea may be formed of the
Va , a i nd P ° tent f lachlriei7 Which is in the hand s of the ecclesi-
Mesh /° W tT a ° f part that ' mUSt play in the Poetics of
Meshed. The capital is, indeed, a great collection of peoples
occupations, interests, and intrigues, revolving round the central
pivot of the shrine. Just as its middle portion is occupied by the
sacred quadrilateral, so the life of the place throbs from the same
hidden heart, moving in dark channels of superstition, miracle-
mongenng, and imposture. Conolly was well within the mark
when he wrote of the mullahs of Meshed that ‘the greater number
of these are rogues who only take thought how to make the most
° n 6 P ' gr ™ S tPa J; Vlslt the shrine. From the high priest to the
seller of bread, all have the same end ; and, not content with the
s rangers money, those in office about the saint appropriate to
icruselves the very dues for keeping his temple in order.’
’rom ancient times the government of the shrine has been
vested m the hands of an individual, not necessarily an ecclesiastic,
Govern- a11 . ®°™ m only a layman, know as the Mutawali Bashi or
Se° f the Chief Guardian. He has ordinarily become, by virtue of
lfe of hce, the principal personage in Meshed, equalling
and often surpassing the Governor-General in influence. It was no
mean proof of the strength of the present Shah, that here, as else-
" elemTr 1 ^ d . Ue . Subordinaticm ° f the ecclesiastical to
, rent by appointing his own brother the Rukn-ed-
Dowleh, who was Governor-General of Khorasan at the time of my
1 Ihcn iai - 649 lbs.; 3| kharvars = (approximately) 1 ton.
m 2
/
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 [169r] (340/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x000093> [accessed 9 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