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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎170v] (343/1814)

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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166
PERSIA
bidden, and is only pursued in secret. The story of their enforced
conversion to Mohammedauism in the year 1838 is well known, and
has been repeated by more than one tiaveller. Dr.
Meshed Vv^olff, who was twice at Meshed, both befoie and after
the incident, described it in these terms :
The occasion was as follows : A poor woman had a sore hand. A
Mussulman physician advised her to kill a dog and put her hand in the
blood of it. She did so ; when suddenly the whole population rose and
said that they had done it in derision of their prophet. Thirty-five
Jews were killed in a few minutes ; the rest, struck with terror, became
Mohammedans. They are now more zealous Jews in secret than ever,
but call themselves Anusim, the Compelled Ones. 1
Wolff does not add—what is necessary to explain the sudden
outburst—that the incidents of the Jewess and the slaughtered
dog unfortunately occurred on the very day when the Mohammedans
were celebrating the annual beast of Sacrifice. 2 Superstition and
malice very easily aggravated an innocent act into a deliberate
insult to the national faith; and hence the outbreak that ensued.
There is much less fanaticism now than in those days 5 but it still
behoves a Yehudi, or Jew, to conduct himself circumspectly and to
walk with a modest air in Meshed.
Khanihoff is responsible for the statement that there are fouiteen
madressehs and sixteen caravanserais in the city ;, as also for an
Public enumeration of their names and the dates of their
buildings foundation. Any reader who requires information upon
these points may be referred to his pages. 3
J Rad heard or read a good deal about the native manufactuies
of Meshed, but was greatly disappointed with such articles as I
n , saw. A more unfavourable hunting-ground for the
ivianuiac- # # mi
tures would-be purchaser can hardly be imagined. iu (
manufacture of damascened sword-blades has long been a trade
here, having originally, it is said, been introduced by a colon)
transported for the purpose by Timur from Damascus. Now, how
ever, that rifles and revolvers have taken the place of swords and
1 Narrative of Mission to Bokhara in 1843-1845, vol. i. p. 239, and vol. ii- P- 7-'-
2 The Aid-i-Kurban is held in commemoration of Abraham’s intention, accor
ing to the Mussulman tradition, to offer up Ismail (Ishmael), not Ishak (Isaac).
The animals sacrificed on this occasion are supposed also to act as a propitiatory
offering, which will stand the believer in good stead when he comes to the razor
like bridge of Sirat that spans the gulf to Paradise.
3 Memoire sur la Partie Meridionale de VAsie Centrale, p. 107.

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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 [‎170v] (343/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x000096> [accessed 5 June 2026]

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