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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [172r] (346/1814)
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.
MESHED
169
and very fat, but wears an amiable expression, and, although un
like the Shah, has the distinctive Kajar features. His hair was
Conversa- black, but a white stubble ornamented bis chin. His
the Rukn- diess as the Iwlah, or lambskin bonnet, and the ordinary
ed-Dowieh b i ack Large-skirted coat and trousers of the Persian
grandee. White cotton gloves covered his hands, which he crossed
affably upon his stomach.
Our conversation was not of surpassing interest, as the Governor
contented himself with civil and conventional replies. I asked him
if he thought railways were likely to come in Persia. ‘ If God be
willing, yes, was the somewhat ambiguous rejoinder. Of the
possible lines, he thought that from Teheran to Kum was most
likely to be the first constructed. He said that the mineral re
sources of his piovmce were very great (which is probably true),
and comprised gold, silver, lead, copper, and coal. When I asked
him whether the people knew anything about the Shah’s recent
reception in Europe, and particularly in England, he answered
‘ No ; how should they ? Only the officials and upper classes know.
Three newspapers are published in Teheran, and of one of these
100 copies are brought every week to Meshed. Later on, when
the Shah’s diary is published, people will read it, and then they
will know.’
My interview with His Poyal Highness left upon me the same
impression that did the conversation of so many of the Persian
ministers whom I afterwards encountered—viz. the existence
of an abstract willingness for the internal development of their
country, but a total absence of initiative, and a passive acquies
cence in the status quo.
In the succeeding chapter I shall have something to say about
the armed forces of the Khorasan province. I may here limit my
. attention to the garrison of Meshed, which consists of
Cxarnson # ^
thr ee infantry regiments of 800 each, usually regiments
recruited in the Turkish province of Azerbaijan; a precaution
which is supposed to preclude any possible fraternisation between
the populace and the military. There are reported to be some
twenty light field guns in the Ark. But as they are never brought
out, as the artillerymen never practise working them, and as the
horses are never exercised, they would probably not constitute a
very formidable battery in actual warfare.
The only two foreign Powers officially represented, or who
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 [172r] (346/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x000099> [accessed 12 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