![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎174v] (351/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0362.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎174v] (351/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [174v] (351/1814)
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.
PERSIA
174
advantag© in tliGir passport systGin, by wlncli the identity,,
nationality, and claims of an applicant can at once be ascertained.
The British have never adopted this most useful of systems, and
an immense amount of labour and time is spent in investigating
the titles of the claimant to British protection, which are frequently
disputed by the Persian authorities, and can only be vindicated
with trouble and delay. It is worth while considering whether in
Persia, at any rate, the passport system might not advantageously
be introduced. 1 It would, I believe, be welcomed by the Persian
Government.
There is very little to be seen in the neighbourhood of Meshed.
The mosque of Khoj ah Babi I have already described. The Musallah,
originally built in A.D. 1699 for the celebration of the feast
of Kurban, and described, by MacGregor as the only rain
of any note about the city, has lost any note that it may once have
had by being a total ruin. Visitors will possibly care to ride out
to the remains of Tus, the predecessor of Meshed, fifteen miles
distant in a north-westerly direction. Persian legend is very busy
with the antiquity and history and vicissitudes of this once famous
city. The present remains, which are very clearly to be traced,
are those of a walled Arab city, quite four miles in circumference,
and of a citadel in its north-east corner. In the centre is a large
ruined structure under a dome, which was no doubt once a mosque,
but is now known as the Nakkara-Khaneh or Drum Tower.
O’Donovan, who spent some time in examining and describing the
ruins, mistook this building for the tomb of the great national poet
Firdusi, 2 and even identified his coffin. 3 The poet’s grave lay
beneath, a far humbler structure which was visible seventy years
ago ; but had disappeared long before O’Donovan visited it, and
been replaced by no more distinctive memorial than a field of wheat,
Meshed is connected by telegraph, as I have already shown,
with Kelat-i-Nadiri on the north, and with Kuchan and Bujnurd
1 I have since heard that the Afghans have been allowed by the Biitidi
Government to accept Russian passports through the medium of the Peman
officials, a concession which I am unable either to justify or to explain. ^
2 Firdusi, born about 940 A.D., died 1021, was employed by Mahmud of b
to write the history of Persia in verse. The result was the Shah Nameh, oi ^
of Kings, in which the poet discharged his duty in 60,000 Pehlevi verses, c0 ^j
ing only two Arabic words, although two out of every three words in ok na
usage at the time were of Arabic—i.e. non-Iranian—origin.
3 The Mere Oasis, vol. ii. pp. 14-16. Compare Khanikoff, pp. 31, 109-
from conffi' lUI11<
in the pre sent ^
of the Tejend,
point of juncti
Meshed into te
farther exempl
no telegraphic
wire has been
line between
of a single wi
it belongs to t
tained for thei
keep an inspe
Meshed. Thii
of the line, ai
The Persians
the sanctity o:
where where t
pursuit or pe
ran directly j
could thus coi
In conclug
ail d Christian
Attitude a PP'
towards is U
foreigners
and
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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [174v] (351/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00009e> [accessed 17 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00009e
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00009e">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎174v] (351/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00009e"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0362.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- 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