Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [185v] (373/1814)
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.
192
PERSIA
Bui nurd consists at present of 500 men. His district comprises
the upland valley of Bujnurd, contiguous to that of Shirwan and
Kuchan, the upper waters of the Atrek, and further south Jajann
in tlis Isferayin plain. 1
Of Kuchan I have already spoken. Its military contingent is
Kuchan at present 600 strong.
To the north-east of Kuchan, and on the northern slope of the
main range—the only Persian possession of any size now remain
ing on the northern watershed of the Elburz is situated
Deregez the little f ront ie r district of Deregez (the Valley of Tama
risks) This favoured spot, which consists of a valley or basin some
forty miles long, by thirty broad, is inhabited partly by Kurds, but
mainly by Turks or Tartars, relics of old waves of Turanian in
vasion. Its capital is Mohammedabad, 1,200 feet, where m 1880
O’Donovan met Colonel Stewart, disguised as an Armenian horse-
dealer, and lived for three weeks in his society without discovering
that he was an Englishman. Deregez is separated from the Aterk
by a low range of hills, which have hitherto saved it from Russian
absorption; though it has lost several of the villages lying upon
the plain below, of which it formerly claimed ownership. Retoie
1882 it might be considered an independent principa ity, n m
common with the other border states of Khorasan, it was tien
reduced by Abbas Mirza, and has since remained a possession o
the crown, in much the same way and under the same con i
as Kuchan and Bujnurd; although from its position on the ex
treme boundary, and the relations into which its chief v as
sequently brought with the Turkomans, the authoii y o
imperial Government was somewhat delicately an piecano
enforced from Meshed. The Khan of Deregez belongs to a ni n 8
family who have inherited the chieftainship from the cays o ^
Shah. Neither he nor Deregez are now of much impoitance,
his military contribution has been reduced to one hundrec.
5 kcr (1873)*
1 For descriptions of Bujnurd and its district, vide CIoionel Viil. Ba
Clouds in the East, p. 284, et se q .; (Sir) C. Z
Khorasan, vol. ii. pp. 93-107 ; General Grodekoff (1880), The, lUr »
vol. iv. cap. xvii. -o ppascr,
2 The first Englishman to visit and describe Deregez was • • Colonel
(A Winter's Journey, vol. ii. letters is., x., si.). For later desciip *^ (lg75) ,
Val. Baker (1873), Clouds, in the East, pp. 229-274; (Sir) „ (| Vy/ (f Mere
Journey through Khorasan, vol. ii. pp. 70-76; E. O’ Donovan (188 h
Oasis, vol. ii. pp. 30-65.
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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- 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