![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎188r] (378/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0389.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎188r] (378/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [188r] (378/1814)
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.
197
POLITICS AND COMMERCE OF KHORASAN
,L P ^ Ct T P^ neer °f Russian advance, later as a member
+1 r f ^ Commission > and now diplomatic agent at
the Court of Bokhara, was at Sarakhs on the surveying tour which
tet k,,l W to European knowledge the conn., between Sarakhe
anc eia . He described the pitiable \ight of the wretched,, gar
rison, who instead of being a terror to the foe, were practically
beleaguered themselves, inasmuch as they never dared to sally out^
and burnt alarm fires on the watch-towers at night ^
. f iw0 y ears late C in April 1884, largely in consequence of the
information which M. Lessar had collected, and in pursuit of that
Beoceupa- e ective but indefensible advance that resulted in the
Sarakhs ' on tlle KusIlk and the seizure of Panjdeh in 1885
Russians the Ru ™ appeared in force, and occupied the deserted
position of Old Sarakhs on the eastern bank of the river.
Here they soon constructed a fortified position and barracks • and
t e resuscitated Old Sarakhs, which I suppose may now be called
the Newer Sarakhs, has ever since remained one of their frontier
military stations. The only account of it that I have seen since it
passed into their hands is that by the Comte de Cholet, a young
French officer who rode down this way in disguise in 1888 with
Colonel Ahkhanoff from Merv. His description (translated) is as
follows :—
Strictly speaking to call Sarakhs a town would be somewhat of an
exaggeration. It is simply a military post around which are grouped
the houses of the officers and of some persons engaged in trade. As
the Persians seemed to resent the annexation of the Turkoman tribes
who inhabit this neighbourhood, the Russians replied by erecting this
advanced post, in which they placed two battalions, one of the first
line, and one reserve or garrison, in all from 1,500 to 1,600 men. This
was more than enough to teach the Persians that they could never
hope to recover the country • at the same time that,, upon a really very
s allow pretext, it established an important advanced post in the
valley of the Tejend, commanding one of the two roads to Herat.
Besides a large and excellent barrack, the town consists only of 100
muses, inhabited by the military or civil officials and the merchants,
wo streets and t\\ o squares—one of which is the scene of a very busy
and animated market—divide the town, and constitute a long parallelo
gram, half a mile m length by 200 yards in width. It is the residence
of a pristaV) or chief of district . 1
I have in my previous work quoted the important opinion of
1 Excursion en Turkestan, pp, 80-82.
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 [188r] (378/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x0000b9> [accessed 5 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