Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [200r] (402/1814)
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.
POLITICS AND COMMEECE OF KHOEASAN
221
i
€
When I credit the Russians with an influence so remarkable,
I am not for a moment conceding to them a monopoly oi such an
advantage. Were the British in a position to exeicise
towards the same pressure or ultimately to take the same steps,
England j p e p eve that they would be received with an acclaim
out of all proportion greater than that which might await their
opponents. The Russians are in the habit of conducting matters
in a somewhat high-handed and dictatorial mannei in 1 ersia , and,
while such an attitude may inspire alarm and even create respect,
it makes no appeal to affection. On the other hand, the frankei and
more honourable methods of the English have won for that Power
a consideration which, in the absence of positive evidences of
strength, such as numerous troops and adjacent dominions, is
highly meritorious. The Timuri tribes, of whom I spoke, along
the eastern border of Khorasan, are known to be extremely friendly
to the English; and the nearer we approach to Beluchistan and
the Indian frontier, the more does the popularity arising from just
and tolerant administration prevail. The Persians are beginning
to see perfectly well that the English do not desire a rood of their
soil, and that the Russians are bent upon forcible appropriation.
But the Russians are near and formidable, and the English are far
away and make no visible display of strength. While, therefore,
British influence is welcome and meets with encouragement, there
is no spirit or party capable of engendering a successful resistance
to Russian designs. The Khorasanis, like their fellow-men all the
world over, are not above making friends with the mammon of
unrighteousness.
Supplementary Routes in E. Khorasan.
meshed toITuebat-i-Haideei. H. W. Bellew (1872), From the Indus to the
Tiaris pp 351-7 ; Col. Euan-Smith (1872), Eastern Persia, pp. 353 6.
TuEBAT-l-HAmEEl TO BATISTAN. H. W. Bellew (1872), End, pp. 340-9;
Col. Euan-Smith (1872), Ibid. pp. 349-53.
BAJISTAN to KAIN. H. W. Bellew (1872), Ibid. pp. 325-39; Col. E. fenuth
(18 K 2 im?oB™D: H.W. Bellew (1872), Ibid. pp. 309-25; Col. E. Smith
8 Eaeeah (Afghanistan ) to Nishafur (rid Birjand, Tun, and Bajistan).
J. P. Eerrier (1845), Caravan Journeys, pp. 437-8 , T v Ferrier
Farrah (Afghanistan) to Semnan (via Khur andlabbas). J. P. Feme
(18 SbS^u («« Tun and Kain). (Sir) C. MaeGregor (1875), Journey
through Khorasan, vol. 1. pp. 137-66.
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 [200r] (402/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213844.0x000009> [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
![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎200r] (402/1814) Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎200r] (402/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0413.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg)