Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [205r] (412/1814)
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
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*
THE SEISTAN QUESTION
seriously to push his claims. It was at this juncture that, feaiing
the war to which Lord Hussell had lent the impTimcctw of his
suggestion, Lord Clarendon proposed arbitration. The offer was
accepted without much enthusiasm on either side, and in 1870
Sir F. Goldsmid, haying received the appointment of Chief Biitish
Commissioner, left England to carry out the undertaking. Diffi
culties and delays having supervened, the next year was occupied
in surveying and fixing a boundary between Persia and Beluchistan
from the sea to Jalk; and it was not till 1872 that the Commission
preceeded to Seistan to examine the rival claims upon the spot.
The story of the Commission and its labours has been told,
partly by General Goldsmid himself and his personal assistant,
SirF Major (now Colonel) Euan Smith , 1 partly by Dr. Bellew,
Goldsmid’s the well-known Oriental scholar and authority , 2 who
SonTn 8 accompanied General (afterwards Sir R.) Pollock, the
1872 latter being sent from India, for no very well ascertained
reason, as representative of the Viceroy (Lord Mayo). The case
was a difficult one by reason of its extraordinary simplicity. The
Afghan claim to Seistan was very clear and intelligible; it was
based upon ancient dominion, dating from the time of Ahmed
Shah, the founder of the Afghan empire. The Persian claim was
equally clear and intelligible; it was based upon moie ancient
dominion still, reinforced by the very cogent argument of recent
reconquest and actual occupation. Here were all the materials
both for hard reasoning and fine casuistry. The difficulty was
enhanced by the behaviour of the two Oriental Commissioners.
The Persian, Mirza Maasum Khan, was undisguisedly hostile from
the start, and threw every possible obstacle in the way. The
Afghan was not much more practicable. Finally, having con
ducted such local surveys and inquiries as were possible, Sir F.
Goldsmid, finding it hopeless to do any business on the spot, was
obliged to retire to Teheran, where his arbitral decision, after a
good deal of hesitation and cavilling, was ratified by the Shah.
Broadly speaking, General Goldsmid found it advisable to
distinguish between two Seistans, which he called xespectively
Seistan Proper and Outer Seistan . 3 The former he defined as
1 Eastern Persia, Introduction and pp. 225-295.
2 Record of the Seistan Mission, 1872 (Official Publication), and Erom the Indus
io the Tigris.
3 Vide his own account in a paper, entitled ‘ Journey from Bunder-Abbas to
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 [205r] (412/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213844.0x000013> [accessed 18 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
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