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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [210v] (423/1814)
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.
242
PERSIA
south-east it is bounded by an impassable desert; while to the east it
possesses one single line of communication along the Helmund con
fcracted and ill-supplied, and exposed to a flank attack from the
northward throughout its whole extent from Seistan to Kandahar
Supposing, indeed, the Afghans to be in strength at Herat, Farrah
or Zamin Dawer, it would be quite impossible for a Persian army to
march along the Helmund from Seistan to Girishk. The only military
value of Seistan consists in its abundant supply of camels for carriao- e •
and these animals are for the most part in the hands of the BeluchiV
who are Afghan, and not Persian dependents, and who might thus
be available for our own purposes, though hardly for those of our
enemies . 1
It is permissible to point out that, although the author of the
above paragraph is fortunately still living, it was written at a
time (1875) long anterior to more recent developments, and with a
view to conditions which no longer exist. The question discussed
by Rawlinson in dealing with the strategical controversy is the
chance afforded to Persia of invading Afghanistan from the base
of Seistan; and this has no relation whatever to the new problem
created by the appearance of Russia within striking distance of
Herat. A Persian army is now about as likely to invade Afghanistan
as it is to march against St. Petersburg. But what Persians or
Afghans would not, or could not do, European armies operating from
i ail way bases may, and since 1885 alone it may be said that
any previous military criticism upon Seistan has already become
obsolete.
To the jeremiads of those critics who represent Seistan
(parodying the phrase in which Persia as a whole was once
Favour- described 2 ) as consisting of two parts, a desert under
opinions of w ^ ei anc ^ a desert above water, must be opposed the
natural evidence both of history and of existing facts. If their
verdict be true, how comes it that this province was
once so famous -or its magnificent fertility, its dense population,
and its splendid cities ? What must be said of the square miles of
mins still encumbering the ground ? Fertility in Persia is almost
solely dependent upon water supply; and here, alone among
Persian provinces, is enough water not merely to fill great canals
reasons to leave Herat alone, or supposing Seistan be added as a base to the
already acquired base of Herat, what then ?
1 England and Russia in the East, p. 116.
Peisia consists of two parts : a desert with salt, and a desert without salt.'
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 [210v] (423/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213844.0x00001e> [accessed 5 April 2025]
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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