![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎213r] (428/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0439.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎213r] (428/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [213r] (428/1814)
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.
245
CHAPTER X
FROM MESHED TO TEHERAN
There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much
happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.—D r. Johnson, Boswell's Life.
Persicos odi, puer, apparatus.
Horace, Carm., Lib. I. xxxviii.
After the serious political discussions contained in the last two
chapters, it will be a relief to such of my readers as have passed
through, if they have not altogether evaded, that ordeal,
to turn to a chapter with more digestible contents.
Having spent eight days at Meshed, I started upon the
long chajpar ride to Teheran. The distance is given by
the Persians, and is therefore paid for by the traveller, as 154
farsakhs. At the full complement of four miles to a farsakh, this
would amount to 616 miles ; but, though the Khorasan farsakh is
famed beyond all others for its odious and seemingly inexhaustible
length , 1 a compliment in reality to the funereal monotony of the
road—the distance (comparing my own estimate with that of
previous voyagers) is under rather than over 560 English miles.
It is surprising how soon, if a man be riding alone and have nought
to distract him but the paces of his steed and the thought of his
destination, he can arrive at an approximately correct calculation
of the distance he is covering from stage to stage. The route
between Meshed and Teheran is divided into twenty-four stages,
the post-houses being established at distances varying from fifteen
to thirty miles, but averaging twenty-three miles apart. This
1 4 What a long farsahh is that of Khorasan ! ’ says a traveller who has toiled
from sunrise nearly to sunset, and who can no longer cling to his jaded horse but
by the prong in front of his saddle. 4 By the beard of the Prophet,’ said one of
the party as we neared our halting-ground, ‘ the road is longer than the entrails
of Omar, for my back and my knees have lost their feeling.’ There is also a local
proverb, worthy of being quoted (Burnes’ Travels into Bokhara, vol. iii. p. 89),
which says that the Khorasani farsahh is as endless as the chatter of women,
and that he who measured them must have done so with a broken chaim
Postal
route be
tween
Meshed
and
Teheran
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 [213r] (428/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213844.0x000023> [accessed 6 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