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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [249r] (500/1814)
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.
TEHERAN
303
0 %
of the same century, the first epoch of the city’s political ascend
ency began.
The seat and cradle of the Kajar family was at Astrabad; but
this was too remote and too far situated to the East to suit the
Made his expanding ambitions of the eunuch candidate for the
capital by throne. For some time, while his fortunes were yet in-
Moham- secure, and while his sovereignty was practically limited
med Shah to Mazanderan, Agha Mohammed fixed his residence at
Sari • but, as he turned his eyes and aspirations southwards, and
the’dream of a Pan-Iranian kingdom became capable of realisation,
a more accessible capital was required. Accordingly, he selected
Teheran, and its elevation to metropolitan rank is commonly dated
from 1788. It was not till seven years later that his rivals were
all removed, and that he found himself firmly seated upon the
throne ; but what had been perhaps in the first place a choice of
necessity remained the selection of prudence. Rebellion had been
effectively stamped out of life in the south. The Afghans had
ceased for awhile to be hostile or formidable. On the other hand,
at Teheran, the successful usurper was within easy reach of his own
patrimony and tribesmen ; and he was in a better position to watch
the only enemy of whom he had real apprehension—Russia. The
same considerations, aggravated rather than diminished by the
events of the present century, have compelled his successors to
endorse his judgment; and, whatever may be said against the site,
there is very small likelihood, as long as Persia escapes dismember
ment, of Teheran being dethroned from its position.
Agha Mohammed, though he elevated Teheran to the rank of
his capital, either had not the taste or did not reign long
its then enough to confer upon it any of the external distinction
extent with which his predecessors on the throne had always
striven to adorn their seats of government. Olivier, who was there
in 1797, the year of the king’s death, reported the city as being
little more than two miles in circuit, and as containing a popula
tion of only 15,000, 3,000 of whom belonged to the court or army of
the Shah. Path Ali Shah, however, had more regal ideas. Under
his rule the city increased in size, importance, and display. In
1807 General Gardanne, the French Envoy, found it containing a
population of over 50,000 in winter, though all but deserted in
summer, when the Court was away, and the inhabitants had retired
to their yeilaks, or summer quarters, on the mountains. A very
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 [249r] (500/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213844.0x00006b> [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