Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [254r] (510/1814)
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.
ti ’ *
f teme ntr atl ,
V o.Voj|
trance to the
^ Shah •
16 is the Meia
e n i length, „
^-ground, f 0]
; ar y display,
ittle to the n
:ewa y openin:
Is from the n
square, called the
Ministry of War,
isure. It contains
> un ? known as the
s always been an
gitive criminal, a
oessive chroniclers
it accounts of this
rouglit by Nadir
ated with a string
by him in Persia.
yxm that Chardin
cannot find that
n there, I am loth
read that the gun
that, having been
there, it acquired
its removal to the
r of Fine Arts, in-
n historians, this
ired by the allied
■erbethe truth, its
iort i ]
in
■ w ^ iW
TEHERAN
semi-sacred character is unimpeachable. An artillery guard is sta
tioned hard by, and barren women make a pilgrimage hither, and
pass beneath the gun, in order to promote the object of their desire.
The most distinctive feature, however, of this smaller meidan
is the great arched gateway leading from it, and used as the
Nakkara- Nakkara-Khaneh (or Drum Tower), whence, every evening,
Khaneh gp sundown, is discoursed, from prodigious horns, kettle
drums, cornets, and fifes, the appalling music which is an inalienable
DKUM TOWER AND CANNON OF PEARLS
appurtenance of royalty in Persia, and is always sounded at sunset
from some elevated gallery or tower in any city blessed with a royal
or princely governor. Over two hundred years ago it used to disturb
the slumbers of Tavernier and Chardin at Isfahan, where it was
sounded at sunset and at midnight; the truth being, as the former
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
sagaciously observed, that ‘ the musick would never charm
a curious ear. 5 It is commonly supposed that this practice is a
relic of the old fire or sun worship, that luminary being saluted
both at its rising and setting by respectful strains. Whether this
be so or not I cannot say. What is certain is that it has for long
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 [254r] (510/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213844.0x000075> [accessed 7 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 [‎254r] (510/1814) Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎254r] (510/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0521.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg)