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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎299v] (601/1814)

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. .

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376 PERSIA
throne, he left Hidayet Khan in charge of Gilan, exacting only
an annual tribute. The chief kept a large army, and observed
great state. It was during his rule that the Russian traveller
Gmelin visited Resht, and travelled in the Caspian provinces
Meanwhile, in Mazanderan and Astrabad, the wily Kajar eunuch
was organising the strength and the following that were shortly to
place him upon the Persian throne. Sheikh Yais, the son of Ali
Murad Khan Zend, who held the throne for four years, from 1781-85
was despatched by his father to crush these pretensions, and to re *
cover Mazanderan. Though at first successful he was deserted bv
his followers and compelled to retire. When Agha Mohammed
had finally triumphed, Hidayet Khan of Gilan was foolish enouofi
to resist the successful usurper, and paid the penalty with his life
Since then Gilan and Mazanderan have remained in secure and
undisputed possession of the Kajar reigning family, and have
commonly provided governing billets for the sons or'relatives of
the sovereign.
I have already spoken of the partiality displayed by Shah
Abbas for Mazanderan, and have alluded to the royal residences
Macesof which he there constructed. Let me say a few words
Great. nioie about them before passing* on. The monarch was
Ashraf here visited and seen by the garrulous Italian Pietro
della Valle, and by the ingenious Englishman, Sir Thomas Her
bert, and their contemporaneous narratives are still extant. A
century later, Hanway described the ravages of a hundred years’
decaj. In the present century, the tale has been carried down to
modern times. These palaces were several in number. The
principal were located in a situation of great natural beauty at
Ashraf, about five miles south of Astrabad Bay, and with an
exquisite outlook over the sea. Shah Abbas’ causeway, running
in a westerly direction from Astrabad city, passed the village of
Gez, and conducted thence, a distance of twenty-six miles, to Ashraf,
whose title signified the Most Noble. Here the Great Abbas set
about building himself a sort of northern Isfahan, whose palaces
and gardens should rival those of the southern capital. Pietro
della A alle was there in 1618, while the king’s palace was the
only completed structure, and the town was still in the brick
layers’ hands. Nine years later, on May 25, 1627, in the same
palace, which Herbert described as ‘ pretty large and but newly
finished,’ the King received in public audience Sir Dodmore

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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
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎299v] (601/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000008> [accessed 10 June 2026]

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