![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎302v] (607/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0618.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎302v] (607/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [302v] (607/1814)
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.
n C >Ce , 2 /C- ^ ^ ^ <•>'
/ (yC r ^- 4 s — h
cx \,.
C/ c_j C\~A^jf / /\
382
\
PERSIA
X
v£ himself to the throne of Mazanderan in the fourteenth century but
whose real title was Kawhm-ed-Din. In the neighbourhood also
are a number of the square or circular towers with conical roofs
which local ignorance has attributed to the fire-worshippers but
which were the familiar sepulchres of holy men in the first
centuries succeeding the Arab conquest. The town is so
overgrown with jungle and orchards as to be collectively in
visible . 1
Within the last three years an attempt has been made to
connect Amol with the Caspian by rail—the second of the two
Railway to only railroads m Persia and to open up a new com-
thosoa mercial route with the capital. This speculation has
been undertaken by one Haji Mohammed Hasan, the Master of
the Persian Mint, who conceived the idea of monopolising the
carrying trade between Teheran and the Caspian by creating a
quicker and shorter route than that which runs from Amol to
Barfurush, and thence to Meshed-i-Ser. Accordingly, he obtained
a concession from the Shah—the first step in any public under
taking in Persia—and, selecting as his port of debarkation the
murdab of Mahmndabad, at the mouth of the Haraz river, twelve
miles due north of Amol, he built a fine
caravanserai
A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers).
and shops
there (which, when I was in the country, were unoccupied), he
imported rails and engineers from Belgium, and he laid a single
line of rails to Amol, which was to be in connection with a horse
tiamway for a distance of some miles beyond. Of the engineering
quality of this enterprise I shall require to speak in a later
chapter upon Railways in Persia. I may here limit myself to
remarking that the newly-created port is as bad, if not worse, than
any on the Caspian, there being the familiar bank of shingle and
sand between the murdab and the sea, and vessels requiring to lie
off at a distance of some miles and to land their cargoes in light
ers. The line was badly laid, and the proprietor soon quarrelled
and parted with his Belgian engineers. Quite lately, however
(October 1890), Haji Mohammed Hasan appears to have found a
new field for his energy, for I hear of a large
factory
An East India Company trading post.
in course
of erection by him at Amol, which is to contain wood-working
machinery and a powerful sugar-cane press, the labour being
directed by a Russian engineer. To this indefatigable Persian
The most exhaustive account of Amol is to be found in Sir W. Ouseley,
Travels, vol. hi. pp. 295-316.
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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [302v] (607/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00000e> [accessed 6 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00000e
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00000e">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎302v] (607/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00000e"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0618.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- 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