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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [303v] (609/1814)
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.
384
PERSIA
the. possible exception of Lahijan, on the Lengarud) k ti
capital, Resht, of which I undertook in Chapter II. to say son ) 16
Towns of thing in this connection. It is the first town wl ‘ ]
ResTr most travellers in Persia, and the last also to which
the majority bid farewell. Situated in the low, swam
ground at a slight distance from the sea, it has always been a
unhealthy spot, from which Europeans would willingly fly p J Ul
originally buried in jungle, after the fashion of the other cithT
which I have described. The Russians, during their occupa!
tion !60 years ago, cleared the surrounding timber for a distance
of 15 miles, as far as the mountains ; but a good deal has sprunv
up since. Its position as the capital of the chief silk-producing
province of Persia, and as the natural outlet of export trade very
early secured it a prominence, which has rendered its name one
of the most familiar of Persian titles to English ears, and which
lias left its record in tire pages of many travellers , 1 British, Russian
and French. Consuls or Vice-Consuls were here from an early
period, to safeguard the commercial interests of their several coun
tries.. r Ihe near vicinity of Russia, and her predominance in the
Caspian, have naturally given her a commanding position; the
more so as she has a large number of subjects, chiefly Russian-
rmenians, m Resht and Gilan, and as she is understood to own
several villages m the neighbourhood by right of mortgage
Nevertheless, the best days of Resht have passed. Early in
the.century, while the silk trade was at its zenith, its bazaars
exhibited a curious congeries of different nationalities : Armenians
Jews, Europeans, Buniahs from India, and even Povindahs
.°rn Afglmmptan. Fraser, who, at the close of his first journev
m o_ 2 , experienced an unprovoked and vexatious imprison
ment here, escaping on foot only to be recaptured and brought
back under circumstances of great indignity-estimated its popu-
atwn at that date as from 60,000 to 80,000. It was almost
annihilated, by the plague in 1830-31, which swept like a tor- '
nado, carrying everything before it, over the natural fever-beds
of the maritime border; and in 1834 was only ‘ the ghost of its
1 For Resht in 1717 vide John Bell’s Travels, vol i pp 131 _ 136 - in 1744
Hanway s Historical Account, voh i. pp 279 281 • in itv/o 'v w-V A
Oasis, vol. i. p. 317. 7 ^ ^ Vo1 - n - E 1 ’ in 18 8R E. O’Donovan’s Merv
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 [303v] (609/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000010> [accessed 5 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