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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [304v] (611/1814)
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.
386 PERSIA
plausible excuse which Persia can offer, apart from her congenital
inability to help herself, is the fear that she may have felt of
providing, by any of the means above indicated, an easier path of
invasion to a hostile power, or, in other words, to Russia. Such a
fear is, perhaps, venial, but I do not think that it constitutes either
an honourable or a valid excuse. The power that designedly
fosters its own weakness, ultiniaitely perishes of the atrophy thus
engendered. Moreover, Russia can march so easily into Persia
from other quarters that her power of aggression would be but
little augmented by the removal of obstacles from one out of many
channels of invasion.
And thus I am brought to the question, with which I will
conclude this chapter, of the alleged designs of Russia upon the
northern provinces, and of the probable place allotted to
dSgns them in her political horoscope. There can be no doubt
upon Gilan ever s i nce the temporary occupation of Gilan in the
Mazan- reign of Peter the Great, Russia has turned a regretful
and covetous eye upon the Persian possessions to the south
of the Caspian Sea. It is also a matter of common knowledge
that, on occasions when the Shah has shown too marked a disposition
either to independent or to Anglophile action, he has been signifi
cantly reminded of that bygone incident, and has been threatened
with its repetition. It is further true that Russia could land her
forces either at Resht or at Gez without, in all probability,
incurring any armed opposition. Lastly, it is rumoured that in
the famous secret memorandum drawn up by General Kuropatkin,
now Governor-General of Transcaspia, in 1885, and generally ac
cepted as the official scheme for a Russian invasion of India, the
incorporation of Gilan and Mazanderan, as well as of Azerbaijan
and Khorasan, are treated as indispensable preliminaries upon the
Persian stage of operations. There is therefore abundant ground
for believing that Russia regards these particular provinces with
a not wholly disinterested vision. Sir Justin Sheil, himself a
British Minister in Persia, and consequently well-informed, echoed
and confirmed the general impression when he wrote:—
That Gilan should have been long coveted by Russia is not sur
prising. Everything contributes to make it a desirable possession;
its situation relative to Russia, its wealth and improvable qualities,
its defensible position—mountains on one side, the sea on the other,
swamps and jungles all over the province . 1
1 Note H to Lady Shell’s Glimpses of Life in Persia,
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 [304v] (611/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000012> [accessed 4 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