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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [310r] (622/1814)
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.
THE SHAH-ROYAL FAMILY—MINISTERS
395
Black eyes and hair and clear complexions have been common to
all the Kajars, both male and female, and the Shah is no exception
in these particulars. It is probably, however, to the assistance of
dye that his hair and moustache owe the raven hue, which as yet
shows no tinge of grey. His younger brother, the Eukn-ed-Dowleh,
whom I saw at Meshed, was equally black upon the head, but a
white stubble besprinkled his duplicate chin.
On his return from Europe in the autumn of 1889, the Shah
very nearly died at Tabriz, his life at one time being despaired of
Health and by the physicians; but his general health is excellent,
habits anc | pig habits of life are simple. It is possibly to their
descent that the Kajars owe a manliness, amounting almost to a
brusqueness of bearing, that is uncommon in the smooth and
polished Persian; while the Turanian blood also asserts itself in a
passionate love of the chase and a taste for nomad life, which have
in no wise succumbed to the inroads of western civilisation. The
Shah frequently absents himself from the capital on hunting ex
cursions in the mountains, which abound with ibex, deer, and
other four-footed game, immense tracts of country being preserved
for the royal sport; while upon the plains the antelope is hunted
with hounds, or hawks are flown after herons, bustards, francolin,
quail, and partridge. Many of the kings of Persia have been
great hunters ; one of the Sassanian monarchs, Bahram V., being
surnamed Gur, or wild ass, from the animal which he loved to
pursue, and in hunting which he lost his life; and the later
Sefavi sovereigns having divided their existence in about equal
proportions between the chase, the harem, and the bottle. Path
Ali Shah and his son Abbas Mirza were both fine riders and
excellent shots; and in these respects Nasr-ed-Din follows in their
footsteps. He may frequently be encountered riding out of the
city to one of his numerous shooting boxes in the mountains,
attended by a large camp-following, and solaced by a selection
from his extensive seraglio. In manner and address the Shah
gives the impression of a man habituated to authority; and
whether seen in public state or in private audience, he both acts
and looks the monarch. He is believed to be naturally shy, which
may account for a somewhat abrupt and fidgety manner, and for
an utterance rapped out in short, incisive periods. In an interview
with which I was favoured, he was continually shifting the spec
tacles which he wore from his eyes to the front of his sheepskin
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 [310r] (622/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00001d> [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