![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎315r] (632/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0643.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎315r] (632/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [315r] (632/1814)
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 405
sovereign could have hazarded such a step. Nadir Shah, before he
started out for India, had removed every possible competitor for the
throne. Moreover, he took his army with him, and the prospect of
the great Afshar returning at the head of a victorious host was
enough to make the blood of any would-be upstart run cold.
Nasr-ed-Din Shah had to contend with many obstacles in arranging
the first of his European journeys, of which there have now been
three, in 1873, 1878, and 1889. The project was obstinately
resisted by the clergy; great difficulty was experienced in settling
the problem of the seraglio, the solitary wife who accompanied His
Majesty in 1873 being ultimately sent back from Moscow; and
the putting of the government into commission in his absence was
also not unattended with hazard. It is to the credit of the Shah
that then, and indeed throughout his reign, he has shown a com
mendable independence of the fanatical element among the mullahs
and mujtaheds of Islam. Though a careful observant of the forms
and rites of the Mussulman creed, and though reposing a super
stitious credulity in astrology and divination, he has uniformly
asserted the superiority of the temporal over the spiritual power,
and there was probably never a moment in the history of Persia
when the ecclesiastical ascendancy, that is of the essence of Islam,
was so much in abeyance as at present. The immense amount of
money spent by the Shah in the purchase of furniture and
curiosities in Europe also excited a feeling of discontent; and his
second tour was unquestionably unpopular among his subjects.
That he was able to venture upon a third is a proof of the absolute
security of his position, but it is also due to the sentiment which
he has taken care to diffuse among his subjects, that the princes of
Christendom vie with each other in anxiety to entertain so great a
potentate and squabble for the honour of his alliance.
Finally, I will apply the double test of a comparison, firstly, of
the general state of the country during the Shah’s reign with its state
Compari- under his predecessors; and, secondly, of its condition now
son with with its condition at his accession forty-three years ago.
reigns The record of previous reigns is one ot internal wartare,
yearly renewed against insurgent tribes or recalcitrant chieftains,
of tribute refused, of brigandage rampant and unpunished, of
ambitious nobles struggling with each other for the ascendancy, of
the royal authority frequently insulted and sometimes wholly ignored.
Such is not the picture which is presented by the Persia of to-day.
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 [315r] (632/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000027> [accessed 9 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000027
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_100157213845.0x000027">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎315r] (632/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000027"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0643.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