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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [317r] (636/1814)
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
409
11
*
Sultaneli (Glory of the Empire), is the mother of the Heir Apparent
and consequently the first lady of the harem. In Oriental and
Mussulman countries it is absurd to speak of any individual wife
as queen. The third akdi, and the favourite wife of the Shah, is
known as the Anis-ed-Dowleh (Companion of the King). She was
originally a sigheh, being a miller’s daughter, of the Shimran
district, who lifted her veil to the Shah while out riding, and so
fascinated the monarch that she was removed next day to the
royal harem. She has had no children, but her influence over
the Shah has procured her elevation to the rank of a lawful wife
and of first favourite, and has secured lucrative positions at court
for all her relations. European ladies have on several occasions
been courteously received by her, and a description of one of these
visits is contained in the pages of Madame Carla Serena. She
was the wife who was chosen to accompany the Shah on his first
European journey, but who was sent back in high dudgeon from
Moscow. In earlier life the Shah made another girl of humble
origin an akdi, she having given birth to a son whom he named
Vali-Ahd. But mother and child both died.
Among the sighehs, all of whom bear high-sounding titles
of very similar import, I need only mention the Iffat-ed-Dowleh
(Chastity of the Kingdom), who is the mother of the Zil-es-Sultan,
eldest surviving son, but not the heir, of the Shah. I owe an
apology to His Royal Highness for having described his mother in
a letter to the 4 Times,’ which the prince saw, and at which he was
very furious, as 4 a poor village girl—a carpenter’s daughter, who
accidentally attracted the notice and won the affections ol the
Shah.’ Of this parentage I had been informed on high authority,
and it was, moreover, confirmed by Hr. Wills, who lived fourteen
years in Persia, and was on intimate terms with the Zil-es-Sultan,
and who, in his books, described the prince’s mother, no doubt
confusing her with the Anis-ed-Howleh, as 4 a poor Kurdish
girl—the daughter of a miller, who caught the Shah’s eye while
washing clothes at the brookside.’ 1 I hasten to make the re
paration that is due—even at this distance of time—by informing
English readers that the mother of the prince was the daughter,
neither of a carpenter nor a miller, but of Musi Reza Beg, who
was gholam, i.e. mounted attendant or outrider, of Bahman Mirza,
son of Abbas Mirza, and uncle of the Shah. Next among the
1 Vide Land of the Lion and the Sun, p. 18 ; and Persia as it is, p. 65.
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 [317r] (636/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00002b> [accessed 8 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