![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎325v] (653/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0664.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎325v] (653/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [325v] (653/1814)
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.
422
PERSIA
of friendly terms with him. He possesses a fine palace at Teheran
as well as a summer residence in the country, the garden attached
to the former being reputed the most beautiful in Persia. This
prince is partial to the luxuries of life ; and the appointments and
furniture of his palace reflect these aesthetic inclinations. On the
Shah’s anniversary he has been in the habit for some years of
giving a great dinner, in the French style, to the foreign Ministers
at which are to be noticed all the latest refinements of Parisian
art. In youth he married a daughter of the Hissam-es-Sultaneh
y
who was Governor of Khorasan and was called the Victor of
Herat. It was her brother, the present Hissam-es-Sultaneh, who
represented the Shah at the Queen’s Jubilee in 1887. The expenses
necessitated by his various posts entail an outlay upon the Naib
which his allowance is inadequate to meet; but in the administra
tion of the Army he has discovered the wherewithal of a very sub
stantial fortune. Of the audience with which I was favoured, I
can recall nothing more important or perhaps more characteristic
than the prince’s declaration that he disliked the military parades
in the Great Meidan, because they blew the dust in his eyes.
The remaining sons of the Shah are little boys of seven and
eight years of age, and infants, the offspring of younger and later
wives. It will be seen from what has been said that in
Rest of the p i -o i -n --i • i
Royal none of the Koyal 1 amily is there any certain reproduc-
Family tion of the kingly qualities of their father; and that
though the succession to the throne is not now likely to be dis
puted, yet it will place in power a personality whose character is
still an enigma, and with regard to whom, if he turns out a feeble
ruler, no one can be astonished; if a good ruler, most people will
be surprised.
While speaking of the Royal Family I must not omit all
mention of the brothers of the Shah, although none of these
B ^ possesses any special importance beyond that which
of the results from his rank. The eldest of them is Abbas
O'! "I
Mirza, Mulk Ara. Regarded forty years ago as a possible
pretender to the throne, he fled, on his elder brother’s accession,
to Baghdad, where he resided for thirty years, until reconciled to
the Shah, who invited him back to Teheran. Here he became
Minister of Commerce and Honorary President of the CounciL
He has also been Governor of Kazvin and other places. Soured,
however, by his long exile, he is destitute of ambition, and has
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 [325v] (653/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00003c> [accessed 7 April 2025]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00003c
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_100157213845.0x00003c">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎325v] (653/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00003c"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0664.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