Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [326r] (654/1814)
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
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THE SHAH—ROYAL FAMILY—MINISTERS
423
finished his role in public life. The second brother, Abdus Samed
Mirza, the Izz-ed-Dowleh, was till recently Minister of Justice.
He accompanied the Shah on his previous tour to Europe, can
speak both English and French, and was also sent to Moscow
to congratulate the present Czar on his accession to the throne.
Politically he exercises no influence, but is now for a second time
Governor of Hamadan. The third and last surviving brother is
Mohammed Taki Mirza, the Rukn-ed-Dowleh,of whom I have already
spoken, in a previous chapter, as Governor-General of Khorasan.
He was reputed not to be a strong governor and to be mainly in
the hands of his Vizier, who was a strenuous Russian partisan ; and
it is to these reasons that his recall in the present year has been
attributed. The three brothers are, therefore, in no case factors
of political moment, and are said to be dependent for their fortunes
upon the bounty of the Shah.
From the Palace I pass to the principal Ministers of the Crown,
f he Shah is nominally assisted in the task of government by a
Council of State of fluctuating numbers—it at present contains
thirty members—nominated by himself. The more prominent of
Council these are ministers with portfolios, the departments
being distinguished and named on semi-European lines,
though an accumulation of several offices, with not the slightest
connection between their functions, in the hands of a single person
is a characteristic departure from the European model. It is, in
fact, the greatest mistake to confuse this Council with the Cabinets
of Western Constitutions, with which it has little in common. Per
haps the institution which it most closely resembles, and from which
it was m all probability copied, is the Imperial Council in Russia.
It was after returning from his first voyage to Europe that the
Persian Council of State assumed its present shape. The Shah on
that occasion issued a Rescript to the Secretary of the
Council in which the functions of the reorganised body
were thus defined :—
Scheme
of its
functions
The legular establishment of a Council of State is an affair of great
importance, and is indispensable to the Government. It is our desire
that this assembly shall be well constituted and well directed, and we
are resolved to confer upon it unlimited powers and exalted influence.
You will therefore communicate to the Council of State the following
orders, which will serve as a basis for its reorganisation :
(i.) Inasmuch as the affairs of Government are manifold, and as we
About this item
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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.
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- 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 [326r] (654/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00003d> [accessed 10 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
![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎326r] (654/1814) Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎326r] (654/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0665.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg)