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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎326v] (655/1814)

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. .

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PERSIA
i
424
are anxious that they shall be promptly examined, and that
our decision shall be immediately executed, two meetings in
the week are insufficient. The Council will therefore in future
be convened three times in the week.
(ii.) The members of the Council will enjoy full liberty of speech.
They must fear nothing, and must deliberate with the greatest
impartiality. If one of their number, occupying an inferior
position in rank, desires to make observations or criticisms
upon the manner in which certain affairs of government have ^
been conducted by the higher officials, the latter will have no
right either to be angry or to complain ; but they will be able
to defend and to justify themselves by reasons and remarks
offered in polite language.
(iii.) Every member of the Council, of whatever rank, may submit
for discussion any project of merit or public utility.
(iv.) All business will be decided by the majority of votes. The
decisions, inscribed upon parchment, will be signed by all the
members. Those that are verbally given will have no effect
unless thev are written out and signed.
(v.) Henceforward all the provincial governors and officers charged
with high functions by the State shall be nominated and elected ^
by the Council of State.
(vi.) The meetings of the Council will take place regularly, and all
public matters will be laid before them.
This document possesses undeniable merits as a scheme for a
powerful Cabinet of advice, in a constitutional monarchy; and
might supply a very respectable charter of the rights of functions
of such a body. But Persia is very far from being a constitutional
monarchy, and accordingly it is not surprising to find that the Re
script has been either tacitly ignored or diplomatically forgotten, the
fifth article in particular never having shown a spark of vitality.
The Persian Council of State, as it at present exists, has no ^
ministerial responsibility and no collective authority, either execu-
Present five or legislative. It is a purely consultative body, con-
condition yened sometimes to advise the Shah beforehand, more
commonly to discuss the fulfilment of his orders when already
delivered. Its sole executive power is that of the individual men
composing it, who are the Shah’s servants, and can be shifted,
promoted, or dismissed without any relation to their colleagues.
There is a titular President of the Council who summons the
meetings, but has no other presidential functions. He neither

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
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎326v] (655/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00003e> [accessed 19 June 2026]

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