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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [329v] (661/1814)
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.
430 PERSIA
does everything in the most lordly style, and is understood in
consequence to be crippled with debt, was giving a series of
entertainments that were the talk of Teheran. One day l le
entertained the Persian Ministers ; on another the foreign element •
on a third all the dervishes in the capital; on the day when T
visited him the mullahs of Teheran were enjoying their share of
the festivities, and I saw 200 of these holy and turbaned indi
viduals seated round an immense room consuming an excellent
dejeuner. On the night of the wedding he illuminated the main
streets and big Meidan. Of all the ministers with whom I came
in contact he was the least Oriental and the most European
Dispensing with the rotund phraseology of compliment, which as
a rule, occupies the first ten minutes of an interview with a Persian
grandee, he conversed sensibly and pointedly about both the
European and Eastern situations, making the just remark, that if
England had spent half the money in conciliating the friendship of
Persia that she has squandered in alienating that of Afghanistan
she would have gained a secure and invaluable bulwark for her
Indian Empire. Rumour credits the Mushir-ed-Dowleh with
strong Russian proclivities ; but these, in conversation with me, he
strenuously denied. It is possible that he may again come to the
front; and in any case his personality is one that cannot be
ignored in the future, (tie has since died, January 1892.)
Of the Minister of War, the Naib-es-Sultaneh, 1 have already
spoken. Jehangir Khan, an Armenian, was, till his recent death,
other Minister of Pine Arts. Mohammed Hasan Khan, the
ministers Itimad-es-Sultaneh, is interpreter to the Shah and Minister
of the Press, without a portfolio. He translates the European papers
daily to the Shah, and is in close and confidential attendance upon
the sovereign. The sole remaining minister of distinction is the
Mukhber-ed-Dowleh, Ali Kuli Khan, who combines the ministries
of Public Instruction, Telegraphs, and Mines. In the second capa
city he was brought into constant intercourse with the officials of
the Indian Government and of the Indo-European Company during
the first introduction of the telegraph wire into Persia twenty-five
years ago, and was made a C.I.E.; while, in the third, he has
again been in close relations with the English since the formation
of the Persian Mining Rights Corporation. He also is a man of
considerable ability and enlightenment, though deficient in ambition.
He accompanied the Shah as far as London in 1889, but, owing to
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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 [329v] (661/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000044> [accessed 5 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