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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [332v] (667/1814)
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.
436
PERSIA
Lnristan. Of these, the last-named alone retains either the title
or any shadow of independence. Governor-generals and lieu
tenant-governors are usually called hakim, the latter sometimes
naib-el-liukumali. Under the governors are the daroghah, or head
of police; the Jcalantar, or mayor of a city, and the kedkhoda
who is either the chief of a ward or parish if in a town, or the head
man of a village. The principal governorships are conferred upon the
king r s sons, brothers, uncles, or relations, but to nothing like the in
tolerable and almost criminal extent that prevailed at the beginning
of the century. The governor is now also, as a rule, resident in
his province, instead of being* an absentee at the capital. He is
commonly assisted in the work of administration, and more espe
cially in the fiscal side of government, by a vizier or minister.
Among the nomad and military tribes a different system of ap
pointments and titles prevails, the governors of the Kurdish,
Bakhtiari, and other clans being known as llkhani and llbegi, and
their subordinate chiefs as khan, sheikh, tushmal, &c., all of these
being responsible for the collection of revenue to the governor of
the province in which they reside.
Ostensibly, in the creation of this governing hierarchy, the
sovereign is absolute and supreme. Here again, however, in
practice, very considerable checks are found to exist
Modifica- L 1 *
tions of upon his prerogative. As I showed in my chapter upon
royal power j n ^} ie cage 0 f the Ilkhanis of Kuchan and
Bujnurd, and of the Amir of Kain, and, as I shall subsequently
show in a chapter dealing with the Feili and Bakhtiari Lurs, the
Shah is practically compelled to choose a governor from the ruling
family ; nor is it easy for him to interfere with the custom of direct
hereditary succession. Similarly, in the cases of local magistrates
or head men, such as the kalantars in cities, and the kedkhodas in
wards or villages, although nominally he has a free choice, yet m
reality he must make a selection that is agreeable to the in
habitants. Otherwise the authority of government falls into
abeyance; and, what is regarded as much more serious in Persia,
the revenue fails to come in. Hence, the popular choice as a rule
marking out some individual for the exercise of these offices, and
the Shah for expediency’s sake accepting it as his guide, some
writers have seen in this fact an introduction of the elective 01
representative principle into Persian administration. In mam
cases it happens that the office is practically hereditary in a singh
ruling fa
the
There
tive sub<
Admim 8 '
tratiye
divisions
instance
rule of
three y<
even to
of his p
placed 1
as this
rule has
folio win
at the t
of inde]
Persian
geograj
determi
vary in
a small
Adminisi
Azerbaij;
Khorasai
Teheran
Fars
Isfahan
Kerman
chista:
Adminis
Kurdiste
Lnristan
Irak and
Kazvin
Astrabac
Semnan
Kum
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 [332v] (667/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00004a> [accessed 4 April 2025]
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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