![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎344r] (690/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0701.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎344r] (690/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [344r] (690/1814)
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.
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or ev en f 0r
There
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Pties th<
r two of the worst
order to create a
ch thing as a female
j criminals of high
ere are said to be
beneath the A*,
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he vulgar criminal 8
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ier by iron chains;
in appurtenance ot
THE GOVERNMENT
459
the mansions of the great. It will be seen that the Persian theory
of justice, as expressed both in judicial sentences, in the infliction
of penalties, and in the prison code, is one of sharp and rapid
procedure, whose object is the punishment (in a manner as roughly
equivalent as possible to the original offence), but in no sense the
reformation, of the culprit.
Not even the most generous estimate of the merits, or the most
lenient consideration of the failings, of the judicial procedure
Defects w T hich I have described in this chapter, can blind us
o^tiie^ 11868 1° fbe fact that it is lamentably deficient in the two
system essentials of an effective legal system, viz., a compact
and systematised code of law, and a competent tribunal to ad
minister it. Although the Ecclesiastical Law has been subjected
to a rough codification, this is neither scientific, exhaustive, nor
suited to modern conditions. The Common Law has no written
existence, and is moulded by the arbitrary idiosyncrasies of indi
viduals. The jurisdiction^of the clerical and secular courts overlap ;
nor is there any intelligible distinction between their prerogatives
and functions. Cases are referred to one or the other according to
the fancy of the appellant, and frequently pass through the two
courts in succession. Even if it be thought hazardous or unwise
to interfere with the law based upon the Koran, no voice can
possibly defend the haphazard condition of the Common Law,
which is in a state of disgraceful uncertainty, and, as an instrument
of guidance to the civil magistrates, is practically useless. Finally,
the confusion of the judicial and executive functions in the person
of the same individual, who is at once governor, tax-collector,
police-magistrate, and judge, is a mark of a radically defective
system, and is incompatible with the honest administration of the
law; whilst the proverbial venality of the Persian official renders
litigation a farce unless backed by a well-filled purse and the
adroit understanding how to use it.
In justice to the fehah, it must be said that he is thoroughly
well aware of the crudities and abuses of the Persian system of
Attempts law, which., during his reign, certain efforts have been
at reform made to diminish; but equally in justice to the stub
bornness of Persian character, which no Shah is strong enough
to override, must it be admitted that these efforts have so far re
sulted in dismal failure. Lady Shell, in her book, speaks of the
institution at the beginning of the present sovereign^ reign of
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 [344r] (690/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000061> [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