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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [353r] (708/1814)
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.
'• V ex Plored. a .
§ ready + n • '' ,lc yi
? tl le ° 1QCtt >' (
:»i .icC ;r«
le of ff 9
“Mg®*
^ wi^ t,;
° Vef nment d
c Bar on de fi eul
an offi cial list of
an<i ffiia es 0 f p ,
the engi ne
dmtely notify the
Shall. E SCf
^ 01 kmen engagi
Majesty tiie Shah.
b V the means
> e the country,
•king within ten
abandoned by it
V
consulting the bant,'
for working the mines
rilst, if they belonged
co-operate in getting
ms. No import duty
id the lands and bul
13 fixed the share of
16 per cent., and also
*esent concession, the
y constructions, and
mt according to th
illy adopted by otto'
concession, amount-
? Persia, was dispose
is specially formed^
2 0 f its terms, *
> constituted for t
; ; and what stic ce&
INSTITUTIONS AND REFORMS 477
lias so far attended, or may be expected to attend, tlieir labours
all these are questions which will more appropriately find an
answer in a later chapter dealing with the natural resources of
Persia. I here turn to the history of the bank since its formation,
and proceed to show how, up till the present time (winter ol
1891—2), it h-as sustained the expectations of its founders or justi
fied the confidence of its shareholders . 1
At the time of my visit to Teheran, the Imperial Bank had
just commenced business, having acquired premises in the street
Opening of wherein stands the British Legation. A competent
premises manager had been secured in the person of Mr. Babino,
a gentleman long and honourably connected with the Credit
Lvonnais in Cairo: and the relations of the bank with the Persian
Government were in the capable hands of General Houtum
Schindler, whom my readers will long ago have learnt to regard
as a sort of dens ex machina required to assist in the solution of
most Persian problems. Early in 1890 the directorate of the
bank came to terms with the New Oriental Bank Corporation,
of which I have already spoken, and for the sum of 20 , 000 L pur
chased the lease of their premises in Teheran, as well as the Corpora
tion’s goodwill, furniture, appointments, &c.
I have previously mentioned among the rights conceded by the
Shah to the Imperial Bank, the monopoly of issuing bank notes.
^ ^ Article 3 stipulated that the amount so issued should not
of bank exceed 800,000b without the knowledge and assent of
the Persian Government; and that for two years the bank
should keep a cover in specie of fifty per cent., and afterwards of
thirty-three per cent.
This is not the first time in history that bank notes have been
introduced into Persia. Just 600 years ago the scheme was
Ancient ex- attempted by one of the Mongol sovereigns of the house
P f e ™ ent of Jenghiz Khan, who succeeded that conqueror upon
Mongol the throne of Iran. This was Kei Khatu (1291-94 a.d.),
the brother of Arghun Khan, or Argawan Shah, and grandson
of Hulaku l\han. It was he who was ruler in Persia when
Marco Polo came from the distant court of Kublai Khan with
the Tartar bride intended for his brother. Kei Khatu had heard
1 Vide a most valuable paper on ‘ Banking in Persia,’ by J. Rabino, with notes
by A. H. Schindler, read before the Institute of Bankers in December 1891. An
extract from it is quoted at the end of this chapter.
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 [353r] (708/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000073> [accessed 6 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