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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [379v] (761/1814)
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.
522
PERSIA
fallen in; and but few relics survive of the departed splendour •
although these are sufficient to have drawn from a competent ob
server the remark that the Mosque of the Sunnis, as he calls it
from the tradition that it was raised in the days when the Sunni
was the national faith, is the ‘ chef-d’oeuvre of Persian, and, per
haps, of all Oriental architecture.’ 1 The other relic is the Ark or
Citadel, in the south-west part of the city, originally built by Ali
Shah, and which once contained a magnificent mosque within its
walls. It was converted into an arsenal in the first quarter of
this century by Abbas Mirza, who employed a large number of
English workmen; and here, in July 1850, was shot the Bab, or
founder of the Babi heresy. A solid mass of masonry 120 feet high,
and with walls twenty-five feet thick at the base, towers above the
city, and is a relic of the ancient structure. Faithless wives used
to be hurled down from its summit; but this method of execution
was abandoned when one of these ladies, sustained by her inflated
petticoats as by a parachute, descended unharmed on to terra firma.
The palace of the Vali-Ahd, or Heir Apparent, is the most
elegant modern building in the city. The Europeans live in the
European Armenian quarter. Here are the residences of the
quarter Turkish, Russian, and British Consul-Generals, the last
named having a charming and spacious house, a great contrast to
the quarters in which I left him before his transfer from Meshed.
France also maintains a Consul at Tabriz, whose business it is to
foster such trade as she may possess, and to supervise the interests
of the Catholic Nestorians whom she has taken under her protection.
There was once a Belgian Consul; but a sinecure so complete
could only end in withdrawal. As I have said, the interior of the
town possesses no distinction : the houses are low, the lanes narrow
and dirty, and size and business alone demonstrate the existence
of a capital. Considering that it is the second city in the kingdom,
the residence of the heir to the throne, and the seat of great
wealth, and that there are in the neighbourhood abundance of the
most beautiful maibles and building materials, it is surprising, in
spite of the earthquakes, that more effort has not been made to
embellish Tabriz. An inner wall encircles the building of the Ark,
and a double outer wall, in no sort of repair, surrounds the city.
, , n ''^rmcnie, #c., vol i. Tins work contains a sen
per p ates, Nos. 42-52 of which are devoted to plans, designs, restor
tions, and coloured sections of the Blue Mosque.
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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 [379v] (761/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x0000a8> [accessed 8 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