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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [380r] (762/1814)
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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THE NOETH-WEST AND WESTERN PROVINCES
523
I have already, in Chapter XIII., dwelt upon the character and
personality both of the Vali-Ahd, the nominal Governor, and ofhis
Govern- recent minister, the Amir-i-Nizam, the actual Governor, of
ment Azerbaijan. Under the Persian system, which has never,
except in the case of Abbas Mirza, allowed any initiative to a son
of the sovereign, the former was a mere puppet. The latter kept
the whole power in his own hands, and was indeed as a rule
addressed as Governor-General. Being a man of strong character,
he reduced turbulence to a minimum, and immensely consolidated
the Shah’s authority and position in Azerbaijan. Though an old
man, he is still full of life and vigour, and under any change
of regime might devote to a kingdom the talents that were
recently concentrated upon a province. His salary was only 5,000
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
per annum, or 1,420?. ; but the important point in the pay
of any Persian Governor is not what he receives from the State,
but what he exacts from the people. Among other allowances to
Azerbaijan from the Royal Treasury we find a subsidy of 2,000
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
for post-houses on the postal route; and the same sum for
fireworks at festival times, the Persians considering a holiday,
religious or secular, that is not so celebrated in much the same
light as we should a Christmas without plunApudding or mince-
pies.
Fraser, passing through Azerbaijan in 1834, and observing the
Loyalty to calamitous results of the system under which Path Ali
the Crown Shah distributed his colossal male progeny in every
Government post throughout the kingdom, remarked :—
The most obvious consequence of this state of affairs is a thorough
and universal detestation of the Kajar race, which is a prevalent
feeling in every heart and the theme of every tongue . 1
Just, however, as in Khorasan a similar feeling, existing as
late as MacGregor’s visit in 1875, has disappeared under the firm
and not unpopular rule of the reigning Shah, so have the sins of
his great-uncles, the sons of the prolific Path Ali, been forgotten
and forgiven in Azerbaijan. The Turkish population of that
province, so far from being hostile, are predisposed to be friendly
to a dynasty of Turkish extraction. There is far too keen a hatred
between Shiahs and Sunnis, between the Turkish subjects of the
Shah and the Turkish subjects of the Sultan across the border, to
1 A. Winter's Journey, p. 401.
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 [380r] (762/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x0000a9> [accessed 2 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