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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [388v] (779/1814)
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.
540
4>ERSIA
cousin of Mar Sliimun, and is a young’ man named Mar Auraham,
When he succeeds he will take the dynastic title that always
accompanies the Patriarchal throne.
In recent times, and ever since these provinces were converted
into pashaliks and seriously governed by the Porte, the authority
His of Mar Shimun has sensibly dwindled. During the
authority savage Kurdish outbreak of Badar Khan Beg against
the Nestorians in 1343, the then occupant of the patriarchate fled
into Persian territory to Urumiah. Since his return to Kochannis
he has received a monthly subsidy of 12 k from the Turkish
Grovernment, w T ho have acted astutely in assuming the i oIg of pay
masters. The maleks or headmen no longer pay him implicit
obedience \ his authority over the hill tribes is in parts and
the reigning Patriarch has still further weakened his position by
incapacity, indolence, and it is said by even worse characteristics.
He is in a somewhat difficult position; for on the one hand he is
salaried by the Porte, on the other he is at once in correspondence
and co-operation with the English Church, and is angled for by
the American Presbyterians; while his own sympathies have been
rumoured to be in favour of the Russians. His name is Reuil, and
he signs himself Reuil Shimun. In the clash of conflicting interests
above mentioned it is probable that this peculiar and almost iso
lated relic of theocratic government is doomed, and that the Mar
Shimun of the future will play but a small part on the political stage.
Of the tenets of the Syrian Christians it is both difficult and,
in this context, unnecessary to give a minute account; the pecu-
Creed and Parity of the Church consisting rather in organisation
ritual. anc j r itual than in any written standard of doctrinal belief,
and the missionaries of the various foreign persuasions being apt
to read their own dogmas into the Nestorian Creed. It may be
said, however, that it presents many of the features that might be
expected in a Church, dating from the fifth century of the Christian
era, which, owing to its peculiar situation and surroundings, has
altered but little up to the present time. An ambiguous canon of
the Holy Scriptures, an uncommon and elastic catalogue of sacra
ments, a hereditary and celibate episcopate, accompanied by very
strict observance of the Sabbath and the Christian fasts, are among
its most striking characteristics . 1
1 The churches may also be mentioned, which are mostly very plain, un
pretentious buildings, in order not to excite Mussulman hostility; and the
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 [388v] (779/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x0000ba> [accessed 5 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