Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [397v] (797/1814)
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
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556 PERSIA
Suj Bulak, with a population of 15,000, is the local capital of the
Kurds of Azerbaijan. It is ruled by a Kurdish governor (subject
to the Governor-General of Tabriz), the present holder of the
office, Saif-ed-Din Khan, being a well-educated man, with a know
ledge of French.
Between the provinces of Azerbaijan and Kermanshah is
situated the small province of Ardelan, or Persian Kurdistan proper,
2 Kur inhabited mainly by sedentary Kurds. The capital,
distan Sinna, is situated in an open, cultivated valley, and the
Governor, at present Ferhad Mirza, a cousin of the
Shah, occupies a fine palace, also containing the barracks, on an
eminence in the centre of the town. Here are commonly stationed
two Kurdish regiments of 800 men, and a battery of artillery. It
is only within the present reign that this province has been
thoroughly subdued to the central authority. For centuries it was
ruled by almost independent Guran chieftains, of the house of
Beni Ardelan, claiming descent from Saladin, and bearing the title
of Wali of Ardelan. When Rich was here, in 1820, he found the
Wali absolutely independent of Teheran, and ruling his province
like a kingdom. Upon the death, however, of the last male in
the direct line, about thirty years ago, the Shah disinherited the
remaining male relatives, whose family are now reduced to in
significance, and signalised his recovered sovereignty by appointing
his uncle as Governor. I have been supplied with the following
list of Kurds in Ardelan, but cannot vouch for its accuracy:—
Tents or
Families
Kallmr. —In the district of Sakiz ....... 300
Tailaltu. —In the district of Hawatu 600
Gulbaki. —In the district of Hawatn 500
Sheikh Ismail} —In the district of Isfandabad .... 300
Pur pis hah} —In the district of Isfandabad 300
Mundami. —In the district of Hasandabad 500
Mamun, Jabrachi. —In the district of Bilawar .... 300
GushM. —In the district of Bilawar ...... 400
Gurgai. —In the district of Lailagh 300
Lek.—\xi the district of Lailagh 1.000
Shamshiri} —On the frontier 400
Lastly are the Kurds of Kermanshah, or the province of which
Kermanshahan 2 is the capital. Through this district, and through
Nomads, migrating in winter into Turkish territory.
Locally, Kermanshah is the name given to the province, Kermanshahan to
its capital. By Europeans both are commonly called Kermanshah,
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 [397v] (797/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x000004> [accessed 4 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
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