![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎408v] (819/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0831.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎408v] (819/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [408v] (819/1814)
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.
67iJ PERSIA
originated. A hurried survey will carry us through a period of
alternate splendour and disgrace, during which the Persian army, at
its prime under Shah Abbas the Great, sank to its lowest ebb under
Shah Sultan Husein, emerged again with a recrudescence that is one
of the most startling phenomena of history under Nadir Shah, again
spent itself in internecine conflict, and was again revived by the
genius of the first Kajar sovereign, Agha Mohammed. At this
point, where the present century opens, commences the yet unex
hausted epoch of submission to foreign leading-strings, in the futile
effort to infuse some stability into the mobile and dissolvent
atoms of an Oriental fabric ; and the ninety years which have yet
run betray a panorama of successive experiments, as the figures ol
French, English, German, Italian, Austrian, and Russian officers
pass across the stage, that is not the least quaint or characteristic
among the features that mark the tentative Europeanisation of
Iran. For a third of this epoch, the figure of England looms
largest upon the scene, and the narrative of the connection of
Great Britain with the armies of Persia, which seems to have in
sufficiently attracted the gaze of historians, is among the most
interesting chapters of the relationship, diplomatic as well as
military, between the East and the West. Of this period, so
intimately bound up with our imperial policy in Persia down to
the present day, I shall require to say something. Finally, I shall
come to the Persian army as it now exists, and shall endeavour, by
means of information derived partly from Persian officers possess
ing the fullest acquaintance with the subject, partly from official
reports and documents, supplemented by my own inquiries m
the country and by the experience resulting from frequent personal
observation of the Persian troops and equipment, including a visit
to the arsenal and a special parade of the garrison at Teheran, to
furnish some criterion of its practical value as a weapon either of
offence or defence. Upon this question I have been astonished to
find the most conflicting opinions expressed by European writers.
Some have seen in the Persian army a possible auxiliary ol the
greatest value, or an enemy too dangerous to be ignored. Others
have scarcely found language strong enough in which to denounce^
the administration and deride the material. As the question ot
the actual capabilities of Persia in both respects is one that is likely
to play some part in future political developments, it is desirable
that the truth should, as far as possible, be known, in order that no
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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [408v] (819/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x00001a> [accessed 4 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x00001a
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x00001a">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎408v] (819/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x00001a"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0831.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- 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