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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [412r] (826/1814)
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.
579
yeai '^ilei nP
man cemet,^
l ' rl ? att(
‘“i
^ ^ the
,o »n;>
rev “. ni»“ ^
and thirteen, 8
Jenaltv -u. Ser8eailtl
at y w dh hi s
wounded on the
' 1812 TT s 1
1 S® was sm
Major Hart, of
-abnz in 1830, 1 occm
’ British officer i n f
alike over the king
ayment of the Azeri
6 honour of an b
r Abbas Mirza, who tt
ered the Royal Primsi
s but dry bread for In
ho, in spite of the si
. with respect and aim.
sian War by the Treatyfl
’rd Anglo-Persian Treaty
pursuance of the terms»!
.ed to supply officers I
ms of warfare, anil
3 Tabriz, where guns d
-carriages built, ani re
t of 4>d. per lb., in a J
a being, however, at J1
y Abbas Mirza,
tiister, Sir Joto
3rs ians having^
his body was (
0 f Tabd z i
, prr
THE ARMY
lacking in stability of character or purpose, began to lose interest
in army reform, and even treated his English officers with some
suspicion. In 1815, in consequence of a dispute between Persia
and England about the continuance of the subsidy, all English non
commissioned officers in the Persian service were ordered by the
British Minister to leave the country, and here, accordingly, though
some commissioned officers, e.g., Hart and D’Arcy, remained, the
first period of British military tuition may be considered to have
come to an end.
Nothing showed the meanness of Path Ali Shah more clearly
than his insistence, in the face of national danger, that the defence
strength of ^ zer baijan, which was the theatre of war, should be
the Persian confined to Azerbaijan troops. Sooner than incur the
expense of raising and disciplining a national army, he
preferred to see his prestige shattered, and his kingdom dis
membered. The army of Abbas Mirza, of which I have been
speaking, consisted of 12,000 men, raised in corps of 1,000 each
from different tribes or localities in the province. These were
known as the serbaz, he. those who staked or played with their
heads, a charming euphemism for the profession at that time of a
Persian soldier. In addition, Abbas Mirza had a regular brigade
of cavalry, 1,200 strong, and a corps of horse artillery (Lindsay’s
command) with 20 field-pieces. The Persian army consisted, in
addition, of a force of 8,000-9,000 janbaz, i.e. those who staked
or played with their lives, who were attached to the king, and
were inferior to the serbaz, both in pay, clothing, and discipline.
These were recruited from the outlying districts and tribes, and
included two Bakhtiari regiments, who were reported as very
tractable by their English officers. How great a difference existed
between the army thus composed, and that of the preceding cen
tury, will have been made evident by the details and figures which
I have given of its organisation.
It might be thought that by the institution of a regular army
on the European plan, and by the employment of European officers,
Effects of armaments, ammunition, discipline, and skill, Persia would
peai? lU °" have gained considerably in military strength. Such was
system no t the case. The English officers found the men docile
and intelligent; but the Persian officers could not be otherwise
described than as the greatest rascals in the world. Led by such
superiors, what could be expected of a force brought face to face
p p 2
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 [412r] (826/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x000021> [accessed 6 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