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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [417r] (836/1814)
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.
The “ Cossack Brigade fV'of
Th e ^ssacka of j.^ p ers i an Army, stationed in
certain of the big towns such
as Teheran, Meshed, and Kerman, is a remark
able indication of the influence excited by
Russia on the country. It is some twenty years
since the late Shah Nasreddin saw and greatly
admired the Cossacks in St. Petersburg belong
ing to the Imperial Body Guard ; he determined
to have some of his own, and asked the Tsar
to lend him some officers and under-officers as
instructors. In consequence of this request a
“ Mission ” was sent to Teheran under General
Domantowitch. At this time there were several
foreign officers, mostly Austrians, in Persian
employ ; but their efforts to improve the Army
were somewhat thankless ones and in course of
time they all left— except the Russians. At first
the Brigade consisted of 500 men ; in 1883 the
Tsar presented them with four 8*7cm. field guns
of the service type, and a Cossack battery was
formed. In 1889 a proportion of Infantry was
added, until the strength rose to 1,500 men. The
disturbances which followed the assassination
of the Shah in 1896 proved a great opportunity
to the Cossack Brigade—and to Russia ; and
the value of a trained body of men, . mostly of
foreign extraction, and who were unlikely to be
affected by intrigues about the Court, was at
once apparent. At present the “ Mission ” has
General Kossagowski at its head, and he is
answerable to no one but the Grand izier and
the Russian Ambassador ; the Persian _ War
Minister has no sort of control over the Brigade.
A short time ago, owing to representations made
by Kossagcwski, a second battery was presented by
the Tsar; and the present strength consists of four
regiments of Cavalry, two companies of Infantry,
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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 [417r] (836/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x00002b> [accessed 4 June 2026]
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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
- 417r:418v
- Author
- Unknown
- Usage terms
- Public Domain