![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎430r] (862/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0874.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎430r] (862/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [430r] (862/1814)
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.
A
,ni P 0 sedoffi„
lligller aver^’
^ ment ofthe g v%;
%
l » Tele...,
march.
, Promy^.-
a len gti of road f H
ever y nondescript^ 11
outs or interpola^J
^ a H on foott *
1 “'at of the rr
led horses and
equipment,
eisurely ambling
■°n for transport or com
iemselves as best fe
f traverse. They are mi
curse by the peasants, i
st that on a former ocusi
ie plank bridge witUni
ant isolation, owing toll
st whose exactions tk i
loroughly mediaeval faslic:
), just after a Persian am
"awn by him of devasto
ngs, and cut-down orcU
amadan looked as if ft
,s the same practice,at
i repaving
y a
the courtesy
conversation such as
ier, the com/ngun it «f
. 277)
; y and precision of * 11,1
j army
has made
surprisi 11
THE ARMY 609
tury earlier, that drew from the reflective Hanway the followino-
ratiocination:—
It seemed to be established as a custom in Persia for military people
to pillage wherever they go, at least to compel the peasants to procure
provisions for them. This is the occasion of the latter being deaf to
all importunities on any principle of humanity or the laws of hospi
tality . 1 1
It remains only to add that of army administration there is
practically none.. Arrangements for commissariat or transport do
Military not exist ’ tll6re is 110 ambulance corps, contracts for
SST clothin g are sold t0 the highest bidder, and the last thing
in which there is any uniformity is uniform. In fact a
more irregular army, in the most literal sense of the word, does
not exist on the face of the globe. Irregular in its enlistment
dress, arms, ammunition, discipline, and service, it would be strange
if its conduct were not irregular also.
For the lamentable condition of the Persian rank and file, the
system, and not the individual, is indeed primarily responsible. Mill-
tary administration falls under the same category as civil administra
tion in Teheran, presents the same features, and is disfigured by the
same vices. A smart, or imposing, or plausible appearance covers
deception and fraud, and the canker of peculation eats its way into
the vitals of the service. This applies equally to pay, to armament,
and to organisation. Commissions, as I have pointed out, are
bought and sold. If a seeming paradox may be permitted, the
soldier has even to pay for his pay; for a certain portion is
deducted by his superior officer as discount upon anything ap
proaching punctual payment. The secret of a reorganisation of
the Persian forces would be a Government guarantee of regular pay.
In peace the army is now a loose aggregation of slovenly units, in
war it degenerates on the least provocation into a rabble. But
by such simple means, and with capable officers, it might in a
few years be converted into a creditable body of men.
That there is no intrinsic improbability in such a transformation,
Qualities 011 contrary, that there is in the personnel and
of the Per- stamina of the Persian recruit the basis of a military esta-
sian recruit .
blishment of quite uncommon excellence, may be proved
by the opinions of a long succession of competent authorities.
VOL. i.
1 Historical Account, fyc., vol. i. p. 236.
R R
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 [430r] (862/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x000045> [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