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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎431r] (864/1814)

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. .

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[— he has a very satisfy
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THE ARMY
611
I might also quote the opinions of Sir F. Goldsmid Colonel
Val. Baker, and Captain Napier, who spoke in a similar sfnse- but
I will content myself with citing the verdict of Sir C. MacGregor
who turned a critical eye upon every branch of the military estai
blishment that he encountered in Persia, and who, in his blunt
but expressive way, said of some regiments that he inspected out-
side Meshed :—
They are all composed of more or less fine material. To look at
them without the eye of a soldier was simply to condemn them as a
rabble of dirty, slouching-looking ragamuffins; but regarded as food
for powder by one who knows the style of article required, they are by
no means to be despised. They are dirty, slouching-looking ragamuffins
certainly ; but, brought into trim by English officers, they would very
soon become fine soldierly fellows. . . . They are, taken as a general
rule, men of fine physique and very hardy muscular frames, and just
the fellows to make into very fine soldiers, but they are shockingly
neglected by the Government. ... God has given the Shah as fine a
body of men as could be wished for, but he does nothing whatever for
them . 1
I Tom this collection of expert opinion, which I make no apology
foi having quoted, seeing that a lay judgment on the matter might
Chance of h>e open to suspicion, it will be seen that, wretched as is
the Persian army at the present time, contemptible as is
its equipment, and low as is its tylotolIg, there exists in the country,
and particularly in the Western provinces, the material out of which,
under a more salutary regime, a Persian soldiery might again be
created, worthy of its ancestral renown. I confess that, so long as
the present system continues, I do not see much chance of such a
consummation. Elementary reforms—such as the issue of a single
and simple manual of drill (to consolidate and supersede the dis
cordant fragments of half a dozen different systems), the entire
overhauling of the arms and ammunition, the institution of a proper
code of military punisbment, the promulgation of some system of
promotion other than one based upon bribery and corruption, a
permanent organisation of the regular infantry, and a resuscitation,
under less haphazard conditions, of the powerful force of irregular
cavalry which the country is still capable of producing, and better
tuition for officers of all classes—might be introduced, and are
sorely needed. But as long as the whole administration remains
Journey through Khorasan, vol. i. pp. 287, 294-298 ; vol. ii. pp. 2, 3, 13-19.
r r 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
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎431r] (864/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x000047> [accessed 2 April 2025]

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