![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎432v] (867/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0879.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎432v] (867/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [432v] (867/1814)
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.
614 PERSIA.
great altitude and steepness, ranging from 4,000 to 8,000 feet in
height, and being as a rule so precipitous that even mule traffic
upon them is not unattended with danger. Herein lies a preli
minary obstacle, conquerable indeed by engineers, but only at a
hazardous cost to the pocket either of Government or of share
holders. It is not, however, by the impediments of Nature one
half so much as by the selfish impulses of man that the introduction
of railways into Persia has hitherto been retarded. The question
has been, and is still, one not of science but of statesmanship ; and
is debated not in the offices of engineers and contractors, but in
the cabinets of ministers and the chancelleries of ambassadors.
In the hands of these parties, and wrapped in a perpetual mist of
conspiracy and intrigue, the railway movement in Persia has for
over twenty years been generally in a semi-animate and sometimes
in an acute condition. If the correspondence thereupon that
has passed from the various legations in Teheran to the great
capitals of Europe, and more especially to St. Petersburg and
London, were collected, it would provide a bonfire that would blaze
for a week. A brief history of its leading incidents will enable
us to understand, more quickly than would any other method, the
reason why no 4 Bradshaw 7 has ever yet been able to devote a page
to the time-table of Persian railways.
The famous Beuter ^oncession in 1872 was not the first railway
concession that had been granted and signed by the Persian Govern-
TheReuter men ^* Concessionaries of various nationalities had already
Conc^simi been at work, and between 1865 and 1871 a French, a
German, an Austrian, and an English syndicate had suc
cessively been authorised to proceed. These schemes came to
nothing, being of unsound origin, or sufficient capital not being sub
scribed in response to the appeal. Then came the notorious Reuter
agreement, that literally took away the breath of Europe and handed
over the entire resources of Persia to foreign hands for a period of
seventy years. Included in this gigantic monopoly, the remaining
features of which I have elsewhere described, was the immediate
construction of a railroad from the Caspian to the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
,
and the exclusive right of building all other railways in Persia.
Land for the requisite building purposes was to be given by the
State, free of cost, as also were sand, gravel, and stone. No duties
were to be levied upon either the materials or the men employed.
I he Government was to receive twenty per cent, of the net profits,
of the
# erS J Beater
> fr f tbe<
» a s G i a or^
o*
16 lfl aned at tba
'“ d > S ! t P beS tubbo
a sche«
*
S wr,» S'®
^ T»,r»vokeS
® 10D
In 187 4 Gene
Russian engi
Hues in Geor
f on Ms own *
Russian Governm
l-west Perso-Rusi
ussian line from T
r ears on tl
iterest, and
ion was to
lies; and 1
customs c
barefaced
the imper
A modith
he Shah, ii
cent, on tl
he control
Per cent,
paid on •
P r °cure the
P r °jcct fell
son sj
ca
man,
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 [432v] (867/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x00004a> [accessed 3 April 2025]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x00004a
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_100157213846.0x00004a">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎432v] (867/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x00004a"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0879.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