![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎437v] (877/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0889.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎437v] (877/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [437v] (877/1814)
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.
622
PERSIA
happens to be notorious for its general dearth of wood ; for the lack
so far as discovery has hitherto proceeded, of seams of coal
qualified to supply the needs of an extensive railway service, or of
naphtha in sufficient quantities to take its place in the engines *
and for the absence, in situations where they can be worked with
profit, of iron mines, capable of producing the material for rails
All these desiderata may conceivably be forthcoming in the future •
and the prospect is far from discouraging. But to assert that they
are now, or will shortly be, accessible is to substitute conjecture for
fact, and to render poor service to the cause of Persian regeneration
Greater, however, than any impediment, either physical or
commercial, to the introduction of railroads into Persia that has
Russian hitherto been mentioned, is the political obstacle imposed
antago- by the stubborn and selfish antagonism of Russia. I
shall have occasion in my concluding chapter to add
something about the general attitude of that Power towards
Persian reforms ; but what I shall here say about her policy in the
matter of Persian railways, will afford no mean illustration of my
later thesis. This I assert without fear of contradiction, that,
whenever and whatever the scheme propounded, the bitter opposi
tion of Russia may be counted upon as a certain factor in the case
of any railways in Persia but those specially aligned to suit
Russian commercial or strategical needs, i.e. railways running
fiom the Russian frontier, either in Azerbaijan or in Khorasan, or
from the Caspian to Teheran. With the exception of these lines,
which would facilitate Russian ascendency and that alone, the
Russian influence at Teheran is steadily cast in the scale against
y t lat may be proposed. This is no
hypothetical assumption, but can be demonstrated beyond the
possibility of doubt by events which have occurred during the last
three years.
When the British Minister at Teheran, in the autumn of 1888,
obtained from the Shah what is commonly called the Karun
Railway Concession, r.e. the opening to navigation, not by Great
Britain alone, but by all countries, of the Lower Karun
River from Mohammerah to Ahwaz, many British newspapers
committed the error both of exaggerating the importance of the
concession, which in its undeveloped state has up till now been
almost valueless, and of extolling the successful diplomacy that
had extorted it. The concession itself was one which had long
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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 [437v] (877/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x000054> [accessed 14 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