![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎441r] (884/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0896.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎441r] (884/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [441r] (884/1814)
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.
RAILWAYS
629
remt,1 >erahV
^ed b e
igh tb e D l0 "*ii
0 ^h 1 raHs «:
^ilway
t ^ yin p M H
^he physical oljij
' a ^°t to merit co#
"'iichIg aveoftl(
ouldering citieg |W |
ot P oss >%bea pra
dertake it. Som ei
grain-producing d
stain a line wliicln
The connectionofl
larger amount of Ei
san than is at presei
nto KhorasanforEi
)e, as it is now,
r being im
tself to the i
ed recover
construction of the preliminary section of this railway, on the
grounds that it would involve considerable expense, that fora time
it might require to be guarded, that it would be open to flank
attack from the north, and that there would be no immediate com
mercial return. The latter objection applies to every single railway,
without exception, that might be devised or made in Persia. No
railway would pay for three, or four, or five years. On the other
hand, the potential resources of Seistan and the uses of a new
entrance for Indian and exit for Persian goods across the east
border are so great that I believe such a railroad might in time
become a profitable speculation. The other questions appertain
to the sphere of strategy, which I have touched upon in an earlier
chapter, and which I will dismiss with the remark that no strate
gical railway has ever been laid that has not had to pass through
the ordeal of these or cognate objections.
Such a line would, undoubtedly, before long be succeeded
by branches from the Indian Ocean or
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, the starting-
points of which might be Pusni, Gwadur, or Chahbar ; or,
Persian in deference to the existing trade routes, Bunder Abbas,
ime rppg ^vantages to British trade of such an opening up of
south-east Persia, involving, as it would, more intimate communica
tion with the central and north-east provinces, would be as great
as would the gain to Persia resulting from the new and more ex
peditious outlet for her exports in opium, cotton, and dried fruits.
The optimist whose vision ranges into the far future will contem
plate the extension of a railway system thus inaugurated through
the heart of Persia, via Isfahan, to Shushter, and an ultimate
junction with lines running north to Teheran and west to Baghdad.
Such a prospect has great theoretical attractions, and its lealisation
would be the saving of Persia. Optimism, however, is a plant to
whose growth the climate of Persia has, so far, given none but
most meagre encouragement, and I prefer not to pioject my gaze
into so nebulous a future.
The project of uniting Bushire with Teheran by a direct line
passing through Shiraz is one that I do not believe wi
realised, owing to the enormous difficulties of the country
between Shiraz and the sea. A series of parallel ridges,
which, from their character and steepness, may almost be
lescribed as ladders, and which rise to a height of over 7 000 ee
above the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, separate the two places, and could on j
10 . Bu-
shire-
Teheran
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 [441r] (884/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x00005b> [accessed 5 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