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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [485v] (981/1814)
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.
16
PERSIA
relief from this remedy. 1 There is a tradition that still survives that
the creatures do not attack strangers, but this modest display of
hospitality is hardly likely to induce a longer stay than is possible
in so unattractive a spot.
About four miles to the south-west of Kashan, on the slopes of
the mountains, is situated the palace of Fin, the springs of which
Pai aC e of h ave rendered it a favourite resort of royalty from early
Fin times. Shah Abbas built a residence here, but the present
structure, now in a state of great decay, is the work of Fath Ali
Shah, who made it one of his favourite summer retreats, though
originally intended for his brother Husein Kuli Khan. Cypress
avenues, water flowing in marble canals, and jets for fountains
adorned its gardens; a picture of Fath Ali and his sons and hunt
ing and battle scenes hung upon its walls. Sir J. Malcolm and
his escort were accommodated here on their upward march to Teheran
in 1810. In later times, a gloomier memory has attached to the
palace of Fin ; for here, in 1852, Mirza Taki Khan, the first great
minister of the reigning Shah, and brother-in-law of the king, was
put to death by the Royal order, his veins being opened in a bath.
The place is now deserted.
After leaving Kashan, the track runs for a distance of about
sixteen miles over a stony expanse, nearly flat, though with a slight
^ ^ f rise, to the foot of the mountains, where it turns sharply
Shall to the right and plunges into the main range. At a little
Abbas distance up the pass, in what the foolish Ker Porter de
scribed as ‘ a confined dell of this darkling labyrinth,’ stands the
large dilapidated
caravanserai
A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers).
of Guebrabad—a ruined settlement
of the Zoroastrians. Here we finally lose sight of the snowy spire
of Demavend, which has accompanied us all the way from Teheran,
gaining each day in pride and stature as his inferior satellites have
sunk from view, and the monarch has stood forth alone with his
crowned head in the heavens. The distance, as the crow flies, is
a little over 150 miles. 2 Continuing up the pass, the road enters
1 The same notion has prevailed in countries widely removed from Persia.
Madame de Sevigne, in a letter dated July 8,1672, wrote : £ Je vous prie, quoi qu’on
dise, de faire faire de I’huile de scorpion, afin que nous trouvions en meme temps
les maux et les medecines.’
2 Demavend has been seen at much greater distances. Morier {First Journey,
p. 402) was told that it could be seen from the minaret of the Musjid-i-Shah at
Isfahan, a distance of 230 miles; but this, for physical reasons, must be impos
sible. General Monteith {Proc. R.G.8. vol. iii. p. 18) saw it from Mount Savalan,
above Ardebil, a distance of 270 miles. Similarly, P. H. Bruce {Memoirs, p. 282)
saw Mount Ararat from Derbend on the Caspian, a distance of 240 miles.
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 [485v] (981/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x0000b6> [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