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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [489v] (989/1814)
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.
22
PERSIA
him inferior or subsidiary motives .* the unhealthiness ot Ivazvin r
the distance of Sultanieh, the omens of astrology. Behind the
Abbas the superficial vainglory which he so dearly loved, lurked,
Great however, an idea of true statesmanship. Of the new
empire which he had won, and which stretched from Greorgia to
Aghanistan, Isfahan was the natural geographical centre, dhe
instincts of a prudent centralisation commanded him to fix his
capital at a spot where he would be within equal distance of all
corners of his huge dominion, and where, in reasonable proximity
to the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, he could at once overawe the maritime pro
vinces, control the foreign trade, and enter into easy diplomatic
relations with the potentates of Europe. This decision arrived at,,
he sketched the outlines of a colossal plan. A new city, approached
by superb bridges and stately avenues, furnished with public
buildings, as beautiful as they were large, and embellished by
terraced gardens, and palaces, and pavilions, sprang into existence.
The embassies of mighty sovereigns flocked to the new capital from
the uttermost parts of Europe, and were received with all the
splendour of a court immensely rich and versed in a fanciful and
fastidious etiquette. The factors of great trading corporations
occupied a position little short of the accredited representatives of
royalty; and a life of gorgeous ceremonial, mingled with holiday
festivity, rendered Isfahan the most famous and romantic of the
cities of the East. It is fortunate that the cosmopolitan tastes of
this great monarch—the contemporary of Elizabeth in England, of
Henri IV. in France, of Gustavus Adolphus in Sweden, and of
Akbar in India—and his successors, should have tempted so many
intelligent foreigners to the Persian court; for it is to their
presence and, in some cases, prolonged residence in the city
throughout the seventeenth century, that we owe a minute know
ledge of the life and habits, the pomp and parade, the virtues and
the vices of the Sefavi kings. Pietro della Valle, Herbert, Olearius,
Tavernier, Chardin, Sanson, Daulier-Deslandes, Kaempfer, and
Le Brun successively shed the light of an acute and instructed
scrutiny upon the scene, and have added to the respective litera
tures of Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Prance, and Holland.
In the middle of the seventeenth century we have the estimate
of Chardin that within ten leagues of Isfahan were 1,500 villages;
that the city itself was 24 miles round ; that inside the walls, which
were pierced by 12 gates, were 162 mosques, 48 madressehs, 1802
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 [489v] (989/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x0000be> [accessed 11 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