![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎538r] (1088/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1102.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎538r] (1088/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [538r] (1088/1814)
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.
FROM ISFAHAN TO SHIRAZ
95
have encroached upon and obscured the outlines of the earlier city.
Xhe valley in which Shiraz lies is about ten miles in width by
thirty in length, and is completely surrounded by mountains, whose
snows in winter heighten the funereal contrast of the cypress-spires.
The population, which stood at 50,000 under Kerim Khan Yekil,
120 years ago, has not greatly fluctuated during the present
century, but has usually been reckoned at 20,000 to 30,000 ; figures
which indicate the stationary condition of the modern city. 1
I find in most histories that Shiraz (variously derived from
shii milk, oi slii) lion, an allusion in the one case to the rich-
History ness pastures, in the other to the prowess of its
people) was founded in 694 A.D., i.e. subsequent to the
Arab conquest, by Mohammed, son of Yusuf Zekfi. I cannot,
however, accept this as a correct version of the earliest foundation,
for I regard it as more than probable that there was a city here
both of the Achaemenian and Sassanian kings. To a very early
and ante-Mussulman origin must be ascribed the castle on the
northern mountain and the great well, of which I shall speak
piesently. Again, theie are, within a slight distance of the modern
city—which, like all Persian towns, has shifted its site somewhat
at different times—remains both of Achgemenian and Sassanian
sculptures, which invariably herald the neighbourhood of a royal
residence or capital. The former are of the same character and
age as the Persepolitan edifices, and are thought by some to have
been bodily removed from the Takht-i-Jamshid, while others have
been inclined to see in them a later reproduction; the latter are
inferior editions of the great bas-reliefs elsewhere encountered and
described. 2 I am supported in my belief by the ingenious Herbert,
J For accounts of Shiraz in addition to (1) the works mentioned for the route
Teheran to Isfahan ; (2) the works mentioned upon Isfahan; (3) the works men
tioned for the route Isfahan to Shiraz, nearly all of which include, descriptions of
the latter city, vide C. Niebuhr (1765), Voyage en Arable, vol. ii. pp. 91-7, 135-
144; W. Franklin (1786-7), Observations on a Tour, pp. 51-108; J. Scott Waring
(1802), Tour to Sheeraz, caps. vi. to s.; C. J. Rich (1821), Journey to Persejyolis,
p. 224 et seq. ; (Sir) C. MacGregor (1875), Journey through Khorasan, vol. i. cap. ii. ;
C. J. Wills (circ. 1880), In the Land, etc., p. 218 et seq.
2 The earlier remains consist of three portals of stone, with human figures
chiselled in relief on the inner side of the jambs, situated on a hill about four
miles south-east of Shiraz. They were formerly called Mader-i-Suleiman, and were
described by Niebuhr, Ouseley (Tm^s, vol. ii. pp. 41-6), Ker Porter (Travels, vol. i.
P- 706), and Flandin, Voyage en Perse, vol. i., pi. 55. Binning in 1851 found
that they were known as Takht-i-Abu Nasir, Schindler in 1878 Takht-i-Bukhtun- i
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 [538r] (1088/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000059> [accessed 12 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000059
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_100157213847.0x000059">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎538r] (1088/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000059"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1102.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