![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎543r] (1098/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1112.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎543r] (1098/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [543r] (1098/1814)
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
105
built a summer-house here. It occupies a walled enclosure, about
200 yards square, but contains little beyond cypresses and ruin,
jehan e&rly part of the century its central pavilion, or
Nemah Kolah Feringhi, was in good repair, and was assigned
to English travellers of distinction, of whom C. J. Rich, British
Resident at Baghdad and the explorer of Kurdistan, died there
of cholera, on October 5, 1821, and was buried in the garden.
Higher up, on the same side of the road, is the Dilgusha or
Heart s Ease, which was laid out by Haji Ibrahim, when Kalantar,
Diigusha ° Ver a ^ unc ^ re( ^ y ears ago, and is irrigated by a stream that
flows down from the Sadieh, a little above. In 1811
Morier reported it as in a state of ruin; but when I visited it in
1889 it was in better repair than any other garden in the
outskirts of Shiraz, having passed into the hands of the Sahib
Diwan. Its alleys and trees and tank were in good condition,
and a large party of closely-veiled Persian ladies, waddling along
like bales of blue cotton set up on end, had been spending
an agreeable afternoon under its shade.
But, after all, the chief suburban glory of Shiraz is neither its
cypresses, nor its tanks, nor its gardens, but its two poets’ graves.
Sadi and r ^ ie literature of a country never produced two more
Hafiz differently constituted exponents than Sadi and Hafiz, nor
two whose opposite temperaments and philosophy appealed more
closely to the moralising and the lighter-hearted instincts of their
countrymen. Perhaps it is the predominance of the latter ingre
dient in the composition, at least, of the inhabitants of Ears, that
has accounted for Hafiz’ greater popularity. Sheikh Maslah-ed-
Din, surnamed Sadi, was the elder by a century. Born at Shiraz
in 1193 a.d. (some say in 1184), he lived to little short of one
hundred years, although his enthusiastic countrymen have some
times credited him with a considerable excess above the century.
He was one of the greatest travellers of the Middle Ages. There
were few countries between the Mediterranean and Hindustan that
he did not explore in the guise of a dervish, being taken prisoner
by the Crusaders in Palestine, making the pilgrimage to Mecca
fourteen times, and assuming the religion of Vishnu in India
in order to extend his knowledge. Well might he say of himself
—and I cannot imagine a better traveller’s motto— £ I have
wandered through many regions of the world, and everywhere
have I mingled with the people. In each corner I have gathered
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 [543r] (1098/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000063> [accessed 21 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000063
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_100157213847.0x000063">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎543r] (1098/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000063"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1112.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