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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎544v] (1101/1814)

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. .

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TOMB OF HAFIZ
Nearer the city, and on the outskirts of its northern suburbs,
the tomb of Hafiz stands in a cemetery crowded with Moslem
Tomb of graves. The enclosure, known as the Hafizieh, consists
Hafiz of an upper and a lower part, i.e. the graveyard and a
garden, separated by a summer-house. The cemetery is of com
paratively modern growth ; for ancient authors describe the poet’s
tomb as surrounded by trees, the last survivor of which, a cypress,
said to have been planted by himself at the head of his grave, was
cut down about 1814 a.d. The copy of the poet’s works that was
once chained to the tomb was carried off by Ashraf the Afghan.
Nadir Shah, having come here and been opportunely presented
with an encouraging fed or fortune from the manuscript kept by the
mullahs, 1 embellished and repaired the tomb. But the original
1 This practice, an Oriental counterpart of the Sortes Virgiliancs (rendered
108
PEliSlA
Whatever be the history or origin of these remarkable shafts, for
which of course the natives have a miraculous explanation, they
undoubtedly appertain to a time long anterior to Mussulman days,
when the hill in which they are sunk was occupied by a considerable
fortress and used as a place of strength. The third well, which is
called Chah-i-Murtaza Ali, is situated in a grotto hewn out of
the rock, and is visited by pilgrims who regard its waters as sacred.

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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
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎544v] (1101/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000066> [accessed 2 April 2025]

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