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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [549v] (1111/1814)
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.
BBSaHH
116
PERSIA
inscriptions in the cave of Hajiabad j (2) tlie seiies of bas-reliefs
representing the investiture, combats, and triumph of the sovereigns
of this dynasty, which are carved in the cliff-face below the tombs of
the Achsemenian kings, and which have given to the place the name of
Is aksh-i-Rustam, or Pictures of Rustam, from the prevalent Persian
belief that the national hero is the individual therein depicted ; (3)
similar rock-carvings on the other or southern side of the valley of the
Polvar, to which has been given, for a similarly foolish reason, the
name of Is aksh-i-Rejeb, though who Rejeb was I am unable to explain ;
(4) Pehlevi inscriptions on the platform of Persepolis. Though the
Sassanian sculptures are later in date by at least six to seven hundred
vears, and in some cases by more, than the Achsemenian trophies, I
shall yet deal with them first ; both because they are first encountered,
and because I desire to clear the ground for that which is the main
object of this chapter, viz. a discussion of the architecture and ruins
of Persepolis.
In the previous chapter I mentioned that after leaving Sivend the
wayfarer whose face is turned southward enters a broad clifi-con-
fined valley, through whose level bottom the Polvar has
remains : scoured for itself a deep bed in the soft soil. About half-
abad^lii way down this valley is the village of Hajiabad, the cliff-wall
scription to the north of which, about one mile distant, is pierced by
several natural caverns of considerable depth and dimensions. In the
entrance to one of these, which is commonly named from Sheikh Ali,
no doubt some venerable recluse who selected this spot for his retreat,
but which is also known as Teng-i-Shah Sarvan, five square tablets or
panels have been smoothed in the rock at a height of six to seven feet
from the ground for the purpose of receiving inscriptions. Two only
are so filled ; and they contain the celebrated bilingual epigraph of
Shapur I., which I have previously mentioned in vol. i., and upon his
interpretation of which Mr. Thomas has based the theory, for which
there is no external confirmation, of the conversion to Christianity of
that king. Morier appears to have been the first to visit the cave ;
Ker Porter the first to copy the inscription, 2 of which illustrations
were afterwards given by Elandin and Coste,^ and more recently by
Stolze, 4 and of which plaster casts were brought to England m IMo
by Sir E. Stannus, British Resident at Bushire. That the decipher
ment of the Pehlevi character has reached no scientific stage ol
development, is manifest from the different readings that have been
oiven of the Hajiabad lines ; and sooner than pin my faith either to
the philo-Christian theory of Mr. Thomas, 5 or to the bowshot theory
Second Journey, p. 80. 2 Travels yob i. p. 513.
3 Perse Ancienne, vol.ii. pi. 164 ; vol. iv. pi. i93. 70101
4 Persepolis, vol. ii. pi. 126. 5 Early Sassanian Inscriptions, pp. 73-101.
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 [549v] (1111/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000070> [accessed 12 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