![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎553r] (1118/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1132.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎553r] (1118/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [553r] (1118/1814)
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.
PERSEPOLIS, AND OTHER RUINS
121
C"
i
sufficiently notable achievement to appeal to the contemporary
imagination, and may b© held to have justified the boastful reiteration
of its accomplishment by the conqueror in the neighbourhood of his
various capitals. This panel is 35-^ feet long and 16 feet high,
its level at the bottom being about 4 feet above the soil. 1 The central
figure, of more than human stature, is Shapur, seated on horseback
and receiving the homage of the two Romans, the captive Caesar and
Cyriadis or Miriades, the obscure fugitive of Antioch, who was
elevated by the scorn of the conqueror to the imperial purple. The
Sassanian king presents the handsome features so familiar from
sculptures and coins, with thick outstanding clusters of curls, and
weai s the mural crown surmounted by the globe. His well-trained
beard is tied in a knot below his chin j a necklet of large stones or
ornaments hangs around his throat; and behind him in the air, as also
from his sword hilt and plaited charger’s tail, float the dynastic fillets
or frilled ribands. His lower limbs are clad in the flowing shulwars
of the period. While his left hand grasps his sword hilt, his right is
outstretched to meet the uplifted hands of the standing Cyriadis, to
whom he appears to be giving the cydaris or royal circlet. The
Syrian wears the Roman dress, as also does the kneeling Caesar, whose
hands are outstretched in mute supplication, and whose face wears an
expression of piteous appeal. Valerian also has a chaplet round his
head ; and both captives have shackles or fetters round their ankles.
At the crupper of the king’s horse is suspended by a chain the big
ornament, seemingly a tassel, that is so frequent a feature in the
Sassanian bas-reliefs. 2 In the background appears the upper part of
rhe figure of an attendant, with uplifted forefinger of reverence,
wearing a tall cap and closely braided hair. Where the lower part
should have been, the rock has been smoothed to receive a long, but as
yet undeciphered and lamentably defaced, inscription in the Pehlevi
character. 3 ~No doubt it relates, though I am not clear that Dieulafoy
has a right to state it as a fact, to the victory of Edessa. As regards
the ^cecution of the entire panel, its artistic merit appears to vary in
different parts, and to betray the handiwork of more than one
or habits at the time to render them intrinsically improbable. Vide Canon G. Raw-
linson’s Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy, pp. 86-8.
1 Texier, vol. ii. pi. 129; Flandin and Coste, vol. iv. pi. 185; Stolze, vol. ii.
pi. 119 ; Dienlafoy, pt. v. pi. 15, pp. 115-16. Compare E. Thomas, Early Sas
sanian Inscriptions, pp. 62-9.
2 The ingenuity of rival commentators has perfomed astonishing feats with this
object. Th6venot thought it was a flask, Chardin a bullet used as a sling at the
end of a chain, Ouseley a vessel for incense, and Texier a lasso. Binning calls it
x a large mass like a cabbage.’
3 Vide Niebuhr, Voyage en Arabic, vol. ii. pi. 34; Flandin and Coste, vol. iv.
pi. 181 (ter)-, Stolze, vol. ii. pi. 120.
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 [553r] (1118/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000077> [accessed 20 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000077
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_100157213847.0x000077">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎553r] (1118/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000077"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1132.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