![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎561v] (1135/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1149.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎561v] (1135/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [561v] (1135/1814)
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.
E 3
138 PERSIA
It is, however, upon the upper limb of the cross that the skill of the
sculptor was mainly lavished, and that the solemn character of the
entire monument is expressed. The entablature already spoken of
sustains a curious platform or throne, consisting of two stages, each
of which is upheld by fourteen figures (i.e. twenty-eight in the two
superimposed rows), with both arms uplifted to sustain the weight
above their heads. 1 These figures wear different garbs and represent
differing nationalities. The sides or corner posts of the terrace, which
is doubtless a copy of the platform that supported the royal throne,
are curiously moulded and carved, and terminate in griffins' or bulls'
heads at the top. Upon its summit appear two objects. On the left
hand side is a small dais or platform of three receding steps, upon
which stands the king, seven feet in stature, clad in the royal robe and
tiara, holding in his left hand a bow, which rests upon the ground,
while his right hand is uplifted with a gesture of oath or adoration
towards an object that floats in the air overhead. This we now know
from the inscriptions to be the image of the god Ahuramazda or
Ormuzd ; a symbolism that is directly borrowed from the representa
tion of the god Assur in Assyrian sculptures. The deity is depicted
as a small figure, with the upper part of a man, and with hair and
headdress similar to those of the king, but with the lower part of his
body terminating in plumes. A disc encircles his waist, long streamers
float behind him, and he is upborne in space by outspread horizontal
win^s He faces the king and lifts one hand in attitude of benedic-
tion ; in the other he holds a ring. 2 Behind the god is sculped in
relief the second object upon the platform, viz. a fire-altar, upon which
the undying flame is depicted in the form of a cone of fire. In the
right-hand corner above, the disc of the sun hangs in the sky. It
should be added that on either side of the terraced platform, and in
the returning angles of the rock, are chiselled a triple vertical row of
figures, singly, or in pairs, which, according as they are armed or un
armed, represent the bodyguards or the attendants of the sovereign.
The interior arrangement differs slightly in each case, as will
1 The fanciful use to which this platform has been put in argument by Fergus-
son will be noted later.
2 Very quaint sounds the description of these sculptures given by Barbaro, the
Venetian, four hundred years ago : ‘ There is one ymage, like unto that that we
resemble to God the Father, in a cercle, who in either hande holdeth a globe,
under whom arr other little ymages, and before hym the image of a man leanyng
on an arche, which they saie was the fygure of Salomon. Under them arr many
other ymages, which seeme to susteyne those that be above. Amongest whom
there is one that seemeth to have a Popes myter on his hedde, holding up his
hande open as though he ment to blesse all that arr under him, liek as they
looking towardes hym seeme also to gape for his blisseng’ {Travels to Tana and
Persia, Hakluyt Society).
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 [561v] (1135/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000088> [accessed 10 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000088
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_100157213847.0x000088">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎561v] (1135/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000088"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1149.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