![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎593r] (1200/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1214.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎593r] (1200/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [593r] (1200/1814)
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.
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Lt J'cAjL^fa £~V~& (.* f ^ /k ^
*...-, ^t.-*/ * . ) ^ 4 jj. /b J t / m i <i— £.4^ .J t f*' ,m ' ”* w
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PERSEPOLIS, ANJ) OTHER RUINS J85 ^ ri ~*
tie atter the work is suspended, and we may infer that the death 'Pl 6
o t e monarch or the collapse of the dynasty abruptly arrested its
execution. There is no sign of an entrance, and the presence of a large
number of loose blocks of stone in front has led some writers to the
quite gratuitous conclusion that there was projected a secret and laby
rinthine avenue of approach. It is undoubtedly singular that a site
should have been chosen for this tomb so very near to the level of the
plain, above which, if completed, it would barely have been elevated
at all. This seems to indicate a relaxation in the earlier ideas of im
practicability of access.
I have now completed my examination of all the ruins either upon
oi in the immediate neighbourhood of the Persepolitan platform ; and
The verit- ^ proceed in conclusion to a discussion of such of the pro-
sepolig 61 ' k lems > whether of history or archaeology, as have not yet been
solved. I have everywhere very plainly indicated my belief
that here was not merely a palace-platform of the Achamienian kings—
that is incontestably demonstrated by the sculptures and inscriptions—
but the Persepolis, which was one of the wonders of the ancient world,
upon which Alexander descended with the conquering might of the
Macedonian phalanx, whose city he surrendered to the plunder of his
triumphant soldiery, and whose palace or palaces he burned.
i he princes applaud with a furious joy,
And the king seized a flambeau with zeal to destroy ;
Thais led the way
To light him to his prey,
And, like another Helen, fired another Troy.
From the early Istakhr, whose ruins we have seen at the mouth of the
valley of the Polvar, to the cliff-wall and rock-tombs of Naksh-i-Rustam
on the north, and to the palace-platform on the south, and far out, may
be, on the fronting plain, we may presume the royal city of Darius
and of Xerxes to have stretched. That city—like most Oriental
cities, a compound of mud and clay—has perished off the face of the
earth; and its successors have done likewise; but in the rock-sepulchres,
the fortified valley gateway, and the pillared platform, we have the
indestructible boundary features, between which was outspread its
vast extent. On the royal platform, whether it was inside or outside
the precincts of the city, the monarchs resided during their short visits
to the ancient capital of the dynasty ; and there were enacted the
gorgeous scenes that both accounted for its erection, and are still dis
played upon its ruins.
Such, even in days before the cuneiform alphabet had been de
ciphered, has been for long the opinion of the majority of students.
It has been reserved for Stolze once again to resuscitate the exorcised
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 [593r] (1200/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000001> [accessed 13 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