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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [603r] (1220/1814)
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.
F 110 M SHIRAZ TO BUSHIRE
201
miles by two to three. The lake is mentioned
tenth century by El Istakhri, who said :
as long ago as the
Its wateis are sweet and pleasant ^ they were at one time dried up,
no water remained in this place. All the small fish are taken here . 1
When I saw the valley in the winter, there was not a speck
of vegetation on the plain around the marsh, and no beauty in
the sci ub on the hill-sides. But that the contrast between the
dispositions of Aatuie at different seasons of the year m Persia is
as wide as that between the contradictory verdicts of travellers,
is evident from the description of Malcolm, who was quite
ravished by the beauty of Dasht-i-Arzen.
This small but delightful valley is encircled by mountains, down
whose lugged sides a hundred rills contribute their waters to form the
lake in its centre. The beauty of these streams, some of which fall in
a succession of cascades from hills covered with vines * the lake itself,
in whose clear bosom is reflected the image of the mountains by which
it is overhung • the rich fields on its margin ‘ and the roses, hyacinths,
and almost every species of flower, that grow in wild luxuriance on its
holders, made us gaze with admiration on this charming scene . 2
The village of Dasht-i-Arzen is clustered against the base
of the northern hills, and immediately outside it is the compound
Wild th© Telegraph office. From my host, the occupant of
this building, I heard many stories of the wdld beasts
with which the neighbourhood abounds. The maneless lion of
Southern Persia is frequently encountered here, and it was on the far
side of the valley, while ascending towards the Pir-i-zan, that
Sir 0. St. John was attacked, when on horseback, by a lioness,
in 1867. 3 My informant told me that the last man-eater had
perished thirteen years before, but that the natives, who are
invincible cowards, credit every beast with similar propensities.
Wild boars, hyaenas, wolves, jackals, antelopes (which are coursed
with greyhounds), ibex, and mountain sheep, are also found in the
surrounding hills.
Leaving the village next morning, I passed, at the distance
of about a mile, over an abundant stream of water, which, gushing
1 Oriental Geography (of the miscalled Ibn Haukal), p. 99.
Sketches of Persia^ vol. i. p. 95.
3 Mr. A. Arnold (Through Persia by Caravan, 2 vols.) gratuitously transfers the
adventure with the lioness to Mr. W. T. Blanford, who had never set foot in
Persia at the time.—Vide Eastern Persia, vol. ii. p. 31.
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 [603r] (1220/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000015> [accessed 4 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