Skip to item: of 1,814
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎609v] (1233/1814)

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.

Apply page layout

212
PERSIA
Second
tablet:
Shapur,
Valerian,
and
Cyriadis
A hundred yards further on, a second and much larger tablet comes,
in smht one of the series that pourtray the investiture of the obscure
° ’ Syrian of Antioch, Cyriadis, or Miriades, with the imperial
purple in the presence of the captive Valerian . 1 The length
of the entire panel is forty-one feet, and height twenty
feet, the sculptures having been much protected by an over
hanging canopy of rock. It is divided into three portions—
Shapur on horseback, with the remaining, chief actors, are m the centre,
occupy in a* a tablet 12 feet 1 inch long, by 8 feet 2 inches high; behind
him—i.e.^on the left-hand side of the bas-relief—are two tablets, one
above the other, with five horsemen in each, following the king;
facino- him three more tablets in the lower row, and two above them,
each 4 feet 11 inches long, and 9 feet 10 inches high, containing warriors
and other figures on foot. I will now proceed to a more minute
analysis, beginning with the central tablet. Shapur is easily recognised
by his turreted crown with superimposed globe, by his flowing curled
locks and handsome features, and by his beard tied into a knot below
the chin. From his head stream the Sassanian fillets ; an immense
quiver hangs at his side ; upon his legs are the flowing shulwars, or
loose Sassanian trousers. He rides a sturdy horse, disproportionate, as
in all these sculptures, to the heroic size of the rider. With his right
hand he holds the right hand of a figure standing by the hind-quarters
of his horse, wearing a laurel wreath on his head, - a Homan tunic, and
fetters round his ankles. As in the former bas-relief, the king’s horse
tramples under foot a prostrate figure, typical of the overthrown army
of the Homans. Facing the king is a kneeling figure, also wearing a
laurel wreath and a Homan tunic, but carrying a sword at his side.
In front of the horse’s head is an inscription in five lines, but not in the
ordinary Persian character. Above it a winged cherub or genius floats
in the air and presents an unrolled fillet, or bandeau, to the king . 3
The important question in this, as in all the bas-reliefs representing
the same scene, is the identity of the kneeling and the standing figures.
Is the suppliant Cyriadis, and the upright personage Valerian, or vice
versa ? I was at first inclined to adopt the former belief for reasons
into which I need not enter. But after a careful examination of all
the sculptures, I am disposed to identify the kneeling individual in
each case with the deposed Emperor, and the figure whose hands are
1 Texier, vol. ii. ph ; Flandin and Coste, vol. i. pi. 49 ; Stolze, vol. h-
pi. 143 ; Dieulafoy, part v. pi. 23.
2 Morier said a helmet, but this is wrong.
3 Morier calls this well-known Sassanian emblem ‘ the scroll of fame,’ and the
cherub’s figure a Victory ! Texier, quite mistaking its character, identifies it
with a cornucopia, and regards this as a convincing proof that the bas-relief was
executed either by Roman prisoners, or by Western artists.

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
Cite this item in your research

Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎609v] (1233/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000022> [accessed 7 June 2026]

Link to this item
Embed this item

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_100157213848.0x000022">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [&lrm;609v] (1233/1814)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000022">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1247.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

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

Use and reuse
Download this image