![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎616v] (1247/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1261.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎616v] (1247/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [616v] (1247/1814)
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.
PERSIA
Woman, owing to tlio fact that the track is worn m the bars rock,
instead of being covered with loose stones, or tesselated with a
broken pavement. In fact, it is neither more nor less than a
staircase, the hoofs of generations of mules having worn deep
indentations, at regular intervals, one above or below the other
into the rock. In the steepest parts, where the road overhangs a
vertical ravine, it has been artificially walled. The surrounding
scenery is singularly wild and grand, the mountains being split by
mighty fissures, exhibiting a stratification that is almost uniformly
perpendicular, and being decked on their naked sides by streaks of
many-coloured marls. It was on the worst part of this descent,
known as the hamar, or ledge of Asad Khan, that, in 1 / o2, the
Afghan chief of that name, who, upon the death of Nadir Shah,
was one of the claimants to the throne, was attacked by Kerim
Khan Zend, acting upon the advice of Rustam Sultan, chief of
Khisht. The followers of the latter were hidden among the crags
above; the soldiery of Kerim Khan, who had already been driven
out from Isfahan and Shiraz, were posted in the valley below.
Between the devil and the deep sea there is small loophole for
escape, as Asad Khan found to his cost, in this horrible man-trap.
He himself escaped, and was subsequently pardoned, and elevated
to favour by his generous conqueror. The descent of the Jcotal
took me about three-quarters of an hour. Following the ravine
at its foot, I then again struck the Shapur river, followed its left
bank for some distance, and then turning south, across the plain
of Khisht, reached the hamlet of Konar Takhteh (Plateau of
konars), which is situated almost midway down the valley.
I saw very little beauty in the plain of Khisht, except that
arising from two extensive groves of date-palms. There was a
Plain of great deal of camel-thorn and other scrub growing
Kinsht around; but at what opposite poles of outward com
plexion the seasons stand in Persia, may again be illustrated from
the pages of a former traveller, who, passing this way in spring
time, left the following record :—
‘Among the grain in the fields, I remarked red poppies, larkspur,
daisies, wild oats, wild pinks, mallows, and some flowers of the
convolvulus, and other genera which I had never seen before. This
being the spring season they were all in blow, and gave an enchanting
effect to the scene, which reminded me of a summer’s day in England.’ 1
1 Colonel Johnson, Journey from India (1817), p. 36.
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 [616v] (1247/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000030> [accessed 12 December 2024]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000030
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_100157213848.0x000030">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎616v] (1247/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000030"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1261.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