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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [617av] (1251/1814)
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.
226 PERSIA
on the palm-girdled village of Borazjun (the true name is said
to be Gurazdun, or Place of Boars). From a distance one might
imagine this to be a place of some military importance;
Borazjun ^ geveral miles away can be seen the lofty walls and
corner towers of an immense structure, whose outer surface is
pierced with loopholes only, and presents a decidedly feudal appear
ance. A longer acquaintance with Persia teaches the wayfarer
that it cannot possibly be a fort, because every Persian fort is in
ruins, and warns him that he is gazing upon nothing more for
midable than a
caravanserai
A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers).
; although among the scores that
I had seen, this was without exception both the best constructed
and the best preserved. It was built in 18/5-6 by the same
public-spirited official whom I have before eulogised, travellers
before that date having bitterly complained of the lack of
any similar building. I went in and inspected the interior. It
is built of solid stone, well quarried and laid, and contains, m
addition to the normal recesses, rooms, and stables, opening out of
the central court, a number of upstairs apartments and sleeping-
places, designed for the rich and for those travelling with women
in their train. The walls of these chambers had been plentifully
adorned by the pencils of Persian visitors of an artistic turn; but
their imagination had found no higher outlet than the reproduction
of steamboats and vessels with all sails spread, the most striking
maritime reminiscence, no doubt, to a people possessing an heredi
tary terror of the sea. From the roof of the
caravanserai
A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers).
can be
gained an extensive prospect of the plain, of the town below
(reputed to contain 6,000 persons), of the site at a little distance where
the Persians ignominiously evacuated their position without firing
a shot, in the short Anglo-Persian campaign of 1857 ; and of the
long line of mountains, concealing behind their grim ramparts
those hideous hotals which it was such a profound relief to have
quitted, and which I hope never to tread again. The village youths
of Borazjun were busily engaged in rustic games, among which
hockey and rounders (the precise equivalent to the English game)
appeared to be the most popular. Considering that they played
on a very rough and stony piece of ground, and with bare feet,
the most eager of English schoolboys would have felt little
temptation to join in the fun. I noticed at Borazjun that all the
men were armed with big pistols, loosely stuck in the belt; and,
upon inquiring the reason of this singularly un-Persian habit,
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 [617av] (1251/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000034> [accessed 4 June 2026]
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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
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 4r:4v, 31r:32v, 433r:433v, 463r:463v, back-i, front-a, back-a, spine-a, edge-a, head-a, tail-a, front-a-i, 499ar:499av, 562ar:562av, 617ar:617av, 694r:694v, 710r:710v, back-a-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence