![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎619r] (1254/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1268.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎619r] (1254/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [619r] (1254/1814)
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.
229
FROM SHIRAZ TO BUSHIRE
the main Persian army in that short-lived campaign. The British
troops had landed south of Bushire in December, had stormed the
fort of Beshire, and had shelled and captured Bnshire. Then on
February 3 they advanced: 2,200 English, 2,000 Indian and
Beluch troops, 420 Indian cavalry, 2 light field batteries, and 18
guns. The Persian army, under the Shuja-el-Mulk, consisting of
5,000 infantry, 800 cavalry, and 18 guns, was encamped at
Borazjun. Upon the approach of Outram they bolted without
firing a shot, leaving their camp, equipments, and ammunition as a
prey to the British. Outram blew up their powder magazine, and,
conscious that nothing was to be gained, but everything lost,
by throwing himself into the totals, began to march back towards
Bushire—a movement which the Persians, who are learned in the
casuistry of retreat, have always interpreted as a sign of discom
fiture. In the night the Persian cavalry attacked the column,
while the infantry were found drawn up at Khushab. The
cavalry and artillery of the British very soon decided the contest,
and by the early morning the Persians were in full flight, leaving
700 killed, as against 16 of the British force. The theatre of war
was then transferred to the Karun, where, in a later chapter, I
shall allude to the even less creditable show made by the serbaz of
the Shah. It was probably not a very wise step to send a British
force to Bushire at all, unless we meant to hold the place. As it was,
the war partook of the nature of a series of demonstrations, which
were rather summarily cut short by the Treaty of Paris in March.
The ordinary caravan-track from Borazjun to Bushire runs via
Ahmedi (where is a
caravanserai
A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers).
), and across the low-lying, often
Shif swampy ground, called the Mashileh, that connects the
peninsula of Bushire with the mainland. The distance is
a little under forty miles. For such, however, as are fortunate
enough to receive the British Resident’s hospitality, and the
loan of his steam-launch, a shorter route is available from Borazjun
to Shif, a distance of twenty-five miles; whence a short sea passage
across the arm of the Gulf that severs Bushire from the coast
deposits the delighted traveller at the terminus of his journey. The
road to Shif is as smooth as a billiard table, crawling over which at
a pace adapted to the movements of tired baggage-mules is slow
work. At Khushab the inhabitants were engaged in shaking the
locusts from the boughs of the tamarisk trees, and greedily picking
them up and stuffing them into sacks for future use at the
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 [619r] (1254/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000037> [accessed 2 April 2025]
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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