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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [649v] (1315/1814)
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.
district on tli 6 sontli. Tlio territory comprised witlim these hound-
aries is susceptible of a twofold classification. First are the lofty
mountain ranges, from 8,000 to 12,000 feet in height, with peaks
of over 13,000 feet, in which are the sources of great rivers, the
Ab-i-Diz on the north, the Karun and Zendeh Rud 1 and their
confluents on the south-east; and their intervening valleys, from
6,000 to 8,000 feet in average elevation. This is Bakhtiari Land
proper. Here, in a ynise eu scene which unites all the elements of
natural grandeur,—snowy crags, rugged hills, mountain meies,
rushing torrents and profound ravines,—are the yeilaks or summer
quarters of the tribes. There is but little cultivation ; the people
are poor ; pasturage is the sole source of livelihood; and in the
winter months snow lies deeply and closes the passes against
the outer world. Secondly comes a series of plateaux, mountain
valleys, and elevated plains from 2,000 to 6,000 feet in height, which,
on the various sides, constitute a sort of glacis to the loftier ranges.
These lower haunts are either inhabited all the year round, or are
the winter resort of the nomads. They are richly watered, and
very fertile. On the north-east, immediately adjoining Burujird, is
the district of Silakhor. Next, almost from Burujird to Isfahan,
extends a plateau 200 miles long by from 40 to 50 in width, which
includes the district of Feraidan. Here are many Georgian and
Armenian families, the former Mussulmans, the latter Christians,
whose ancestors are reported to have been moved hither by Shah
Abbas in 1614-15. To the south-east of this plateau, on the
Isfahan side, lies the region of Chehar Mahal or Four Districts, again
dotted with Armenian villages, living peaceably under Bakhtiari
1 The meaning is Living river. I am not, however, confident that this is the
real derivation. The oldest Persian writers have Zandah End, i.e ‘ Great River/
Later on it was called Zendeh or Zindeh, i.e. Living, a nomenclature which is
endorsed by Hafiz in his Divan : 4 Although Zendeh Rud be 44 the water of life,”
yet is our Shiraz better than Isfahan.’ Other writers have Zarin Rud, or Golden
River, from the name of one of its parent streams. The name now in use appears
to be Zaiendeh Rud or Life-giving River, which is explained in the Jehan Nemail
of Haji Khalfeh as signifying the 4 river that lives again,’ because, if anywhere
intercepted in its course, it breaks forth anew with equal vigour.
2 In the north-west is a small lake, at the foot of the Shuturun Kuh (i.e. Camel
Mountain, from its shape), which was discovered by Major Sawyer in 1890, and
was named by him Lake Irene. In the south-east are the twin-lakes of Siligun
(properly Sulejan), and the lake of Chaghkhor, which drain to the Kurang or
Karun. The elevation of these lakes is 8,000 feet. They are formed by the-
melting snows of spring, and are usually dry in the summer and autumn. *
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 [649v] (1315/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000074> [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