![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎660r] (1336/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1352.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎660r] (1336/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [660r] (1336/1814)
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.
THE SOUTH-WESTERN PROVINCES
299
£
and cows tlie principal source of wealth. Of the former theie aie
estimated to be 300,000 in the Bakhtiari mountains. But little
trade is conducted by the nomads except the supply of
Hfe and ri mutton to the Isfahan market and the growth of tobacco
habits ppQ plains towards Shushter and Dizful. A scanty
surplus of grain is sometimes exported, but the bulk disappears in
home consumption. In former days the chiefs kept large studs of
horses, and the Bakhtiari breed gained a repute that has not yet
perished. These animals, which are of a mixed stock with a strong
strain of Arab blood, are admirably adapted to the country, being
nimble, sure-footed, and enduring ; but their number has greatly
diminished, and the tribe could no longer turn out, as in the days
of Mohammed Taki Khan, a cavalry contingent of several thousand
men. Mules are not now reared or kept by the Bakhtiaris, except
for transport purposes, but they have a fine breed of donkeys. The
bulk of the tribesmen are very poor, and in their black tents will
be found neither gold nor silver, but vessels only of iron and copper.
There is next to no education, except among the families of the
chiefs, who sometimes keep a wbunshi. In the settled villages the
parish mullah acts as a sort of self-constituted schoolmaster, but
his attainments and curriculum are equally narrow. Outwardly
and by hereditary descent the Bakhtiaris are Mohammedans, but
they care little for Koran or Prophet, scoff at mullahs and seyids,
and have no mosques. The shrines of jyiTS, or departed saints, aie
an object of attention and pilgrimage, and each stone added to the
little commemorative pile signifies a vow fulfilled or a prayer uttered.
Nevertheless the Bakhtiaris are not without a crude and simple
faith of their own. They are believers alike in the existence and
in the unity of God, and entertain elementary notions of Heaven
and Hell, of a future life, and of a judgment day. Their burial
places are usually located on low mounds, unfenced. A rough-
hewn lion, whereon are sculped in rude imagery the sword, musket,
dagger, powder-flask, and cartridge-belt of the deceased, marks the
tribesman’s grave. 1 Their character presents a strange combination
of dignity and licence. For, on the one hand, they are modest,
1 Fryer, in the seventeenth century (Travels, p. 385), was told in Persia that the
emblem of a lion on a tombstone denoted one who had died in the strength of
his age. Compare the tale related by Pausanias (Bocot. 40) of the Ihebans who
had perished in battle against Philip, and whose graves were marked by a lion to
signify their magnanimous heroism.
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 [660r] (1336/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000089> [accessed 5 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000089
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_100157213848.0x000089">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎660r] (1336/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000089"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1352.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