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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [660v] (1337/1814)
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.
300
PERSIA
though self-contained, in deportment, obedient and hospitable
loyal to family and tribal ties, and wholly free from the abominable
vices of the Persians. On the other hand, they are savage when
excited, particularly in the pursuit of blood feuds, which are per
petuated from generation to generation, until sometimes entire
families have been extinguished, and are adroit and incurable
thieves. There is not a traveller amongst them who has not spoken
with suffering admiration of their dexterity in the latter respect,
from Stocqueler in 1831 to Mrs. Bishop in 1890. To the denizen
of cities their bearing presents a refreshing contrast to that of the
urban Persian. Smooth rascality finds no place here, but in their
character and mien is the free breath of their native hills.
Alike in costume and complexion, darkness is the prevailing
hue of the external man. Their hair is black, with its two long
uncut tufts curled behind the ear, black their bushy eye-
ance and brows and flashing eyes beneath, black the beard and
moustache, black the small skull-cap upon the head, black
the coat of the male, and blue-black the indigo-dyed cloak of the
female. The men are robust and muscular in appearance, and have
a very manly bearing. They wear loose trousers and a skirted
coat. Round the waist a cartridge-belt holds the ammunition for
the Martini-Peabody that is slung over the shoulder, a sword hangs
under the saddle flaps, a dagger and pistol are carried in the belt.
The women are tall and dark, of shapely limbs and erect carriage.
They are not veiled, and but little privacy marks the economy of
tented life. Polygamy appears to be almost universal, even amongst
the poor. On the other hand, matrimonial infidelity is rare and
domestic happiness common. The picture drawn by Layard of
the family life of the Chehar Lang chieftain is one of the most
touching features of his romantic tale. The women wear full
Turkish trousers, or, in the Jin de siecle vernacular, a divided skirt, a
loose chemisette, and a shawl above all. Cleanliness, it is to be
feared, is little known or appreciated by the nomads, and to this
must be attributed the diseases, both of the skin and eye, to which
they are liable. The latter ailment is exaggerated by the blinding
glare of the sun from rock and sand, and by the scant protection
afforded by the national head-dress. 1
It is as a horseman that the Bakhtiari has always been famous.
1 By far the best modern account of the habits and beliefs of the Bakhtiaris
is to be found in the vivacious pages of Mrs. Bishop.
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 [660v] (1337/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x00008a> [accessed 6 June 2026]
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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