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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [664r] (1344/1814)
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 305
up the river from Busrah, and despatched by mule caravans
starting twice a month for Dizful. 1 In the earlier part of this
century, until replaced by Shushter, it was the seat of government
of Arabistan, and a large palace was built here by Mohammed Ali
Mirza.
At Dizful, at Shushter, at Hawizeh, and at Mohammerah, are
still to be found a few relics of the interesting and obscure com-
Sabians mun ity, known as the Sabians, frequently miscalled the
Christians of St. John. In former days the sectaries of
this faith were very numerous in Mesopotamia ; and in the seven-
teenth century Petis de la Croix reported 10,000 in Busrah alone.
Bven in 1840 Layard found 300 to 400 families in Shushter;
but in 1877 Schindler only heard of 50 families on Persian soil,
and of not more than 500 families elsewhere. These are very poor,
and are mostly employed either as peasants or as silversmiths. I
have some engraved seals of their workmanship. The greatest
uncertainty and confusion have prevailed as to the religious beliefs
of this sect, who have been alternately classified as Hebrews and
Christians, though widely removed from either. A still further
and more serious confusion has arisen from their name, which has
caused them to be mistaken for the Sabgeans, who were star-
worshippers and who are mentioned as such in the Old Testament,
the name of the latter (which appears in the Koran as Sabiuna)
being variously derived from the Arabic Saba, the heavenly host,
or Sab, grandson of Enoch, who was a great prophet of that sect.
Similarly in the time of the Khalif Mamun, a.d. 830, the people of
Harran, who were polytheists and star-worshippers, appear, perhaps
for the protection that it might afford them, to have assumed the
name of Sabians, to which in all probability they had no right. The
name of the true Sabians is believed to be derived from the Aramaic
Sabi-yun, i.e. Baptists. They call themselves Mandai Yahiai or
followers of St. John. The latter, i.e. the Baptist, is their chief
prophet, although they recognise the divinity of God, and are said
to have some conception of the Trinity. They have no churches,
but water plays a large part in their ritual observance, baptism,
frequently renewed, being the principal ceremony, while marriage
and prayer both require the use of running water. Some of them
employ the sign of the Cross, which is variously explained as an act
of symbolism, or as a relic of a possible conversion to Christianity
1 This route was followed by Madame Dieulafoy in 1882 (Za Perse, cap xxxvii 1
VOL. II. ' ’
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 [664r] (1344/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000091> [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