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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎680v] (1377/1814)

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. .

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328
PERSIA
Turkish soil in 1812, and to have ousted that section of the Ka’b
Arabs who occupied this district. Hawizeh was once an important
The Mun- place, with a population of 24,000 souls, at the time when
tefik it was the capital of the Yali of Arabistan. Its agricultural
wealth depended upon the River Kerkhah, whose waters spread
bounty over the land. In 1837, however, the main dam burst;
the river dissipated itself in futile swamps, and Hawizeh shrank
from a great town to a petty village. It is still governed by a
sheikh of the old ruling family, claiming a sacred lineage; and
according to his strength or weakness he receives the allegiance of
a larger or smaller number of tribes. The majority of his people
have always remained Sunnis. Surrounded by their marshes, they
are fairly safe from encroachment.
I have now completed my survey of the only part of the Persian
dominions where anything like independence still exists among
the component chiefs and tribes. That independence is
fast vanishing before a power that is in command of tho
electric telegraph, and possesses breech-loading guns. It has already
been sapped by the tribal jealousy and the petty rivalries of which
the Central Government has never been slow to take advantage.
Personally I shall regret its disappearance, convinced as I am that
these people, Lurs and Arabs alike, have within them a manhood
which alone can sustain the nation in time of need, and that firm
but honourable rule and an equitable taxation were all that was
needed to convert them into loyal subjects. As it is, they dislike
the Persians, and detest the Government: and, when the call
comes for their co-operation, £ To your tents, 0 Israel 5 is more
likely to be the nomads’ response.
Supplementary Routes in South-west Persia . 1
Burujird to Hamadan.— (Sir) H. Layard (1811), Early Adventures, vol. i.
pp. 277-88 ; J. P. Ferrier (1845), pp. 83-4; A. H. Schindler (1877), Zeit. der
Gesell. fur Erd. zu Berlin, vol. xiv.; Mrs. Bishop (1890), Journey in Persia, vol. ii.
Letter xxii.
Burujird to Kum. —Baron C. De Bode (1840), Travels, vol. ii. pp. 311-19;
A. H. Schindler (1877), ibid.
Burujird to Isfahan {via Khonsar).—J. Otter (1737), Voyage en Perse ;
A. H. Schindler (1877), ibid.
Burujird to Shushter {via Khorremabad and Dizful, 250 miles).—Baron
C. De Bode (1840), voh ii. pp. 162-268; A. Rivadeneyra (1874), Viaje al
1 In this table ibid, signifies the work by the same writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. before mentioned.
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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
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎680v] (1377/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x0000b2> [accessed 5 June 2026]

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