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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [691r] (1398/1814)
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.
*
t
THE KARUN RIVER 339
In 1820 Mohammerah was, for a short time, the head-quarters
of the British
Residency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
, which was moved hither from Busrah, in
consequence of disturbances between the Turks and Arabs at the
latter place, and the prevalence of piracy on the river above.
Sir Henry Layard, in his ‘ Early Adventures ’—one of the most
romantic narratives of adventure ever penned, and so rich in
incident that one is at a loss to understand why the author should
have delayed its publication for forty years—describes the im
portant part played by Mohammerah in the conflicts between
Turkey and Persia in the first half of this century. Attacked
and taken by a Turkish force, but subsequently abandoned by
them, it was in November 1841 occupied by the Persian troops,
who, under the infamous Motemed-ed-Dowleh, pilloried for ever
by Bayard’s unsparing pen, had undertaken an expedition against
the Ka’b Arabs of the Karun. When the fighting was over, the
Turks claimed the territory on the ground that it was situated,
not on the Karun proper, but on an artificial canal which
appertained to the northern littoral of the Shat-el-Arab. On
their side the Persians v declined to withdraw, advancing the
counter-claim that no one could certify the origin of the Hafiar
branch, which, for all practical purposes, was both a physical con
tinuation and the natural mouth of the Karun river. Layard
himself, who, from his intimate knowledge of the locality, was
employed by Lord Aberdeen to report upon the matter, recom
mended its cession to Turkey; but the Russian Government,
taking a strong line in favour of Persia, the English Government
followed its lead; and when the Treaty of Erzerum was signed
Mohammerah was left, and has ever since remained, in Persian
hands. At a later date it cut a somewhat inglorious figure in the
Anglo-Persian war of 1857, when it was hastily fortified by the
Persians, and was incontinently shelled from the river by six
British men-of-war. After the bombardment was over, and the
British troops had landed to attack, the defending force vanished,
without striking a blow, into the desert . 1 Now it is little more
Spasines, received his name—i.e. Spasini Charax. Ardeshir Babekan, when re
building the town about 285 A.D., changed its name from Kerkh Misan (Charax
of Mesene) to Astrabad. Vide Sir H. Rawlinson, Journal of the R.G.8., vol. xxvii.
p. 185 ; and W. F. Ainsworth, Personal Narrative t vol. ii. pp. 168-9.
1 There were four Persian batteries on the mainland and five on the opposite
side of the river, with casemated batteries, exceedingly well placed. The Persian
army consisted of 13,000 men, under Prince Khanlar. The British force was
z 2
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 [691r] (1398/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x0000c7> [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