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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [698r] (1412/1814)
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 KARUN RIVER
347
commonly said to be five of these ; but three only present at all a
serious impediment to navigation, the remaining two being very
slight and, when the river is full, all but imperceptible. Below
the lowest rapid, where the ‘ Shush an ’ anchored, the river contracts
to a breadth of about 200 to 250 yards. It then begins to expand,
and two large islands composed of silt occur in mid stream.
Above this, at the point where are the middle and main rapid
and the remains of the ancient bund, the right bank is deeply
embayed by the impact of the current, and the distance from
shore to shore is approximately half a mile. Higher up it narrows
again, and resumes its normal width of about 400 yards . 1
Starting from the south and moving up stream, I found the
first rapid, which is formed some distance below the point of the
The great t w0 l ar g e islands, invisible save for a slight swirl in the
dam current, although the reef of rock which causes it was
above the surface. The second rapids, two in number, formed by
a ledge of rock at the head of the same islands, were also insignifi
cant. Then came two more formidable barriers. The fall in the
third set of rapids is very perceptible, and the rush of water was
powerful, but not overwhelming. At the fourth rapid, above 150
yards higher up the stream, and in the full sweep of the bend, the
water dashes with a roar through two gateways at the west
extremity of a much more prominent rocky reef, stretching right
across the river, and supporting the massive remains of the great
dyke of Ahwaz. This famous structure, commonly attributed to
the Sassanian monarchs, was designed to hold up the waters of the
Karun, which were then diffused by means of ditches and canals
through the surrounding country, at that time and for long after
renowned for its rich plantations of the sugar-cane. The ruins of
the dam, upon which it is likely that, as at Shush ter, there may
have been superimposed a bridge, survive in the shape of big
masses of masonry, still held together by an indestructible cement,
and built upon each of the rocky islets that here span the current.
The abutment on the right bank is also visible, having withstood-
the floods of centuries. Though it is but little, yet enough
remains to show the solid and imposing character of the ancient
work, and to indicate the revolution that it must have effected in
1 All figures of breadth, depth, or volume relating to the Karun vary con
siderably, according to the season of the year and the state of the water at the
time of the writer’s visit.
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 [698r] (1412/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x00000d> [accessed 19 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