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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [719v] (1455/1814)
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.
PERSIA
384
At the time I wrote that I did not think that these tactics
would be likely in the long run to succeed; partly because every
Prospect fresh introduction of foreign influence into Persia had
m 1889 w ithj but by patience had ultimately vanquished, the
same antagonism, partly because the intrinsic prospects of trade
were so good that the Persians were unlikely for long to turn the
cold shoulder upon a project by which money might stick to their
own fingers, and because the Government, by the construction of
public buildings and of a telegraphic wire, had already shown a
personal, even if a selfish, interest in the development of the con
cern. After a lapse of one and a half year I will now narrate
how far these anticipations have been realised, and what was the
position of affairs in the summer of 1891.
Of the steps that have since been taken for the furtherance of
trade either by the Persian or the British authorities, three were
recommended by me in 1889 as essential. The first of
Subse- _ . .
quent tnese was an arrangement tor the navigation of the river
progress ^qyq Ahwaz in correspondence with the steamers
running below. The c Susa ’ now navigates the Gerger to Shushter
in connection with Persian vessels on the lower river, while the
‘ Shushan,’ which was presented by Messrs. Lynch to the Persian
Government, plies on the Shuteit in connection with the ‘ Blosse
Lynch 7 below. There is thus a double steam service in existence
from Mohammerah to Shushter. Secondly, a British Vice-Consul
has most wisely been appointed at Mohammerah, and has already
found time to pen an official report to his department. 1 And,
thirdly, an attempt is now being made by the Imperial Bank, in
co-operation with the Peisian Government, to reopen the northern
road from Khorremabad to Dizful, about which I have spoken as a
future trade artery into the interior of Persia. The Persians are
slowly building caravanserais upon this route, and m a still more
leisurely fashion ai e taking steps to check the lawless vagaries of
the Sagwand and Denkwand tribes of Lurs, who are usually out
on the war-path, and who have up till now rendered this section of
road quite unsafe for merchandise. A little firmness on the part
of the Central Government would result in the suppression of
these sporadic disorders, and would give the new commercial
avenue that fair chance which has hitherto been denied to it. I
think it unlikely that the through j^ouTcjon^ or wag'on-service, from
1 Annual series of Diplomatic and Consular Reports, No. 826 (1891).
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 [719v] (1455/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x000038> [accessed 7 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