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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎726v] (1469/1814)

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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394
PEESIA
upon the north, in which entire distance not a single Persian craft
will be encountered upon the waters.
It is true that on the Murdab, or Lagoon of Enzeli, the Shah
possesses a small dilapidated paddle-wheel steamer bearing the proud
The Shah’s °f ‘ Shahinshah Nasr-ed-Din/ which was specially
yacht constructed in order to convey his Majesty to the limits
of Persian territory on his first journey to Europe. But not even
is this royal plaything exempt from the stern law of the Musco
vite taskmaster, for, upon one occasion, having proceeded as far
as Baku, gaily flying the Persian flag, the vessel was greeted
by a shot from the fort. The Persian commander, delighted
at the graceful compliment, kept merrily on. Bang came another
shot, rather closer than the first. Still he proceeded: a third
brought him to his senses, and the Persian flag was hurriedly
hauled down. Such is the majesty of the King of Kings on the
Caspian.
Thus cribbed and cabined on the north, the Persian Govern
ment has at times turned an aspiring eye upon the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
The Per- where no hostile Leviathan guards the waves, and dreams
sum Gulf of naval supremacy whereon have occasionally floated d
before her eyes. About the year 1865, the Shah mooted the idea
of a I ersian naval flotilla in the Gulf, to consist of two or three
steamers, manned by Indian or Arabian crews, and commanded
by an English naval officer. The idea was discountenanced by
the British Government, to whom it was known that the project
really concealed aggressive designs upon the independence of the
islands and pearl fisheries of Bahrein.
Finally, in 188o, the scheme was revived in a more innocent
shape, and there was then laid the foundation, and also thecoping-
The ‘ Per- stone of the modern Persian navy, which consists of the
proud total of one vessel, designated the i Persepolis.’ In
that year the son of the Mukhber-ed-Dowleh was despatched to
Euiope to order a man-of-war for the Shah. Having previously
received a German education, he naturally went to Germany; and
aftei protracted negotiations, and a still longer haggle when the
bill was presented for payment, the c Persepolis,’ a screw steam
ship of 600 tons, of 450 horse-power, was turned out from the
dockyaid of Bremerhaven in January 1885, and despatched with
German officers and a German crew to the Gulf. With her was
sent out in sections, which were put together at Mohammerah, a

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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
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎726v] (1469/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x000046> [accessed 24 June 2026]

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