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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [747v] (1511/1814)
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.
416
PERSIA
Nevertheless there is such an absolute consensus of testimony
on the part of independent travellers of many nationalities that we
Splendour are fain to believe that the city of Ormuz must have
of city fully merited its world-wide renown. By the joint
energy of Arabs and Portuguese this barren rock was converted
into a rich and crowded mart, where the commerce of the two ends
of the world changed hands, and in whose bazaars might be
encountered all the hues of the Orient, from the tawny Arab of
Oman to the darker native of Coromandel or Malacca, and the
sable negro of Zanzibar. The Abbe Raynal, in his c History of the
East Indies’ (translated by Justamond) delivers this glowing
panegyric of Ormuz at the height of its fame :—
At the time of the arrival of foreign merchants Ormuz afforded a
more splendid and agreeable scene than any city in the East. Persons
from all parts of the globe exchanged their commodities and transacted
their business with an air of politeness and attention which are seldom
seen in other places of trade. These manners were introduced by the
merchants belonging to the ports, who induced foreigners to imitate
their affability. Their address, the regularity of their police, and the
variety of entertainments which their city afforded, joined to the
interests of commerce, invited merchants to make it a place of resort.
The pavement of the streets was covered with mats, and in some places
with carpets ; and the linen awnings which were suspended from the
tops of the houses prevented any inconvenience from the heat of the
Indian cabinets, ornamented with gilded vases or china, filled
sun.
with flowering shrubs or aromatic plants, adorned their apartments :
camels, laden with water, were stationed in the public squares ; Persian
wines, perfumes, and all the delicacies of the table, were furnished
in the greatest abundance ; they had the music of the East in its
highest perfection. In short, universal opulence and extensive com
merce, a refined luxury, politeness in the men, and gallantry in the
women, united all their attractions to make their city the seat of
pleasure.
In 1583, four brave English merchants, John Newberry, .Ralph
Fitch, William Leecles, and James Story (the first named of whom
English already in 1581 made the overland journey by Aleppo
merchants an( f Busrah to Ormuz and had stayed there six weeks), 1
their imaginations stirred by the great tales that were wafted west
wards of the wealth and profits of the East, started for India on
their own private venture. At Ormuz they were seized and thrown
1 Purchas’ Pilgrims, vol. ii. lib. ix. cap. 3.
t
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 [747v] (1511/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x000070> [accessed 4 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