![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎751r] (1518/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1536.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎751r] (1518/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [751r] (1518/1814)
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.
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J-z/Att .(llv+**- THE TEP,SIAN GULF v 423. ; .. ;
kxxK>~tiA^b.u-.-,a s ii,f. ' ■ ' ■ ^ 7 ^;
century they appealed for assistance to Sultan bin Ahmed, the
powerful ruler of Muscat. Nothing loth, the Sultan appeared ; / [p i0 °
upon the scene, made himself master of the triple possession, and ^ ^ , ^ //•: /
received a
firman
A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’).
from the Persian Government, transferring to « 1 L
him in leasehold the port and dependencies of Bunder Abbas, i.e.
a coast-strip nearly a hundred miles in length from Minau on the
east to Khamir on the west. At the same time he remained in
possession of Kishm and Ormuz, 1 w T hich his successors always
declared he had won by right of conquest from the Arabs, who had v
won them by a similar title from the Persians, whose suzerain
claims accordingly were disputed by Muscat. The friendly terms ; '
which were consistently observed between the East India Company
and the rulers of Oman enabled the former to negotiate a re
appearance at Bunder Abbas; and in 1798 a treaty was concluded
between the two parties, Mahdi Ali Khan being the English
signatory, which contained these words :—
In the port of Abassy (Gombroon) whenever the English shall be
disposed to establish a
factory
An East India Company trading post.
, I have no objection to their fortifying
the same, and mounting guns thereon as many as they list, and to 40
or 50 English gentlemen residing there with 700 or 800 English
sepoys
Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank.
;
and for the rest the rate of duties on goods on buying and selling will
be on the same footing as at Bussora and Abushahr. 2
I presume that the two smooth-bore brass guns, stamped with
the royal crown of England, and the initials G. R. (Georgius Rex)
surrounded by the motto, 4 Honi soit qui mal y pense,’ which I saw
lying upon the pier at Bunder Abbas, were either presents to this
faithful ally of the British Crown, or are reminiscences of the
affirmative reply made by the Company to the above invitation.
From time to time the Persian Government, in moments of
aggressiveness or elation, laid claim to the resumption of its
Re-asser- possessions; but it was not till 1852 that, in the absence
ti°n of 0 f Seyid Said of Aluscat in his southern dominions at
.Persian y
authority Zanzibar, they succeeded in ousting his deputy. The
Sultan, returning in high dudgeon, despatched an expedition for
the forcible recovery of the ports ; but, meeting with little success,
was obliged to conclude a new agreement upon much less favour-
1 In 1815 Morier found a garrison of 120 Nubian slaves and 80 Arabs,
maintained by the Sultan of Muscat, at Ormuz, as a guard against the Jowasmi
pirates.
2 C. O. Aitchison, Collection of Treaties, Engagements, and Sunnuds relating to
India and neighbouring Countries, vol. vii. No. xxxii.
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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 [751r] (1518/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x000077> [accessed 5 April 2025]
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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