![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎765r] (1546/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1566.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎765r] (1546/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [765r] (1546/1814)
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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JHE
PERSIAN GULF
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
danger with which Oman is constantly threatened ; but it may be
that now, as heretofore, other and more pressing engagements will
distract the attention of the Amir of Nejd.
Muscat, the capital of Oman, is probably one of the most
picturesque places in the world. From a distance immense granitic
C ; ty 0 f masses of rock, with jagged outline of cliff and crag, aie
Muscat seen ascending in gloomy abruptness from the sea. Far in
land ridge rises upon ridge, splintered edge above and savage fissures
between, the impression being that of a country npheaved from
nature’s primgeval cauldron, and still scarred and blackened by
those terrific fires. In this sea-wall of sheer rock a gap is suddenly
disclosed, opening into a little cove, landlocked on three of its sides
by these stupendous natural ramparts. In the furthermost recess
of the bight, which is about one mile deep by half a mile in width,
upon a narrow space of flat ground, left by some freak of nature
between the mountains and the sea, is built the Arab capital, its
plastered houses glittering against the sombre background like a
seagull’s wing against an angry sky. The town and bay face to
the north. On the western side the rocks fall precipitously into
the water, and not even a pathway can be carried round then
base. Opposite, the eastern wall of the bay, no less lofty or steep,
is actually an rsland, as rts name El Jazirah shows, and, as rs seen
when we anchor off the town, a gap of 100 yards or more in width
severing it from the mainland. To the English visitor this great
metamorphic mass, whose slaty buttresses support not a grain of
soil, much less a blade of vegetation, 1 appeals wrth a novel interest j
for its rocks are seen to be freely bedecked at every elevation from
the water’s edge with the names of the British men-of-war who
have, at different times, visited the station, painted in huge white
characters upon uny r smooth surface that could be found. H.At.S.
4 Osprey,’ H.M.S. c Kingfisher,’ H.M.S. ‘ Woodlark,’ H.M.S.
‘Sphinx,’ and many another goodly vessel, including even an
American frigate, have thus left to later ages the proud record of
their sojurn at Muscat * These decorations, however, appear to be
an evidence less of the Aesthetic than of the too convivial instincts
of the British mariner; for, upon inquiry, I learnt that the ship’s
crews of men-of-war are never allowed to land in the town of
Muscat, for fear of the possible consequences of their hilarity; and
1 Aucher Eloy, the botanist, said that, compared with the Muscat hills, those
of Sinai itself are a garden. ,
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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 [765r] (1546/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x000093> [accessed 13 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