![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎832v] (1681/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1711.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎832v] (1681/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [832v] (1681/1814)
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.
530
TERSIA
many of them uniting the functions of the historian with the
pursuits of the tradesman; the flag of each nation has flown m
turn upon Persian waters, or its coinage has changed lands m
Persian bazaars. In the dawn of recorded history and down to a
time posterior to the Christian era, the great marts of interchange
between the East and West were situated on the Chaldman rivers,
not far from the head of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
Here were Babylon,
‘ a land of traffic, a city of merchants,’ and Teredon. Here after
wards were founded Seleucia and Ctesiphon, Busrah and Baghdad.
To the expedition of Alexander we owe the practical commence
ment of Indo-European trade, just as to the voyage of his admiral,
Nearchus, we are indebted for our earliest minute acquaintance
with the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
. Under his Seleucid successors, and under
their supplanters the Romans, the trade between Asia and Europe
followed a triple line, either by caravans from the Oxus to the
Caspian, or via the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
and Syria, or by the Red Sea and
Egyptian route to Alexandria. By one or other of these three
routes came to Europe the precious stones and pearls, the spices
and silks of the Orient. When the capital of the Empire was moved
to Bvzantium, the Egyptian route languished, and the oveiland
route" from India was" preferred, leading through Afghanistan,
Persia, and Asia Minor to the Bosphorus. Persia gradually acquired
a monopoly of the silk trade, until in the reign of Justinian, two
monks, travelling from China, brought with them the eggs of the
silkworm m the hollow of a cane, and staited a rival giowth m
Europe. A little later the conquests of the sectaries of Mohammed
completed the mercantile ruin of Alexandria, and transferred to
Arab hands the control of Eastern trade, and more especially of
the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
. Keis, or Kisi, and Ormuz successively became the
emporia of Oriental commerce; and to Busrah were brought in
Arab holds the commodities of far Cathay. Such was the situation
when the commercial enterprise of the Italian Republics once again
brought Europe as a competitor on to the scene, assisted by the
re-awakened enthusiasm for the East that was the natural conse
quence of the wars between Cross and Crescent. Venice is said
to have imported silk from the East as early as 555 A.D., and to
date from 300 years later the commencement of her long mercan
tile reign. With Amalfi, and later with Florence, she reopened and
engrossed the Egyptian route to India in the tenth century. Genoa,
on the other hand, turned her attention to the northern avenues
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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [832v] (1681/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000052> [accessed 6 July 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000052
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000052">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎832v] (1681/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000052"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1711.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- 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