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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [219v] (441/1814)
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.
258
PERSIA
At the crest of each ridge, where the road, now rapidly-
ascending, topped the rise, grateful pilgrims wending to the holy-
The piety cit 7 hacl > as t]ie J c^g^t sight of the gilded cupola of the
of pilgrims Prophet, piled little heaps of stone in pious thanksgiving.
The symbolism of these erections is said to be that the pilgrim is
building in anticipation a home for the next world, either for the
dear departed, or for those who may survive him, or for himself.
Every knoll was thickly covered with these emblems of devotion..
The topmost of all, where the new-comer first discerns the sacred
pile, is known as Salaam Tepe, or Kuh-i-Salaam (the Hill of Saluta
tion) ; and there is an analogous site upon the Dehrud road.
Here, as he first comes in sight of his destination, the excited
Shiah Mussulman kneels, and strikes his forehead upon the
ground, and sobs aloud at the recollection of the indignities that
were heaped upon the martyrs of his faith; here he tears off little
fragments of his dress, and ties them to a bramble or a bush, in
order that the holy Imam may recognise them and plead for him in
Paradise; here he unfurls his coloured banner; and here with
loud cries of ‘ Ya Ali,’ 4 Ya Husein, 5 and ‘ Ya Imam Reza,’ he presses
forward to the long-sought goal. Many times I turned back my
self to look, but the entire valley was wrapped in a tornado of
dust, the white clouds of which rolled upwards like the smoke of
a prairie fire.
At the top of one of these hills is an upright slab of stone r
which has been erected to commemorate the piety of a former
Governor-General of Khorasan, who was exiled to this post after
being both Sadr Azem, or Grand Yizier, and Sipah Salar, or
Commander-in-Chief, at Teheran, and who earned a great reputa
tion, particularly with pilgrims, for improving the Meshed road
and adorning it with substantial caravanserais. His name still lives,
both on the slab of slate and on the lips of many a grateful Meshedi.
Following the telegraph poles, and winding over a succession
of bleak but undulating ridges, we passed the
caravanserai
A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers).
of
Sherifabad -^ uru ^? situated by a stream. The road was thronged
with pedestrians, with camels, and donkeys ; and I even
saw a wheeled vehicle which had stuck fast on one of the hills.
At length in a hollow we came upon the domed
caravanserai
A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers).
of
Sherifabad, erected by the famous Ishak Khan of Turbat-i-Haideri,
of whom I have spoken in the chapter on Khorasan, at the begin
ning of this century. Here it was that in 1831 the eccentric Hr.
i
i
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 [219v] (441/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213844.0x000030> [accessed 9 July 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