Manuscript of Persia and the Persian Question (Continued) [41v] (82/690)
The record is made up of 1 file (218 folios). It was created in 1890. It was written in English. 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.
Y)<v7- ' i0
r
h
.r ** .LEAYES- PROFq^DLQa-Qjr THE EAIIUJJ l{] v j^k,
l . . . V"
projecting .tongue of soil between the streams of the Sh^teit and
Ab-i-G^rg^r, and on the right bank of the latter. It is entirely
biirrounded, however, by the ruins of a large und important city,
which were for the first time examined by Sir H. Layard in 1842,
an( ^ ^ Dd k e ^ on t 3 t° three periods, Kaianian. Sa^sanian, and
Arab>->being identified by him with the remains of the early Persian
city Rustum-Kowadh and the Arab Askeri-Mukratr/^ At the time
of my visit the old bricks were being utilised, by orders of the
j Nizam^es-Sultaneh, to construct a fort and telegraph station on the
bank of the Sh^teit, the Government having decided to establish
telegi aphic communication between Shuler and Mohammerah.
These ruins, the physical surroundings of Bund-i-Kir, and the
significance of its name, unite in eloquent testimony to a period,
long dead and forgotten, when this wilderness blossomed like a rose,
and when busy peoples, great public works, and a diligent cultiva
tion beautified the now silent banks of the triple stream.
La} ard represented the colour of the three rivers which here con
verge as being conspicuously different, that of the Ab-i-Diz being
very dark, from the rich alluvial mould through w’hich it flows, the
Sh^teit, or Karun proper, being of a dull reddish hue, and the
G^rg^tr canal a milky white. I did not observe this difference,
which is probably more or less noticeable according to the state of
the waters. A.t the point of confluence the first-named river ap
peared to me to be about 80 yards wide, the second 150 yards, and
the third 60 yards, their united volumes occupying a bed about 300
l
3
i
^ A
yards in wid
tUyfnl ri-irQT. ^
^ 1 ^ J0 nfi fnr
■♦Shatoit. which
rtiKjL
r h .d
mot hero fellaw the ooupqo eithci 1 of
-within fiiv_ railaa.
pimmed by Layavd and Bdb} in Lhu Ami)) m
1) lllf mny fp—Qf
wao also aocendcd by them ia - the same tcsoo! to
irr the aaine
, • limy mm ML-HniMdr My own
J courSG m the Susa^ was to lie up the G$rg£r, or artificial canal,
^wmch, owing to its greater depth and less shifting bed, k-at prooent-
tho ealy available river approach to the capital. How I ended by
steaming
dow
A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
r n instead of up the G$rg£r, the circumstances which I
shall now narrate will explain.
c It was 0.30 p.mT when we ranup alongside the bank at Bund-i-
Kir; ^ and the Susa having already occupied more than eighteen
hours steaming, exclusive of twelve hours’ stoppage at night, in
reaching the half-way point between Ahwaz and Shuster, 1 ° began
to be doubtful when, if ever, I should arrive at the latter place, the
more so as the Ab-i-G€rg£r has a somewhat precarious channel, and
it was not unlikely that the Susa might ground on a shoal. The
engineer, of course, assured me that if I remained in the boat he would
I 7? G -S'
(1) Journal of the Royal Gwyrapkwtl Somttj, vol. xvi., p. 63.
^ L (2) Early Adventures, vol. ii., p. 28.
The Ab-i-diz descends from a distant sou^oSin the mighty Zagros
range. What is really its parent T1 | M n| j
bwaimuo nu ItTO inupn ^.u it imytliing like-ihe same dm^inw, ouino
taamnpi it tn IfhnreTindvid, otliowi 4io Ktiuiciiislraii .mQ ltul Ihiiimd.ui.
Here, however, I am only concerned with its lower course, when, after
passing the town of Dizful, it meanders through a jungle-grown and
untilled plain until its union with the Karun at Bund-i-kir. This river
has onlyoncc been ascended in a steamer, namely, by Kmitonumt Selby
and ^rft^Layard in the Assyria in the late spring of 1842, after their
successful ascents of the Slittteit and the G^rg^F. Pursuing with some
difficulty an exce&l^ly tortuous channel, they at length came to a spot
called Kaleh Bunder,' about 25 miles in a direct line, and a good deal
moie by water, from Bund-i-kir. There they found the river divided
into two branches by an island, and a natural bund or rocky reef
stretching across both. Penetrating by an opening in the right barrier,
they continued their ascent for a few miles further, and then finding
the stream very shallow and the current strong, turned round and
steamed back to Buud-i-kir. SoTar as I kuqyvtho Diz hasnBVer
since been ascended or explored by an^glMmmm The jungle on its
banks is said to abound in lions, amPTrecommend it to any adventurous
sportsman. ^ JS. ^
urf-J
oJ^
[UjU
^ ^ i‘
.§ j
df 3
It JDj
C3 03
h
^ -
II
«4=l
■jj 'T r—<
•S ^ ® 3
1 Ti
M o H
i*ii
lid
Id
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About this item
- Content
This file contains sections of the handwritten manuscript of the book Persia and the Persian Question by George Nathaniel Curzon. These papers come as part of the full handwritten draft of the book that comprises the shelfmarks Mss Eur F111/30-32. The printed edition of the book can be found in the file with the shelfmark Mss Eur F111/33.
Eventually published in 1892, the papers in this file cover the ancient and modern history, geography, and social and political aspects of Persia during the late nineteenth century when George Curzon temporarily lived in Persia. The manuscript also discusses the Russian and British presence in Persia and the author's views on the two countries' respective strategies in the country. The papers also include some of George Curzon's own travel writing while in Persia.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (218 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged by chapter as part of a handwritten manuscript.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of volume one (ff 1-220) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 221-345); 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-344; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/32
- Title
- Manuscript of Persia and the Persian Question(Continued)
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:344v, back-i, back
- Author
- Curzon, George Nathaniel, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
- Copyright
- ©The British Library Board
- Usage terms
- Creative Commons Attribution Licence