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Manuscript of Persia and the Persian Question (Continued) [‎43v] (86/690)

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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. .

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Y,>W •
round which, in open stalls, smiths and brass-workers were making a
horrid din, and which was the wreck of a once extensive bazaar.
Thus, almost before I was aware of it, I found myself in the interior
of the capital of Khuzista n, and perhaps the most dilapidated city in
7 \ Persia. ^
/ f \ The derivation of the name Shunter is not positively certain,
^ i ) though in all likelihood it is a diminutive of t-he root Suo or Shush,
q 1 ily and consecrated to more than one site in this
neighbourhood, particularly to the great mounds of Sus or Shush,
commonly called Susa, and now definitely ascertained to be the ruins
of “Shushan the palace,” wherein Daniel relates that he saw the
vision . 1 Sir Hu ~MimWh Smithj-he^v—) \ r,M
. fliiy mI* flip TDiu* Whether or not the town was
built by Shapur, the famous warrior king of the Sassanian dynasty
1 (the probability being that it is of earlier date), that it has been the
<2 4 ity of Swings is certain, not] merely from tradition but from the
massive relics still surviving of a truly royal rule. Here, beyond
doubt, the victorious monarch used occasionally to reside, and here he
left perhaps the most striking and permanent among the many
visible memorials of his zeal for public works and architectural
splendour, that are still to be found scattered amid the mountains
and valleys of south Persia. From this time forward, Shunter,
elevated by the engineering works of Shapur into a strategical post
of capital importance, continued to play a prominent part in history.
At the time of the Arab invasion, its inhabitants made a stout resist
ance, un'.il betrayed by one of their own number. Profiting by this
experience, when the r^ext or Mongol wave of invasion beat against
their gates, the Shus^eris yielded to the power, and were the
recipients of the clemency of Timur, who is even said to have
repaired the dyke of Valeriajar./l Later on, under the S^fulp dynasty,
the town became a great centre of the Shiah propaganda, and a hot
bed of religious fanaticism. It continued to be the capital of a
province and the seat of Government until the early part of. the
present century, when it was the residence of Mohammed Ali Mtrza,
son of Fat*i Ali Shah, and Governor-General of Kerman^hah, s!
Luristan, and Arabistan, at which time it is reported, though pro
bably without truth, to have contained 45,000 souls. Depopulated,
and all but destroyed by a severe plague in 1831-2, which carried
off nearly 20,000 souls, and attacked by the cholera afterwards, it
was superseded as the provincial capital by Dizful, and has never t ,
1 rallied since.//The most conflicting estimates have been given of its
numbers by different travellers. In 1836, General Chesney reported >, i
it to/contain 5,000—6,000 houses and 20,000 inhabitants. In the ^\j
(1) Danie l viii . 2 .—- ^ /p - ^
(journal of the Society of Arte, May 10th, 1889^) j 0,
L tr /ft/- ^
S SkaXr-aj ry CS^CCl *i.- ££jls ^ cA '
^ v- cr-Khut^ J l er erjz
w r CUZj ^ /XjLs <4
^ /3 ^ jxwJ
' . _ lx

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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English in Latin script
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Manuscript of Persia and the Persian Question (Continued) [‎43v] (86/690), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/32, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100076276758.0x000057> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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