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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [317v] (637/1814)
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.
410
PERSIA
sighehs must be counted the Munir-es-Sultaneh (Grandeur 0 f
the Empire), daughter of the late, and sister of the present Chief
Architect of Teheran, who is the mother of the Naib-es-Sultaneh
third son of the Shah, of whom I shall speak presently. Thg 01 1 ’
other sigheh who merits attention in this place is the Amin i
Akdas (Trusted of the Sovereign), a Kurdish slave, who has
acquired the confidence of the Shah by her business capacity and
honesty, and who is the aunt of the little boy favourite already
alluded to. She originally owed her position to having been the
devoted attendant of the Shah’s favourite cat, which I have before
mentioned. In the past year (1890) the Shah sent her to Vienna
to submit to an operation for cataract which, unfortunately was
not successful. Deeper into the secrets of the seraglio, or into a
further enumeration of Stars, Suns, Lights, and Glories of the
Empire, it is unnecessary to advance. Regarding the indoor
costume of these ladies, I can, of course, only speak from hearsay
But it is well known that, while in the days of Fath Ali Shah the
ladies of high rank wore silk or muslin shifts, loose velvet panta
loons, and an embroidered vest, the reigning sovereign has intro
duced a more liberal fashion of toilette. The upper part of the
dress consists of a chemise under a short jacket; below which
are worn very short, and very much puffed-out petticoats. 1 In
their excursions abroad the ladies of the Harem, as I have before
said, are as closely veiled as are Mohammedan women in general,
and more closely veiled than the favourites of the Seraglio at
Constantinople.
Neither in the number of his wives nor in the extent of his
progeny, can the Shah, although undeniably a family man, be
The Kajars com P arecl with his great-grandfather,” Path Ali Shah. To
as pro- the high opinion universally held of the domestic capacities
oi that monarch must, I imagine, be attributed the
divergent estimates that are to be found, in works about Persia, of
the number of his concubines and children. Colonel Drouville, in
1813, credits him with 700 wives, 64 sons, and 125 daughters.
Colonel Stuart, who was in Persia in the year after Path Alls
death, gives him 1,000 wives and 105 children. Lady Sheil, in
the next decade, mentions 80 sons, and innumerable daughters.
Binning names 800 wives, 130 sons, 170 daughters, and 5,000
living descendants, at the time of his death. Madame Dieulafoy
Vide Mrs. Bishop’s Journeys in Persia, vol. i. pp. 216, 264.
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 [317v] (637/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x00002c> [accessed 19 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