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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [383r] (768/1814)
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.
THE NORTH-WEST AND WESTERN PROVINCES
529
nfor w 0Wl
16 native C nir ■
OTi ”« *b a
W
ln ^ between tt,
^ 9- larp’e ,
ia 7 ndT ^i!
^ andtWfc
t0 indi( atea C o,
l01 ig been
b profits of
cious system 0 f v
^ution in this mar]
^change, and from
v hich is as low as
j easily achieved 1
ite means of escap
)e much improve!
about for years v
:ish frontier (on
nee to Kazvin, wl
; (2) via Ardebil
rto come of eithe
nent busy with tl
l politics, however
d of your nose;
The Manchester]
>f business in Tat
dting ground of
rase can be usedc
lgg led an appear*
il, not of the raA
vince the entire*
rformed so crej*
. campaign- , (
■ consisted of >
rmlar infaAh
rreg h offi«
and m P art
by Englishmen. The military contribution of the province is
nominally now as follows :—
Infantry
Three ‘
Tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
’ or Divisions
First Division, consisting of eleven battalions, eight of which have a
strength of 1,000 men, and three of 800 men each . . . . = 10,400
Second Division, consisting of eight battalions, four of which have a
strength of 1,000 men, and four of 800 men each . . . . = 7,200
Third Division, consisting of ten battalions, two of which have a strength
of 1,000 men, and eight of 800 men each = 8,400
{Of these battalions three are recruited in the Government of Hamadan,
but are included in the Azerbaijan army).
Total . . 26,000
Cavalry
Irregular (i.e. effective but not mobilised): from each district 200 to
400. Three regiments alone—with an average of 350 each—are uni
formed and disciplined, or can therefore be considered mobilised;
the remainder are simply mounted men = 6,800
Artillery
Twelve battalions, each consisting of 400 men (formed, if required, into
batteries of four guns each, drawn by horses and manned by sixty
men, or into mountain batteries of four guns each, carried on
mules) .
. = 4,800
Infantry
•
26,000
Cavalry
.
6,800
Artillery
*
Grand total .
4,800
37,600
Of the infantry and artillerymen it may be said that they are
indisputably the best soldiers that Persia possesses. Both are drilled
Drill and from time to time, and have uniforms (not an invariable
armament appurtenance of the Persian soldier) and a certain ac
quaintance with discipline. They are called out perhaps once in
three or four years for a period of six months, being the rest of the
time at their homes. Certain of the battalions, however, as will
have been seen in my chapter upon Khorasan, are embodied for a
longer period, two or three years, and are sent to garrison Meshed,
Kerman, and other distant parts of Persia, whose local levies are
either untrustworthy or are not endowed with military instincts.
The cavalry horses are small, but of a strong and wiry stamp; and
the men are born riders, and could be made into excellent light
cavalry. A portion of the infantry and cavalry are armed with
breech-loading Werndl rifles, and some of the batteries of artillery
VOL. i. mm
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 [383r] (768/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x0000af> [accessed 10 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