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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [412v] (827/1814)
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.
580
PERSIA
with European troops ? Under these ciicumstances sciuve qui pent
was apt to he the general order, and a Persian infantry soldier is
said to have naively remarked to his English commander, If there
were no dying in the case, how gloriously the Persians would
fight! ’ But it was in its effect upon the military spirit and re
sources of the country as a whole, that the disastrous consequences
of the change were most seriously felt. Prior to the reign of
Path Ali Shah, the military strength of Persia had consisted in its
inexhaustible supplies of light horsemen, furnished by the tribal
chieftains, who, on the feudal basis of a military contribution, pre
served a nominal independence. Each of these great khans or
Ukhanis lived in state and in comparative isolation from the central
authority, among his own clansmen, keeping large studs of the
finest breeds of Persian, Turkoman, and Arabian horses, and en
couraging the spirit of horsemanship and patriotism among his
followers. This system was absolutely broken down by the policy
or the fears of Path Ali Shah, who set himself to disintegrate the
authority of these feudal barons, and shearing the locks of the
Persian Samson, found, when it was too late, that he had sacrificed
his strength. It is said that when General Yermoloff, the Russian
Commander-in-chief in Georgia, heard that Abbas Mirza had begun
to form a regular army, he exclaimed, 4 God be praised ! I shall
be able to get at them now, which I never could do before. 5 Not
less emphatic was Malcolm, who saw clearly that in a country as
backward as Persia, and possessing governing institutions and a
national character so foreign to the civilised idea, it was to an irre
gular army alone that the safety of the kingdom must be confided :
An army cannot be maintained in a state of discipline and efficiency
for any length of time unless its pay be regular and its equipments
complete ; and this can never be the case except in a state where
the succession to the throne is settled, where the great majority of
the population are of peaceable habits, and where establishments
are permanent and the laws respected and administered upon principles
well understood, and not liable to be altered at the will of the sovereign
and of his delegates. That a regular army, by the influence of its
example and habits of order, may be instrumental in promoting
civilisation, there can be no doubt; but this change must coincide with
many other reforms, or every effort to render it effectual to the great
end of national defence will prove abortive, and terminate in disap
pointment. 1
1 History of Persia, vol. ii. cap. xxi.ym.
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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 [412v] (827/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213846.0x000022> [accessed 7 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