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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [546r] (1104/1814)
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.
FROM ISFAHAN TO SHIRAZ
109'
marble slab on which was said to have been sculped a cypress, was
taken away by Kerim Khan, who built it into the tank in the
Jehan Nemah, and replaced it by the present sarcophagus. This
is made of yellow A r ezd marble, and has two odes from the Diwan,
or collection of the poet’s works, beautifully chiselled in relief in a
number of elegant panels upon its lid. 1 Of that which is sculped
on the centre panels I have made a translation in elegiacs, a metre
that seems to me to do least offence to the structure and spirit of
the original :—
Tell the glad tidings abroad that my soul may arise in communion,
I, with celestial wings, rise from the snares of the world.
Didst thou but call me to come and wait as a slave on thy bidding,
Yet should I rise in esteem over the lords of the world.
Lord, may the cloud of Thy mercy descend in raindrops upon me,
Now ere my body arise, scattered as dust on the wind.
Sit on my tomb, ye friends, with mirth of minstrel and flagon,
So shall I rise from the grave dancing, aglow with desire.
Though I be old, one night do thou lie in my loving embraces,
Then from thy side in the morn fresh in my youth shall I rise..
Image of deeds that are lovely, on high shine forth, that as Hafiz
I from the grave may arise, soar above life and the world.
A frail iron railing now surrounds the tomb, which is visited
by bands of admiring pilgrims, on devotional or festive aim intent;
but I confess I think that in any other country in the world a
greater distinction would encompass the last resting-place of a
national hero and the object of adoration to millions. It is
interesting to contrast the grave of the Persian poet with that of his
European contemporary, Dante, whose sepulchre is not less an
object of pilgrimage at Kavenna.
Adjoining the Hafizieh are two other enclosures, which are
also consecrated by much-respected graves. Of these, one is the
Dervishes’ Chehel Tan, or Forty Bodies, so called from forty der-
graves vishes who were there interred, and were, I suppose, very
eminent personages in their day. The other is the Haft Tan, or
Seven Bodies, built by Kerim Khan over the remains of seven
so famous by the stories of Charles I. and Lord lalkland), and which consisted
in drawing an omen by opening at random - the pages of the poet, was in existence
even during the lifetime of Hafiz. It has been described by most writers, best by
Binning, vol. i. pp. 222-5.
1 There is an excellent engraving of this in W. Price’s Narrative of Embassy
to Persia (1811V
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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 [546r] (1104/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000069> [accessed 3 July 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