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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [583r] (1180/1814)
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.
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PEESEPOLIS, AND OTHEPt RUINS 167
supported by sixteen columns in four rows of four each, with a portico
of eight columns m two corresponding rows on the south front, and
wrth traces of what apparently were chambers on the longer sides and
at the back. This is the only building on the platform that faces to
wards the south ; and there two flights of steps, one at either end of
the terrace on which it stands, furnished the principal means of access
In ater times a third staircase was added, and another entrance effected
on the west side, overlooking the brink of the main platform and the
p am 0 Mervdashfc To a visitor approaching, as we are doing, from
the north this will be the natural mode of entry ; and I will therefore
Jep bj step g ’ S ° SPeak ’ ^ th6 rear ’ and d6SCribe 14 therefrom,
The entire edifice stands upon a stylobate or platform, nearly ten
entrance I 8 ^ tImt ° f the D^bar-Hall of Xerxes. Its
the small dTh^T* ^ ^ foet l0ng by 96 feet broad • , Ascending
the small double stairway on the west front, we observe a partlv buried
ta™ flrV^r^ °r tbe r P latf0rm > while on the front wail of the
sta ru ay, flanked by the familiar lion and bull in either spandrel, is a
. conamin g a splendidly preserved inscription, telling us that
this staircase was the work of Artaxerxes III. or Ochus (b.c. 361-338) 2
mss y ? arS Posterior to the edifice itself. At the top of the steps we
pass through a doorway, the side-walls of which have shifted on their
bases (probably owing to earthquake) and are inclined towards each
other. Continuing through a small antechamber or porch, a second
doorway introduces us into the central hall. On either jamb of this
oorway (which, like its predecessor, appears to have been a structural
alteration of Artaxerxes) is sculped one of those symbolical combats
between a king and a monster (at different times a bull, a unicorn, a
gnitm, or a strange compound of opposite attributes) which we shall so
requently notice in the remaining buildings. In all these bas-reliefs
e kmg with girt loins, but in an absolutely unconcerned fashion, and
wn rigid uniformity of attitude, plunges a dagger into the belly of
e monster, which rears on its hind legs before him, but which he
se ate y grasps by the horn projecting from its head.
Owing to the introduction of this (probably later) entrance, there
is an unusual lack of uniformity in the structural disposition of the
Centra , 1 central hall. Its dimensions, which are a square of fifty
feet, are clearly marked by the existence in situ of a number
° lmmens e blocks of chiselled stone, bearing a high polish , 3 and
w J 1 “V 11686 figUreS fr0m Fer g usson - Porter says 170 feet by 95, and another
^er 180 by 96. 2 R aw ii nson5 j.fi.A.S., vol. x. p. 342; Spiegel, pp. 68-71.
seei -f5 USt been in thiS buildin §' that Don Silva 7 Figueroa’s mastiff, from
tw n f 1 S ! lf reflected in Ike mirror-like polish of the walls, became so furious
at ^ had to be chained up when it entered.
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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 [583r] (1180/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x0000b5> [accessed 13 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