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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎659v] (1335/1814)

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. .

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298 PERSIA
that was furnished to me in 1889 by the Bakhtiaris themselves
and an independent catalogue which was supplied from similar
sources to a friend in 1890. It will be seen that in the lapse of
time a great many clans have disappeared—a fate which, consider
ing the internal feuds by which the tribes were for so long sundered
can excite no astonishment. The present assessment of Bakhtiari
Land, paid by the Ilkhani The paramount chief of certain tribes in south west Iran. , is 22,000 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. to the Governor of
Isfahan, and 15,000 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. to the Governor of Arabistan.
In winter the Khans and their people are to be found encamped
in the plains about Shushter and Dizful. In 1884 the Ilkhani The paramount chief of certain tribes in south west Iran.
was encountered by Colonel Bell at Ab-i-Bid, between
Winter and . .
summer those two places. In spring and autumn, i.e. in the
quarters transition period between the extremes of cold and heat,
their headquarters are at Ardal in the south-east portion of the
Bakhtiari mountains. There, at the height of 6,000 feet, the
Ilkhani The paramount chief of certain tribes in south west Iran. possesses an unpretentious, two-storeyed building, adjoining
a fortified tower, and now falling into decay. When the summer
suns begin to burn, the nomads move still higher into the moun
tains, and encamp on the loftier slopes from Burujird to Isfahan.
The headquarters of the Ilkhani The paramount chief of certain tribes in south west Iran. are then at Chaghkhor, 1 near £
Ardal, but 2,000 feet higher, where, in a mountain valley containing
a small lake, a fort was built, upon a mound 100 feet high, by
Husein Kuli Khan. In his days it was a smart and pretentious
residence, being fitted with European chairs, couches, chandeliers,
mirrors, and paintings. 2 Since the fall of its founder it has itself
fallen into ruin and has also been much shaken by earthquakes.
At a distance of twenty miles, however, in the direction of Isfahan,
the Ilkhani The paramount chief of certain tribes in south west Iran. possesses a modern country-house at Paradumba,
elegantly laid out and furnished; a reminder of the extent to which,
under the influence of frequent visits to the capital, these nomad
chieftains have succumbed to the inroads of civilisation. They ^
themselves take up their abode either in the buildings or in pavilions
pitched below. Around are scattered the black tents of the tribes
men.
I have spoken of the lives of the chiefs ; let me say something
about that of their people. Pasture is their chief occupation, sheep
1 The name is variously derived from Chagh-Khor (Hill of Pasturage), Ohaghak-
hor (Hill of the Sun), and Jah-i-Akhor (the Place of Horses, or Paddock).
- There he was visited by Stack in 1881 {Six Months in Per sin, vol. it
pp. 59-71), and his successor by Mrs. Bishop in 1890 {Journeys in Persia, vol. i
p. 375). »

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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
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎659v] (1335/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000088> [accessed 17 June 2026]

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