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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [701v] (1419/1814)
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.
354
PERSIA
were placed, while chairs were arranged opposite for myself and
party. At first the Mirza was all compliance. After a slight show
of hesitation he acceded to my request; the boat was to be ready
to start at 7 on the following morning, and I was to be on shore at
6.30. He only required to see my passport, a demand with which
I readily complied, the more so as I knew that he could not read a
word of it, and only wished to make a show of official precision.
He then rambled off into a lengthy disquisition upon the friendship
of Persia and England, the common interest of the two countries,
their common friends and foes (a sly dig at Russia), and his per
sonal desire, to which Messrs. Lynch’s agent could testify (here I
am afraid that I exchanged winks with that gentleman, whose life
had been rendered a burden to him for six months by the obstruc
tive persecutions of the Mirza), to promote concord between these
heaven-appointed allies. Having been for some months in Persia,
I was now quite familiar with this formula, which I had many times
heard, couched in almost identical terms, and, I imagine, learnt off
by heart by every Persian official on his appointment. However,
I reciprocated the compliments, and the interview closed.
Throughout this colloquy an interested audience had watched,
without taking any part in the proceedings. On either side of the
His dis- Mirza squatted two somewhat lugubrious-looking per-
sonages, who said nothing, but smoked the 'kalian as it
was passed round. One of them was minus an eye, which
gave him a rather ill-favoured appearance, but their mien was
sufficiently distinguished to lead me to suppose that they were
Persian gentlemen and friends of the Mirza. It transpired, how
ever, that they were two malefactors belonging to the ruling family
of the Bakhtiari tribe in the neighbouring mountains, who had
recently killed their brother and nephew in cold blood, and had
been captured while in the jurisdiction of the Mirza . 1 In the absence
of any guard-house, they were now being kept in the Mirza’s hut,
where they shared his sleeping apartment, took their seats in the
manner described at the
durbar
A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family).
, and were on such general terms
of familiarity that upon the Mirza accepting an invitation to dine
in Messrs. Lynch’s hut a few days later, he asked permission to
bring his two guests with him. The harmony was enhanced by all
1 They were Nasir Khan and Saif Allah Khan, who had murdered their
brother, Mirza Agha Khan, chief of the Chehar Lang branch of the Bakhtiari
Tribes. Vide the pedigree in cap. xxiv.
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 [701v] (1419/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x000014> [accessed 14 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