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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [772r] (1560/1814)
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.
441
THE PERSIAN GULP
"beyond. The mountains in the background are crowned on every
peak and summit with small forts or sentinel towers; and the
figures of the relief guard clambering up the rocky ledges to their
posts could be seen silhouetted, as it were, in Indian ink, against
the sky. Both town, walls, and forts, could be shelled with the
greatest ease from the sea. or knocked to pieces by guns planted
on any of the superior heights inland or round the harbour, h 01
the purpose, however, of Bedouin warfare, pursued in the mannei
which I shall presently describe, the defences of Muscat are amply
sufficient. Within the enclosed space is congregated a population
of probably not more than 5,000 souls ; but outside the walls are
a large number of reed huts, which are occupied by Beluchi
immigrants, but are hastily deserted whenever there is a prospect
of an assault. Through them a road conducts to a spot about half
a mile from the town, where are the wells from which it gains its
fresh-water supply, and a pretty flower and vegetable garden
belonging to the Sultan. Beyond, the road mounts by the sole
accessible pass—and this of great ruggedness and difficulty—into
the interior. Off the town are moored two steamboats belonging
to the Sultan, one called the c Sultanee,’ of the size of a large
steam yacht, the other more like a launch. r l hey were presented
to his Highness’ father by his younger brother, the Sultan of
Zanzibar, and, though armed with nothing better than pop-guns,
are useful for a display of kingly force along the coast, or for
bringing up levies from the more southerly ports for the defence
of the capital. They are the only substitutes for the comparatively
powerful fleet once owned by Seyid Said. In a small hollow at
the foot of the western rock is a coaling depot of the British
Naval Squadron in the Indian seas, with storage accommodation
for 1,700 tons of" coal. Immediately facing the sea, which washes
its walls, and in the centre of the outermost line of houses, is a
plain substantial building, somewhat larger than its neighbours.
A red flag flying from the roof indicates the residence of the Sultan.
At the eastern extremity of the harbour front, a fine new house
was being built for the British
Political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
, upon the site of the
old Consulate, which had fallen to pieces. Now that it is finished
it is the handsomest structure in the town; and, being situated
close to a gap in the rocks where a side breeze comes in from the
ocean, renders life less insupportable during the appalling heat of the
summer months, when the sun’s rays, refracted from the glowing
a
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 [772r] (1560/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x0000a1> [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