Curzon’s Persia
Peter King
Sidgwick & Jackson
Originally published in 1892, George Nathaniel Curzon’s Persia and the Persian Question has remained a classic ever since, even after the 1979 Iranian revolution opened a new chapter in the history of that country. Persia and the Persian Question was a prolific young writer’s most famous publication, ‘One of the most remarkable achievements of the nineteenth century’, according to his biographer.
Before setting out on his journey through Persia, Curzon, then a recently elected Member of Parliament and correspondent for The Times, read nearly 300 books on the territory over which he would travel. The journey itself was a remarkable feat and lasted six months. He covered nearly 2000 miles, from the Turkish border to the Gulf, on horseback, a painful experience as he suffered from a spinal complaint and had to wear a steel corset beneath his smart Norfolk jacket and stout breeches. He wrote to a friend: ‘The long desolate rides—4 a.m. to 5 p.m.—vile horses, bad roads, weary bodies.’
Curzon wrote the book for money, but chose Persia because he was absorbed by the problems of British political interests in the East. He knew that Russia was exerting great pressure along that country’s southern borders, threatening India, and he feared that the result could well be a war aimed at British interests in India, in which a Persia dominated by Russia would be involved. This selection of chapters from the book concentrates on the travel rather than the politics, and is illustrated with the pictures Curzon himself obtained with his precious Kodak.
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Contents
Editor s Note / 6
Introduction / 7
From Ashkabad to Kuchan / 12
From Kuchan to Kelat-i-Nadiri / 24
Meshed / 44
From Meshed to Teheran / 54
Teheran / 86
The Northern Provinces / 108
From Teheran to Isfahan / 114
From Isfahan to Shiraz / 149
From Shiraz to Bushire / 174
EDITOR’S NOTE
Curzon’s ‘precious Kodak'
camera, which was factory
loaded with film for a hundred
circular exposures.
Readers who have been lucky enough to handle the two stout volumes of Persia and the Persian Question published in 1892 (now very rare) may wonder what principles dictated the editing down to the size of the present book; the answer is given in Curzon’s own Note to Readers which is curiously omitted from the 1966 reprint. He writes: ‘Conscious that I am, to some extent, appealing to a twofold class of readers, the student and the amateur, whose interests do not always coincide, may I so far anticipate the tastes of both as to commend to . . . the more desultory sympathies of the latter [the following] chapters.’ His list includes the introductory Chapter I, which I have omitted as being in large part a summary of what is to follow. It also includes Chapter III which deals with the preparatory stages of his journey by train from Paris and on to Ashkabad, also deleted.
My story begins a few pages into Chapter V and continues, as Curzon recommended to the non-student reader, with his Chapters VI, VII, X, XI, XIX, XX and XXII. He also added four other chapters which are today primarily of interest to the student of political history and I have therefore omitted them. They are: Chapter XIII, The Shah—Royal Family—Ministers; Chapter XIV, The Government; Chapter XV, Institutions and Reforms; Chapter XXX, British and Russian Policy in Persia. In this new book, the chapters are, of course, numbered consecutively and do not follow Curzon’s numbering. Not all his Notes to the text (some lengthy) are retained.
As regards the illustrations, Curzon left an album of faded pictures which are the original prints of the photographs he took on his travels in Persia with his precious Kodak, and this is now in the India Office Library. Through the kindness of the staff there I have been able to use all those illustrations with which Curzon himself ‘adorned’ the relevant chapters of his book, plus others from the album where appropriate. A small number of other pictures, from a contemporary source, also held by the India Office, have been added. The captions are not those in the original book.
Curzon wrote that ‘the photographs that adorn the text were either taken by myself or by Persian students of the Royal College at Teheran, or by personal friends.’ We may assume Curzon took only the circular pictures, as, according to Kodak, his camera would not produce squared up images. Curzon adds that the few engravings in his book, and also included here, are by courtesy of Librairie Hachette.
For those interested in the subsequent history of Persia’s rulers, Nasir-ud-Din was assassinated in 1896 and succeeded by his son Muzaffar ud-Din who was faced with a considerable liberal opposition. In 1906 elections were held for the first time and a National Assembly established. The Shah died the following year and was succeeded by his son Muhammed Ali, who tried to overthrow the National Assembly. Risings led to his downfall in 1909 when Ahmad Shah was made regent. Russian influence and encroachment increased, and Turkey exerted pressure from the South West. After the Russian Revolution and the end of the Great War, Persia signed an Agreement with Great Britain which recognised Persia’s independence. In 1921 a successful coup d’etat was organised by an officer of the Cossack Brigade, Reza Khan. He became Prime Minister in 1923 and was crowned as Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925. So began the Pahlavi dynasty which continued as a virtual dictatorship until he abdicated in favour of his son, Muhammad Reza in 1941. He was the Shah who fled Persia in 1979.
Peter King
Introduction
‘I cannot imagine a better traveller’s motto—“I have wandered through many regions of the world, and everywhere have I mingled with the people. In each corner, I have gathered something of good. From every sheaf I have gleaned an ear."
Curzon, quoting the Persian poet Sadi.
It is sad that the 30 year-old George N. Curzon MP did not have a friend photograph him—with his precious Kodak—as he rode across Persia. He has, however, left a word picture behind. ‘It is useless,’ he says, ‘to take out the usual European paraphernalia of portmanteaux, hat boxes, and trunks. They will merely have to be discarded on the way, or left behind to follow at snail’s pace after the owner—and be knocked to pieces in the process—by mule or camel caravans. ... For riding, I recommend a stout pair of breeches, not too tight at the knee, where the strain soon tells. I took a hint from Dr Wills, and bought at Tiflis an invaluable pair of big Russian top boots, at least two sizes too large for me… Goloshes should also be taken for visits to the grandees, who are very particular about their carpets, and do not like muddy or dusty footprints upon them… Flannel shirts will always be worn when riding, although linen shirts are essential for the critical coteries of Teheran. I found a Norfolk jacket with single collar buttoning around the neck and plenty of pockets, the best dress for riding; and I shall ever be grateful for the advice that prompted me to take a worsted (cardigan) waistcoat, which could be pulled on and off as the temperature demanded, and was a supreme consolation on a cold night. A black frock coat must be taken, if visits are contemplated to royal personages, governors or ministers. The Persians look upon a cut-away coat as grossly undignified; and would appear to estimate rank by the extent to which the hinder part of the body is enveloped, if one may judge from the voluminous skirts that are worn by HM the Shah. On the other hand they care nothing for head gear; and the sovereign is the only man in the country with whom a tall hat is de rigueur. ... I agree with MacGregor in recommending a double Terai hat. It cannot get smashed, like a helmet; it furnishes ample protection against any but a summer sun, and when you enter a city you strip off the outer shell, and appear as smart as if you have just stepped out of Bond Street. But of all the necessaries of outfit, commend me, after a long experience, to a suit of dress clothes… For outer coverings, I recommend a covert-coat for everyday wear, a macintosh (if in the rainy season) and an ulster of the amplest and warmest type.’
He was aware of the curious figure he cut. Describing his preparations for meeting a Khan, he wrote, ‘my frock coat... I confess looked somewhat incongruous beneath a Terai hat.’
It all sounds strange to us, but remember, he was travelling in the autumn and winter months, partly because this was the parliament recess in London, and partly because he believed the climate ‘is invigorating and superb. I rode 1000 miles without a drop of rain, and in a country infamous for filth I did not fall victim to a single flea. On the other hand,’ Curzon admits, ‘there was no verdure or beauty in the landscape; and as the winter drew on the days closed in, and it was piercingly cold at night.’
To these discomforts must be added Curzon’s own physical problem—never once mentioned in the introduction or the book—caused by the curvature of his spine which required him to wear a steel corset beneath his flannel shirt.
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Peter King
Curzon’s Persia
Sidgwick & Jackson
Sidgwick & Jackson Limited
Curzon’s Persia
Edited and Introduced by
Peter King
Sidgwick & Jackson
London
First published in Great Britain in 1986
By Sidgwick & Jackson Limited
1 Tavistock Chambers, Bloomsbury Way
London WCiA 2SG
Designed and produced by
Shuckburgh Reynolds Limited
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Design copyright © Shuckburgh Reynolds Limited
ISBN 0-283-99409-6
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Printed by Jolly & Barber Ltd, Rugby, Warwickshire
Jacket designed by Behram Kapadta
George Nathaniel Curzon
Edited and Introduced by
Peter King
