An Analytical Study of the Archival Contents of Dalīl al-Vathāʾiq al-Fārsīyah and Their Relevance to Modern Iranian Historiography

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor , Department of History, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of History, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.

10.30484/ganj.2025.3279

Abstract

Archival documents are primary sources that give historical research greater legitimacy by allowing scholars to critique, evaluate, and refine historical narratives. The present study considers archival documents and archival centers not just as research materials but also as research topics in themselves. By emphasizing selected data and historical accounts preserved in the Persian documents of the “Center for Compilation, Documentation, and Publication of Najaf al-Ashraf” and through a quantitative review and analysis of their different categories, the study investigates the impact and importance that these materials could have on enriching the research on contemporary history with regard to Iran and Iraq.
Purpose: The objective of this paper is to explain the value of the Persian documents kept in the Najaf al-Ashraf Center for promoting modern Iranian and Iraqi history research, underlining some historical data included within these records.
Method and Research Design: this paper uses a quantitative method in combination with a descriptive–analytical approach, based on 4,411 Persian document titles listed in Dalīl al-Vathāʾiq al-Fārsīyah.
Findings and Conclusion : The findings show that the Persian documents of the Najaf Center encompass varied and rich information concerning the history of Iranian-Ottoman relations; religious competition between Shi‘i and Sunni communities; living conditions of Iranian subjects and pilgrims in the Holy Shrines; interactions and conflicts among Iranian residents in Iraq; demographic information about Iranians living in the Holy Shrines; and the presence and influence of the Iranian state and Iranian clerics in the region during the late Qajar period.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

English Translation of References
Books
Abolhasani (Monzar), Ali. (1387/2008). “Hoseyn-‘Ali Bahā': Dustān va došmanān-e siyāsi” (Husayn-'Ali Baha: Political friends and enemies). [n.p.]: Ali Abolhasani (Monzar). [In Persian]
E’tesam Al-Molk, Mirza Khanlar Khan. (1348/1969). “Safarnāmeh-ye Mirzā Khānlar Khān-e E'tesām-ol-Molk” (Travelogue of Mirza Khanlar Khan E'tesam Al-Molk). Edited by Manouchehr Mahmoudi. Tehran: Manouchehr Mahmoudi. [In Persian]
Afzal Al-Molk, Gholamhossein. (1384/2005). “Safarnāmeh-ye Qom” (Travelogue of Qom). Edited by Zahra Ardestani. Qom: Zā’er. [In Persian]
Bahmani Ghajar, Mohammadali. (1390/2011). “Tamāmiyat-e arzi-ye Irān: Seyri dar tārix-e marzhā-ye Irān” (Iran’s territorial integrity: A journey through the history of Iran’s borders). Tehran: Mo'asseseh-ye Motāle'āt va Pažuheš-hā-ye Siyāsi (Political Studies and Research Institute). [In Persian]
“Dalil ol-vasā’eq al-Fārsiyah: Yahtavi ‘alā ‘anāvin al-vasā’eq al-Fārsiyah fi Markaz al-Najaf al-Ašraf let-ta’lif-e val-towthiq van-našr” (Persian Documents: Contains the Title of Persian Documents in Najaf al-Ashraf Center). (1402/2023). Najaf: Najaf al-Ashraf Center of Writing, Documentation, and Publication. [In Arabic]
Soleimani, Nader. (1380/2001). “Miqāt-e Hajj (Xāterāt-e Hajj)” (Mighat-e Hajj (Memoires of Hajj)) (vols. 32 & 40. Tehran: Nāder Soleymāni. [In Persian]
Shamim, Ali Asghar. (1387/2008). “Irān dar dowre-ye saltanat-e Qājār: Qarn-e sizdahom va nime-ye avval-e qarn-e čahārdahom” (Iran in the Qajar era:13th and the first part of 14th centuries). Tehran: Behzād. [In Persian]
Fahad Nafisi, Abdollah. (1364/1985). “Nehzat-e Ši’ayān dar enqelāb-e Eslāmi-ye ‘Arāq” (The Shiite movement in Iraq’s Islamic revolution.). Translated by Kazem Chaychian. Tehran: Amir Kabir. [In Persian]
Mousavi Esfahani, Hasan. (1392/2013). “Ruznāme-ye safar-e Mašhad, Makkeh va ‘Atabāt 1315-1316 AH” (Diary of a journey to Mashhad, Mecca, and the Atabat [Shi'ite Holy Shrines in Iraq] 1897-1898 AD). Edited by Rasoul Jafarian & Hamidreza Nafisi. Tehran: Maš’ar. [In Persian]
Articles
Khameyar, Ahmad. (1398/2020). “Sonnat-e ziyārat-e ‘Atabāt-e ‘Āliyāt, be 'onvān-e baxši az ādāb-e ma’navi-ye safar-e hajj” (the tradition of pilgrimage of the holy shrines as a part of the spiritual rites of Hajj). Pažuheš-nāmeh-ye Hajj va Ziyārat (Hajj and Ziarah Research Journal), 4(2), Serial no. 8, Fall & Winter. [In Persian]
Mashinchi Maheri, Shahrouz. (1392/2013). “Ta’sir-e kārevān-hā-ye ziyārati va dafn-e mordegān dar ‘Atabāt-e ‘Āliyāt bar monāsebāt-e Irān va Osmāni (1264-1343 AH)” (The influence of pilgrimage caravans and burial of the dead in the holy shrines on the relations between Iran and the Ottoman Empire (1343-1264 BC)). Pažuheš-nāmeh-ye Tārix-e Tamaddon-e Eslāmi (History of Islamic Civilization), 46(1), Spring & Summer. [In Persian]

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 23 February 2025
  • Revise Date: 02 March 2025
  • Accept Date: 15 May 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics