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The Deeds and Documents Office of the Central Library
The Deeds and Documents Office of the Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi commenced its activity in its present form in 1997. Some of the most important duties of this office are as follows:
Gathering, preserving, securing, classifying and publishing deeds and documents including: Pictures, printings and manuscripts deeds, cassettes, maps, clichés and seals etc, granting information services about these resources to the researchers, providing and accomplishing research plans regarding the deeds and documents secured in the treasuries, supplying, preserving, classifying and granting services related to the old and new newspapers, magazines and periodicals.
Departments of the Deeds Office
1) Dead Records Department:
Gathering documents from different centers of dead records of the Astan Quds Razavi's Institution, receiving granted or purchased deeds, evaluating, preserving and securing these deeds, providing detailed certification, registering and storing received information in the computer are among the important duties undertaken by this department.
2) Archives and Indexing Department of Deeds:
This department has the following units:
A: The Treasury of Deeds
B: Indexing documents and photos which accelerate the job of adjusting and classifying the certification of deeds and photos to access them fast and accurately.
C: The Archives of Oral History undertakes to gather, classify, preserve and secure audio-visual documents. The subject of these documents are almost about the review of the contemporary history of Iran.
D: The Archives of Seals and Signatures.
E: Information Bank of Newspapers and Deeds.
F: The Archives of Official Publications.
3) The Press Archives Department:
This department was independently established in 1980. At present it enjoys a treasury, two reading rooms, an administrative section, and a preparing section.
At the present time, more than 21000 series of bound newspapers and magazines including 4300 titles of old and new magazines in 18 current languages of the world in various subjects are preserved and secured in the treasury.
The number of current newspapers amount up to 1300 titles. The "Waqaye Ettefaqiyyeh" newspaper is the oldest one preserved in this section.
The first issue of this newspaper was published in 1267 A.H, entitled "the Akhbare Dar-ul-Khelafheye Tehran " (The News of Capital City of Tehran). The oldest magazine is an Arabic one entitled" the Al Moqtataf," published in 1293 A.H/ 1876 A.D.
4)Research Department
It carries out research based on the documents available in this section.
The Most Ancient Magazines and Historical Documents preserved in the Library
1- Almoqtataf, printed in Cairo, in 1876.
2- Habl Ul Matin, printed in Cairo
3- Almena, printed in Cairo, in 1315 A.H.
4- Moaref, printed in Tehran, in 1316 A.H.
5- Almoqtabas, printed in Cairo, in 1324 A.H.
6- Kaweh, printed in Berlin, in 1334 A.H.
7- Falahat Wa Tejarat, (Agriculture and Business), printed in Tehran, in 1339 A.H.
8- Qoshoon, printed in Tehran, in 1342 A.H.
Historical Documents
Thousands of hand-written documents related to the orders, scrolls, and handwriting ascribed to the scientists, and religious clergy (Ulema), and letters of rulers and politicians, and also thousand restored documents of Astan Quds, collections, albums and historical deeds endowed by devotees, are preserved and secured in the Section of Deeds. This section has commenced to review, classify and index the documents. This section, gathering the collections of documents, statistics, maps, handwritten papers, and historical photos of the cities of Khorasan province has taken preliminary steps to form the archive of the history of Khorasan.
Some of the Important Deeds and Documents in the Central Library
1: The Scroll and Endowment Deed of Ali Shah Afshar:
This endowment deed, drawn up in the period of "Ali Quli Khan"-brother's son of Nader Shah Afshar (monarch of Afsharid dynasty)- in the month of Ramadhan in 1160 A.H., contains endowed properties of Astan Quds Razavi which had been possessed by the then government in the period of Nader Shah (monarch of Afsharid dynasty).
During this period, the authorities briefly used the properties according to the endowment deed. These properties had been listed from the Naderi's books, credit document deed the endowments were donated to the Astan Quds Razavi. "Ali Shah" also dedicated about 100 pairs of his arable lands to Astan Quds Razavi for expanding and developing Dar Ush Shafa (hospital). This scroll (endowment deed), in which the endowments of Astan Quds Razavi, Grand Mosque of Gowharshad and endowed lands and properties of Ali Shah have been registered, has changed the basis of the shift of the servants (volunteers) of Astan Quds which had been changed by the previous kings into three shifts, and substituted it with five shifts remembering the five Holy Ones [i.e Mohammad(S.A.W.), Ali(A.S.),Fatemah(A.S.), Hasan(A.S.), and Husain(A.S.)]. This scroll has been registered in the endowment's index under the No. 111, and preserved in the library of Astan Quds Razavi.
2: The scroll (endowment deed ) of Adhedul Malik:
This ednowment deed is one of the most creditable documents and precious things of Astan Quds Razavi, which is preserved and secured in the Central Library. This scroll has been drawn up and provided from the creditable endowment deeds, old books and deeds, and the scroll of Ali Shah, and religious orders and percepts, in the period of the custodianship of Astan Quds Razavi under the late "Mirza Mohammad Hossein Khan Hosseini" - known as "Adhedul Malik" (one of the distinguished authorities, and pious person in the period of Naseruddin Shah - monarch of Qajarid dynasty -. The mentioned scroll (endowment deed) contained many of the endowments of Imam Reza (A.S.), including: villages, arable lands, gardens, aqueducts, shops, caravanserais and baths and etc. This scroll has been signed by the distinguished jurists and clergymen of Khorasan province, and also sealed and confirmed by many of aristocrats and distinguished authorities of Khorasan, trustees and officials of the Astan Quds, and also Naseruddin Shah - monarch of Qajarid Dynasty. It has been registered in the endowment's book under the No.112.
Other Documents:
One of the other creditable documents of the Astan Quds is the Old Book of the Astan Quds. The lists mentioned in this book, were gathered in the period of the late "Adhedul Malik". The documents mentioned in this book have been used for drawing up and adjusting the scroll. About the importance of this book, it is better to suffice to mention what has been endorsed on the wooden cover of this book - on both sides -.
Allah, is the Exalted
In the Name of Allah, The Compassinate, the Merciful
It is written in the month of Jamadi Uth Thani. 1275 A.H, that, because, some of the endowed lands and properties of "His Excellency Faydh Athar" have been destroyed in the course of time, and usurpers and tyrants have coveted and encroached these endowments, some of which have been actually possessed by the officials of "Sarkar Faydh Ather". Therefore His Excellency Mirza Mohammad Hossein Al Hosseini Adhedul Malik - the head custodian and respected ruler - has provided a scroll which contains all of the endowed lands that actually belonged to His Excellency Faydh Athar according to his written lists, three units of which were written now.The Ulema in general (religious authorities), religious jurisprudences, nobles and aristocrates of the holy land of Khorasan, and also officials, vulunteer servants (Khuddam) and the other dependents of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (A.S.)have sealed this scroll.
The list of this scroll has been registered and recorded in this book to acquaint those who refer to the endowment's documents. This book, containing the old cases registered in the Central Library of His Excellency Faydh Ather, contains leases, and the list of endowed lands and properties of His Excellency Faydh Athar which were scattered like a constellation of stars in the sky, all of these cases have been gathered in this book, and registered in the library.
According to this written scroll, curse be upon those who exclude this from the sacred library of His Excellency Faydh Athar, and may Allah - the Exalted - associate them with Harun Ar Rashid and Mamun Ar Rashid - curse of Allah be upon them-. Also, curse of the Holy prophet (S.A.W.) be upon the present and future book holder (manager of the library) who grant each of the documents mentioned in this book to others, or let the others send them out of the sacred library, and may Allah - the Exalted - associate him with Shemr and Ibn Moljam - may the curse of Allah - the Exalted be upon them. Everyone who needs refer to this book, do come to the sacred library to refer directly and use it, but it is forbidden to transfer any documents preserved in the book, or even a word of these documents, from the library to the other places.
So everyone who changes this after hearing and observing it indeed he / she has committed evil. O, Allah - the Exalted - curse those who confound, transfer, decompose or deviate it from the place recommended in it, and may Allah -the Exalted - bestow His mercy upon those who act according to the recommendation, and associate them with the Immaculate Imam (A.S.). The above - mentioned book had been registered in the dead archive among the old papers, and remained of no utility. It must be said that the documents, preserved in this book, have been used for investigating, and proving many of the endowments including endowed properties and other things.
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