فصلنامه گنجینه اسناد
پیاپی 76 (زمستان 1388)

Morteza Gholi Khan Eghbal al-Saltane-ye Makou’ie, in accordance with the special situation of Makou in its proximity to Russia and the Ottoman Empire, created close relationships during his reign with these two political powers, especially Russia, in order to strengthen his own power in this region of Iran. He followed his predecessor’s policy. At the beginning of the First World War, the situation of Makou became very sensitive due to the entry of Russia and the Ottoman Empire into the war. This was due to the proximity of Makou to the border of those two powers, and the role of this city as the intermediary bridge between those two powers. With regard to his journey to Berlin before the war, the propagation of Islamic unity and on the other hand, intensive persuasions of Ottomans among the Kords of the region (which composed their military power) and their attack on the revenues of Russia, Eghbal al-Saltane favored the Ottmans at the beginning of the World War to maintain his revenues. He expressed this stance in different ways, especially by avoiding extension of the Tabriz-Jolfa railroad as far as Makou. This policy of ruler made the Russians umbrageous and resulted in his exile to Teflis. After the exile of Makou’s ruler, the attempts of the Iranian government to bring him back remained abortive. The Russians returned him to Iran after two and half years of exile. Following this return, and the retreat of Russia from Iran due to the Russian revolution (1917), he continued the policy of favoring the Ottomans more unambiguously. This policy maintained and emphasized favoring the Ottomans by him at the beginning of the World War, but did not achieve a useful result and was repressed, like the tendency that most of Iranians had toward allied parties during the war.

After the death of Mozaffar al-Din Shah, Mohammad Ali Mirza was crowned on the 18th of Dey (solar month) in 1285 and ascended the throne as the new king. He affirmed his hostility to the constitution and constitutionalists by not inviting deputies of the council parliament to the coronation celebration. He resisted constitutionalists during his reign and also after taking refuge in Russia during his exile from Iran. In this article we review his hostility to the constitution from 1290, when he returned Iran through Astar Abad with the assistance of the Russians and his brothers. Also, according to insecurity and wars which occurred in different parts of country as a result of his stance, we consider the consequences this hostility had for him.

After the conquest of Iran by the Arabs, the rulers faced the administrative question of recognition of the conquered lands and clearly mapping the roads and villages. For this reason, historical geography developed from the third century onwards. Muslim explorers and geographers successfully collected relevant information by either personal observation or by asking travelers from both near and distant parts of the Islamic world, and finally created valuable written works on this subject. These writings, created continuously from the 3rd century to the 8th century, are collected in ten books in which one can trace the trend of development and evolution of a city or a region. In this article, we have examined pictures and reports related to city/region of Esfahan by referring to sixteen works on historical geography (from the 3rd century until the 8th century) and have traced the trend of development and movement of city/region of Esfahan. It is worth saying that the evolution traces both human and natural geography.

This paper considers the current state of recognition and acquisition of records by the National Archives of Iran, and communication with organizations and firms for the transferring of records to the National Archives. The research employed library and analytical survey methods, the tool being a questionnaire designed according to the indicator that makes the archival rules native in the world as well as rules and regulations for transferring records to the National Archives that include the topics of appraisal, destruction, transferring and management of records. The survey population in this study involved two groups of intermediary experts of national archive, and records managers of firms and parent governmental organizations. After analysis of the research, conclusions were examined. Finally, some suggestions are presented to improve the situation of recognition and acquisition of records by the National Archives.

This entry presents the science of diplomatics, briefly describing its history, its theoretical content, and its methodology. Comparing classic diplomatics with modern diplomatics, it discusses the concepts of authenticity, originality, and record. Then, it outlines the building blocks of the diplomatic body of knowledge, that its, the context, the act, the persons, the procedure, the documentary form, and the archival bond; and comments on the process of diplomatic criticism and on the usefulness of diplomatics as a discipline.

Throughout history, individuals and societies have always attached importance to the maintenance of records for various reasons, including the nature of information within them. As part of the common memory of mankind, records have an essential role in the maintenance of religious, national and cultural identities - past, present and future. Records are an information resource for understanding the history and recognition of social, economical, political, official, cultural and military changes within a society. From this perspective, keeping and maintaining this valuable resource is essential and the correct ways of retrieving, printing and publishing them in accurate form are necessary as well. Today we have the practical benefit of access to information technology services such as internet facilities that have increasingly developed in the scientific and academic circles of the country. Beside computerized libraries, there is the opportunity to access specialized websites in history subjects, internal and external websites of prominent researchers in historical disciplines, joining history research groups throughout the world, and finally joining to the scientific associations and virtual institutions. These have opened new possibilities for history researchers.

The extreme rapid development of information and communication technologies in recent years has transformed the industrial world into an “information community”. Being both deep and nonlinear, this trend has larger implications for humanity than any previous industrial revolution, with consequent cultural, economical and social disturbances. In this context, archives cannot be dismissed as unimportant repositories, merely including audio-visual resources or historical records, but they are at the center of information services and the provision of cultural content in order to defend archives’ rights, propagate greater education and stimulate a lively and dynamic culture. The records repository is therefore a crucial legacy and information resource of every country, in other words, a national asset holding unique and irreplaceable records. Obviously, this legacy is vitally important for the maintenance of cultural identities, linking the past, present and future and creating visions for the future. This puts a profound responsibility on the shoulders of friends, keepers and owners of this national memory. The present article considers the role of UNESCO in the maintenance of the documentary legacy and examines the programs it has accomplished so far.