Asnād-i Bahāristān. (Baharestan Documents)

Transcription

1 Asnād-i Bahāristān (Baharestan Documents) Specialized Scientific Quarterly in Documentology Vol. 2, No. 5 Spring 2012

2

3 Asnād-i Bahāristān (Baharestan Documents) Specialized Scientific Quarterly in Documentology Vol. 2, No. 5 Spring 2012 Concessionaire: The Library, Museum and Documents Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief: Rasoul Ja'farian Associate Editor and Editorial Secretary: Ali Tatari Executive Director and Editor: Ruhollah Tahmouresi Logotype: Golam-Hossein Amirkhani English s and Table of Contents: Hussein Mollanazar Printing Supervisor: Niki Ayyubizadeh Address: the Library, Museum and Document Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Baharestan Sq., Tehran, Iran Telephone No.: Fax No.: Website: asnad@ical.ir

4 Asnād-i Bahāristān, as a journal specifically writing in the area of documents, is, by the help of writers, presenting documents and oral archives, to the researchers with the aim of publishing the documented research works. Asnād-i Bahāristān publishes articles regarding documents in each quarter. The documents are among the ones that are coming out of archives for the first time and that present realities of years by enlightened writers. Asnād-i Bahāristān asks the writers to follow regulations below in their articles: Acceptance conditions Asnād-i Bahāristān welcomes contributions of original, new and unpublished documents. Articles written with reference to Majlis documents shall be given priority. Submissions should not be sent to any other journal simultaneously or later. Regulations for compiling articles Articles should be compiled according to the following regulations: The article should have abstract, keywords, introduction, body and conclusion. Submissions should be no more than 8000 words. The texts should be typed in Microsoft Word 2003 or 2007 in 12X20cms. Article written in Persian should follow the Persian Script Orthography as suggested by the Academy of Persian Language and Literature. s should be 150 words and keywords 8 words maximum. The first page should include: name and surname, educational degree, address, organization, postal code, telephone and . Graphics should be 300 dpi and in JPEG or TIFF extension format. References should be made in footnotes as follows: Documents: name of the office that owns the document, Doc. No. and date. Books: Name and surname, title of the book, translator, volume (place of publication, publisher, publishing date, number of impression), page number. Articles: surname and name, title of the article, name of the journal, volume, date of publication, page number Note: Contributions received will not be returned to the authors. Authors shall be responsible for the contents of the article. The editorial board can accept, reject, edit or summarize the received material.

5 Preface Destruction of Modern Documents Normally when a document is obtained from distant past, we become so happy as if we have gained a treasure. The older the document is say, from the seventh or eighth centuries when we might rarely find any Iranian document the more our happiness will be. Regarding more recent documents, though our happiness might not be as high as with the former ones, however, if a document contains great contents, or due to its exquisite pen, handwriting, paper and etc., they are still treasured for us. But have we ever thought about the prospective value of the very letters, reports and/or documents that are being compiled today in different centers? Certainly, such a point is hardly ever understood by those who do not deal with research and scholarly investigation; indeed they deal with such papers more than researchers themselves. Now it should be asked what measures are to be taken for safeguarding recent documents? How should one decide to include or exclude items? Who should decide to do so and from what perspective? One important point is concerned with the suggestions that are to be made on different levels of these documents; such suggestions are made upon drafting, writing, selecting the paper type and noticing their historical significance for the future. But aside from that, the current problem that has arisen is the transfer of written information to digital one that takes place in offices automation or on the Web. This approach that is similarly taken in transferring written correspondence to SMS or messages leads to the destruction of an important part of daily administrative information. It is natural that in office automation system, many letters will usually be lost; however, measures might be taken to keep all this information. Currently, a lot of written information is similarly getting transferred into digital information that might be eroded by mistake, a virus attack or at anyone s desire and this in turn will lead to the destruction of our knowledge in certain fields. It is very likely that intelligence/espionage services or giant servers, such as Google and others store such information in a certain place though they do not have so much control over the contents, as in internal systems and office automation. However, the s or information present in social networks such as Facebook and others are surely stored somewhere; but our problem is that we do not have control over these networks. Having said above, it seems that the documentation centers that are legally committed to keep archived documents must contemplate seriously about solutions and major challenges in safeguarding current documents for the future. Rasoul Jafarian

6 Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring 2012 سال دوم شماره پنجم بهار 1931 Research on Documents Table of Contents Records of Nayeb Hussein Kashani s Attacks on Khur and Biabanak/ S. A. Al-e Davoud Some Documents from the Household of Mulla Abd al-ghaffar Tabrizi, the Calligrapher- Clergyman at Nasir al-din Shah s Era/ M. Alvansaz Khoyi An Eighth-Century Text by Jalal Ja'fari Farahani, the Calligrapher/ J. Bashari The Chronicle of Fatima Ma'suma Holy Shrine/ S. Taqdiri An Analysis of Safavid Letters of Warsaw Central Archives of Historical Documents/ & S. Yashkovski M. Taqavi An Introduction to the Parliament Museum Collection of Seals/ M. J. Jeddi A Flyleaf Note on 1870 Famine of Isfahan/ R. Ja'farian Iranian Parliament and Urban Planning/ S. Jalalpour Two Qajar Mandates of Fars Province/ S. Jamshidian A Document Study on Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 and Iranian Oil with a Focus on Concession Syndicate/ M. Hassannia Review of the Authorizations of al-allamah al-majlisi/ S. J. Husseini Eshkavari Some Documents on Iranian Artillery during Qajar Era/ H. Zarrini A Treatise on Qajar-Era Epidemic of Cholera/ S. Sa'dvandian Malek al-motekallemin s Relation with Prince Salar al-dowleh/ E. Shams Pages from the Documents of Tabataba i Mirzas of Behbahan/ S. M. Tabataba i Behbahani (Mansour) Homafar Vafsi Araki s Poetic and Prosaic Petitions to Parliament/ A. Abdoli Ashtiani Persian Gulf at the Turn of the Twentieth Century/ M. Kouhestaninezhad 6

7 s Records of Nayeb Hussein Kashani s Attacks on Khur and Biabanak Seyyed Ali Al-e Davoud Researcher The documents recording the attacks carried out by Nayeb Hussein Kashani and his eldest child, Mashallah Khan, on Khur, Biabanak and other regions of central Iran as well as the petitions filed by their local residents are now held in a number of centers and organizations, including the National Library and Archives Organization of Iran, Parliament Library, Central Library of Tehran University and some other centers whose inventories have not yet been submitted to researchers. In addition, old families of Kashan, Qom, Ardestan, Yazd, Na'in, Damghan, Anarak, Khur and Biabanak possess some related letters and documents about which there is little information and are probably destroyed or on the verge of destruction due to their owners' lack of enthusiasm. Recognition of the area over which these letters and documents are spread requires a detailed study of the regions assailed and seized by Nayeb Hussein and his followers. Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring

8 Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring 2012 سال دوم شماره پنجم بهار 1931 Research on Documents Some Documents from the Household of Mulla Abd al-ghaffar Tabrizi, the Calligrapher- Clergyman at Nasir al-din Shah s Era Muhammad Alvansaz Khoyi Researcher Members of the Nejat family were men of science and letters who sought to disseminate religious science and culture in Takab Afshar, Western Azerbaijan province. They have supported people through thick and thin for the last two centuries. The head of the family, Mulla Abd al-ghaffar Tabrizi, was a clergy and calligrapher who was highly respected by figures like Hassan Ali Khan Amir Nezam Garrousi. Little is known about his scientific and religious life and the date of his demise. 8

9 s An Eighth-Century Text by Jalal Ja'fari Farahani, the Calligrapher Javad Bashari PhD Candidate, Persian Language and Literature Seyyed Jalal al-din Ali ibn Abi Mansour Ja'fari Tayyari Borzabadi Farahani, known as Jalal Ja'fari, was a distinguished poet and eulogist in central Iran, Baghdad and Hillah in the 7-8 th centuries AH. Like Dowlatshah Samarqandi, Iranian biographers have mistakenly recorded his name as Jalal al- Din Ja'far. According to primary sources, Jalal was not his first name, but the abbreviated form of his title Jalal al-din. While Dowlatshah Samarqandi assumes Ja'far to be the name of him or his father's, a signature written at the beginning of a copy of Qawa'id al-ahkam kept at the library of Sadr School of Babol, registered under the reference number 96 and dating back to 755 AH records his name as Ali. According to a myriad of old sources, he was known as Jalal Ja'fari. The title Ja'fari Tayyari he used in some of his signatures demonstrates his relationship with the Talebis and above all with Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, the elder brother of Imam Ali (AS) who became known as al- Tayyar (i.e. owner of two wings) after he was killed in the battle of Mu'tah. Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring

10 Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring 2012 سال دوم شماره پنجم بهار 1931 Research on Documents The Chronicle of Fatima Ma'suma Holy Shrine Sa'id Taqdiri MA in Persian Language and Literature The Holy Shrine of Fatima Ma'suma is among the Shia religious sites which have received great attention and reception due to their endowed properties, and a large number of guardians and servants have served it throughout history. Thus, it has witnessed different events whose documentbased study would provide the researchers with useful information. Tapping the documents held in the Parliament Library, the author of this paper seeks to shed some light on these events. Keywords: trusteeship, guardian, Holy Shrine of Fatima Ma'suma, endowed properties, servants 10

11 s An Analysis of Safavid Letters of Warsaw Central Archives of Historical Documents Muhammad Taqavi Associate Professor, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Stanislav Yashkovski PhD Candidate, Iranian Studies, University of Warsaw Persian written works are scattered throughout the world, and letters -as part of these documentsprove helpful in clarifying historical issues. The Safavid era was an important chapter in Iranian history concerning the expansion of relations with the West. Most of contemporary issues are rooted in Safavid-era relations. The Central Archives of Historical Documents in Warsaw holds some Persian letters which provide a valuable source to investigate Iran-Poland relations. The present article reviews Iran-Poland relations along with these letters. In addition, their writers and addressees are introduced to the Persian-speaking reader. They are mainly about political issues and, thus, of historical significance. Bilateral issues are, sometimes implicitly and sometimes explicitly, addressed in the letters, and a common enemy, i.e. the Ottoman Empire, appears to be the main reason for Safavid and Polish rulers' close relations. Keywords: Safavid, Iran, Poland, royal letters, Persian documents Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring

12 Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring 2012 سال دوم شماره پنجم بهار 1931 Research on Documents An Introduction to the Parliament Museum Collection of Seals Muhammad Javad Jeddi Researcher and Seal Expert The seals this article seeks to introduce were part of a personal collection before being purchased and possessed by the Parliament Museum. At the invitation of the head of Malek Museum, the researcher and his friend, Ali Youseflou'i, found the opportunity to examine the seals and verify their authenticity. The researcher, thus, seizes the opportunity to underline the fact repeatedly stated in his earlier works, including Seal and Carving in Iran, Seals and Signets and Royal Seals that the study of seals held in different collections requires quality photos and expert introductions since their miniature size does not allow a detailed study with unaided eyes behind the museum windows. Needless to say, any comment on their authenticity on the basis of their marks is prone to be inaccurate and of doubtful validity as in some cases the documents are too dilapidated and the marks too vague to establish the date. The original seal and larger-than-actual-size quality photos are helpful in obviating this problem. 12

13 s A Flyleaf Note on 1870 Famine of Isfahan Rasoul Ja'farian Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Tehran While the flyleaf notes provide valuable sources to investigate the socio-cultural history of Iran, no comprehensive research has been conducted to address them. The present article addresses a newly-discovered note on the 1870 famine of Isfahan written in the same year on the back flyleaf of al-rawdah al-bahiyah fi Sharh al-lum'ah al-dimashqiyah. The author of the note lists some of the astronomical signs of the years and introduces them as a prologue to the 1870 famine of Isfahan. The note also contains interesting pieces of information on astronomical signs; the condition of famine and its consequences, including cannibalism and its links with the signs of the ultimate return of the Hidden Imam. In addition, some brief references are made to the author's life which will be presented in the article. Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring

14 Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring 2012 سال دوم شماره پنجم بهار 1931 Research on Documents Iranian Parliament and Urban Planning ( ) Shohreh Jalalpour Faculty Member, Islamic Azad University of Shahreza Urban planning came to birth in Iran between the sixth and first millennia BCE. Later on, the Median, Achaemenid, Sassanid, Seljuk, Buyid, Safavid and Qajar dynasties played a decisive role in this regard. The politico-administrative affairs were run by the governor, socio-economic affairs by the marshal, disciplinary affairs by the sheriff and legal affairs by the magistrates. After the victory of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, the Municipality Law was the fourth law enacted in In contemporary Iran, bureaus of calculation, city cleaning, electricity, municipality, urban association and rural association were established to maintain harmony between the urban affairs and population growth. However, urban planning issues were seriously addressed by Reza Shah in Tehran. Preceded by the king and royal court, modern army and the ministry of justice, the parliament was the fourth pillar of political power and the most important decision-making entity under the articles 15, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 29 of the Iranian constitution and articles 15, 43 and 45 of its amendment. In line with reform project, urban development, reconstruction and renewal attracted the government's attention, and different laws were ratified the most important of which were the Municipality Law (9 May 1930), Street and Paths Construction and Development Law (13 November 1933) and Municipality Tax Collection Bylaw (4 October 1938). The author of this paper seeks to answer the following questions: 1. How was urban planning addressed form its inception to the Qajar era? 2. What approach did people and members of parliament take to urban planning? 3. What role did the parliament play in urban planning in Reza Shah era? 4. What general and special laws did the parliament ratify in this regard? Keywords: urban planning, municipality, bureau of calculation, parliament 14

15 s Two Qajar Mandates of Fars Province Sajjad Jamshidian MA in History Throughout history, Fars province has been the seedbed of different developments and, thus, one of the most important provinces of Iran. The fact that it was resided by different tribes and clans made its control difficult for Iranian rulers, particularly the Qajar kings. Therefore, they always sought to confer its rule to the most powerful men they could trust. This article addresses two historical mandates of Fars province: the first one was issued by Ahmad Shah to Abd al-hussein Mirza Farmanfarma to rule Kohgilouyeh, Behbahan, Persian Gulf and its islands and ports and the second one by Nasir al-din Shah to Sultan Oveis Ehtesham al-dowleh to run the lands of Dawan and Ardakan. In addition, their biographies and political resumes are briefly studied. Keywords: Fars, Kohgilouyeh, Behbahan, Ehtesham al-doleh, Abd al-hussein Mirza Farmanfarma, Nasir al-din Shah, Ahmad Shah Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring

16 Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring 2012 سال دوم شماره پنجم بهار 1931 Research on Documents A Document Study on Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 and Iranian Oil with a Focus on Concession Syndicate Muhammad Hassannia PhD in History of Islamic Iran The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 stemmed from the British-Russian struggle for power in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Accordingly, the oil issue arose from the substantial concessions granted to these imperial powers. Thus, the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 and subsequent division of Iran into three zones were closely connected to oil issue and the fact that oilrich regions were located in the neutral buffer zone. Since the D'Arcy Concession was signed in 1901 and the Anglo-Russian Convention in 1907, the question arises as to why Britain and Russia located the oil-rich regions drilled for oil by D'Arcy in the buffer zone, whether they expected the buffer zone to produce oil as the oil concession covered three quarters of Iran and excluded only the five most northerly provinces, and whether Britain was trying to keep Russia away form the regions covered by a concession won by a British citizen. The said questions made the researcher conduct a document study on the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 and Iranian oil with a focus on years during which the Concession Syndicate operated in Iran. He also seeks to investigate the impact the convention had on Iranian oil-rich regions, particularly those of Khuzestan and Bakhtiari-dominated regions. Keywords: Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, Concession Syndicate, Russia, Britain, Khuzestan, Bakhtiari 16

17 s Review of the Authorizations of al-allamah al-majlisi Sayyid Ja far Husseini Eshkavari Researcher Following the publication of two valuable books, Authorizations of Traditions and The Disciples of al-allamah al-majlisi written by my father Allamah, the meticulous researcher, Sayyid Ahmad Husseini Eshkavari and published by the Library of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, I came across several authorizations that have not been included among the published ones. These are presented in the present paper as recommended by the respectful friend Mr. Tahmouresi. Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring

18 Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring 2012 سال دوم شماره پنجم بهار 1931 Research on Documents Some Documents on Iranian Artillery during Qajar Era Hussein Zarrini PhD in History of Islamic Iran After firearms were employed in the Iranian army before the establishment of Safavid dynasty in the early sixteenth century, the absence of powerful artilleries became a major weak point plaguing the army in different periods of history. Due to its functions in breaching fortifications, the artillery was warmly welcomed by the military establishments of different countries, including Iran's. 18

19 s A Treatise on Qajar-Era Epidemic of Cholera Sirous Sa'dvandian Researcher While cholera was not the so-called scourge of God, it was a long-known disease whose epidemic swept Iran almost every year, roared its ugly head every now and then in the capital and destroyed thousands of lives in the twinkling of an eye. According to some sources, "cholera quietly crept up on Iran in early summer. Rumors circulated that it had claimed lives in the east. Telegrams spread the news of cholera epidemic in Samargand. It had infiltrated the country and arrived in Mashhad. The toll was rising at an alarming rate. Mashhad had turned into a mass grave. Two weeks later, the gloomy news broke that cholera was spreading from afflicted villages to the west. The killer disease came closer and closer day by day. It infiltrated the quarantine barriers, reared its ugly head in a remote village and then set out for the north. People said out of pessimism that the capital would be safe. However, it was in Tehran in a minute and the cholera epidemic was there to sweep the city. Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring

20 Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring 2012 سال دوم شماره پنجم بهار 1931 Research on Documents Malek al-motekallemin s Relation with Prince Salar al-dowleh Esma'il Shams PhD in History of Islamic Iran Mirza Nasrollah Malek al-motekallemin was an eminent preacher and clergy who played a decisive role in setting the stage for the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. After the successful revolution, he became an inspiring leader thanks to his rousing speeches. However, he was executed after the parliament was surrounded and shelled by Muhammad Ali Shah's order. One of the most controversial issues of Malek al-motekallemin's life was his joining Salar al- Dowleh, a notorious Qajar prince who ruled Kurdistan in Malek al-motekallemin strongly backed Salar al-dowleh and even published some articles and essays in Tehran-based newspapers in his defense. This article presents a brief study of the constitutionalist preacher and the Qajar prince's lives and relations as well as two important documents recording Malek al-motekallemin's defenses of Salar al-dowleh. Some quotations from the dignitaries of Tehran and Kurdistan are also provided to shed more light on their relation. Keywords: Malek al-motekallemin, Salar al-dowleh, Kurdistan, Qajar 20

21 s Pages from the Documents of Tabataba i Mirzas of Behbahan Sayyid Muhammad Tabataba i Behbahani (Mansour) Assistant Professor, Persian Language and Literature, Tehran University A tribe of Hassani Tabataba i Sayyids known as Āl al-muhall, who were the descendants of Imam Yahya al-hadi il al-haqq, the founder of Yemen s Zaydiyah dynasty whose grave lies in Sa dah, moved to Arjan in the late Fourth Century or early Fifth Century AH and settled there. This dynasty has been elaborately presented in the old and new books of lineage such as al-fakhri fi al- Nesab by Isma il Alawi Marvazi (b. after 614 AH) and Lil-Tazkirah fi Ansāb al-mutaharrah by Ibn Inabah Ubaidali (7 th century AH) and Tuhfat al-az hār by Zāmin bin Shadqam Madani (living in 1091 AH) among others. Tabataba i Sayyids of Behbahan and Shoulestan (Fahliyan) and some of the Tabataba i Sayyids of Kazerun are the descendants of the same Āl al-muhall tribe, having resided in different regions of Fars and Khuzestan provinces for more than ten centuries. For the reference of those interested, this is elaborated on in the Kārnāmeye Behbahan (The Account of Behabahan) under the holy title of Hassani Arjani by the author. This paper attempts to shortly introduce Tabataba i Mirzas 1 and then present a few pages of their related documents. Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring Closely related to the Sayyids who are paternally related to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the term Mirza here refers to those who are related to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) maternally. (Not to be confused with Mirza as the royal title for princes).

22 Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring 2012 سال دوم شماره پنجم بهار 1931 Research on Documents Homafar Vafsi Araki s Poetic and Prosaic Petitions to Parliament Asadollah Abdoli Ashtiani Document Expert Persian Iraq or Arak has long been the cradle of scholars and men of letters. Vafs is an ancient village in northern Arak whose dialect dates back to the Median era. It is also the home of four poets, the most famous of whom is Mirza Muhammad Hussein Vafsi Araki, pen-named as Homafar. Although deprived of formal education, Homafar mastered both Persian and Arabic literatures and composed verses. Between 1921 and 1925, he wrote some poetic and prosaic petitions against the venal and corrupted deputy governor of Vafs and his assistant to the fourth and fifth parliaments and asked for justice. Keywords: Homafar Vafsi, Persian Iraq, history, dialect, family, biography, petition, poetry and prose, parliament 22

23 s Persian Gulf at the Turn of the Twentieth Century Mas'oud Kouhestaninezhad Researcher The rivalry between the European powers over Asia came to a head in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Except for India which had lost its dependence to Britain, Tibet, Manchuria, Indochina, China and the Middle-East all were the scene of European struggle for concessions and protectorates. Meanwhile, the Persian Gulf had a special situation. Its geographical situation had turned it to the crossroads of European-Ottoman interests. In addition, the D'Arcy Concession and the prospect of oil fields made the gulf of double significance. Therefore, the European powers and the Ottoman Empire redoubled their efforts to maintain their presence in the Persian Gulf. The campaign spearheaded by Britain was joined by Russia, France and the Ottoman Empire. Vol. 2 No. 5 Spring