TEHRAN -- A collection of Iranian documents dating back to the Safavid era was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register list last week.

A total of 34 other works from several countries was also registered on the list during the 9th meeting of the UNESCO International Advisory Committee, held in Bridgetown, Barbados from July 29 to 31.
The Safavid era collection comprises the administrative documents of Astan-e Quds Razavi, one of the oldest charity organizations in the world with precedence of at least 327 years’ document keeping.
This collection, which is kept at the Astan-e Qods Razavi Organization for Libraries, Museums and Archives Centers in Mashhad, consists of 69,000 pages of documents spanning 1589-1735 CE relating to a vast geographical area including Iran, especially the Khorasan region, and Afghanistan.
The documents provide information on administrative, social, economic, agricultural, endowment, religious and other issues.
They also record an image of Mashhad, which is home to the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Khorasan Razavi Province and the style of social life in the Safavid era.
Astan Quds Razavi has been active since 938 CE. This religious foundation now consists of over 1000 staff members, 100 economic institutions, an extensive library containing 60 thousand manuscripts, an archive with some 6 million documents, two universities and a large center for Islamic studies.
The Shahnameh of Baysunqur, one of three ancient copies of Ferdowsi’s epic masterpiece, and the Endowment Deed of Rab-e Rashidi are Iranian articles which were inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register list in 2007.