TEHRAN - Historical documents held at Tehran’s Sa’dabad Cultural-Historical Complex have been recatalogued and rescanned in recent months following a years-long pause, a museum official said.

Ladan Tajbakhsh, head of the Royal Albums and Documents Museum at Sa’dabad, said the archive is divided into written and visual materials, including photographs, albums and official records.

Speaking to the Tehran Times, Tajbakhsh said the visual archive, which consists of albums and individual photographs, has already undergone extensive scanning and processing and is considered one of the most advanced visual archives among Iran’s former royal complexes, alongside Golestan Palace and Niavaran Palace.

She said the temporary closure of the museum [ following the start of the 12-day Israeli imposed war on the Islamic Republic] provided an opportunity to focus on written documents, which were reorganized, thematically categorized and reviewed to prevent duplication before being recatalogued. The scanning of these written materials has been underway for several months, she added.

According to Tajbakhsh, most of the documents relate to political events during the first and second Pahlavi periods. She said many of the original documents were held by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and were copied before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with copies transferred to the former Ministry of the Court. The materials currently housed at Sa’dabad consist mainly of these copies, while the originals remain with the Foreign Ministry.
She further said the documents are primarily valuable for research purposes rather than for exhibition alone, noting that they help clarify details about the complex’s architectural layout, furnishings and daily operations.

Among the materials are records referring to structures such as a refreshment house known as the Sharbatkhaneh, whose exact location within the complex remains unclear, as well as documents detailing furniture used in the White Palace, later known as Mellat Palace, including records of repairs and restoration.
Citing an example, she pointed to documents related to a French company that worked on interior decoration at Sa’dabad for about two decades, including records showing payments made for furniture restoration.

Tajbakhsh said the documents gained particular importance in the early years following the 1979 revolution, when senior figures associated with the former monarchy left the country and the collection became a key source for historical research.

Covering about 110 hectares on the northern slopes of Tehran, the Sa’dabad Cultural-Historical Complex was first developed in the 19th century as a summer residence for Qajar monarchs. It was expanded in the 1920s after Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty made it his residence and later served as one of the main royal compounds during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah.

Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the complex was nationalized and converted into a public museum. It is now managed by Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts and includes several museums displaying royal furniture, artworks, carpets and historical objects.
KD/AM