Ancient manuscripts and documents are on display at the pavilion of the National Library and Archives at Tehran International Book Fair underway at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla.
Among the documents is a decree issued by former king Nader Shah Afshar (1688-1747). As per the order, the governorate of Yazd was given to Mirza Hassan, a former military commander of Natanz County, Isfahan Province. In the order Mirza Hassan was told to be kind to the peasants, collect taxes and punish rebels and criminals.
The royal order is written on fine cloth and has one-sided margin illuminations depicting grapevines. According to a note placed next to the order, it was written on August 3, 1742.
Nader Shah Afshar was one of the most powerful Iranian rulers who ruled as Shah of Persia from 1736 to 1747. He was assassinated during a rebellion.
A piece of paper containing explanations about a mission for Naser al-Din Shah (1831-1896) of the Qajar Dynasty, handwritten by his chief minister, Mirza Taghi Khan Farahani, better known as Amir Kabir (1807-1852), is also among the historic documents on show.
Amir Kabir was one of the most capable and innovative figures to emerge during the entire Qajar rule. He is widely considered to be Iran’s first reformer, a modernizer who was assassinated on the king’s order as he strived to introduce reforms and pushed for responsibility and transparency in managing state affairs.
Three Divans
One of the manuscripts on view, probably written in the 15th century in Shiraz, contains divans (collection of poems by one author) of three Persian-language poets, including Amir Khusrow Dehlavi (1253-1325), a musician, poet and scholar in medieval India; Amir Hassan Sajzi Dehlavi, well-known poet of India who is believed to have died around 1327; and Nasser Bukharaei one of the lesser known leading poets of the 14th century from Bukhara, now in Uzbekistan.
A finely illuminated Qur’an adorned with jewel tones (various colors such as emerald and ruby that resemble those of gemstones) is another manuscript on display at the pavilion. Beige, red, gold and navy blue are the main colors used in the decoration. Name of each Surah (chapter) in the holy book has been put in rectangular boxes illuminated with minute details. It was written in 1902.
Kolliyat-e Sa’adi and Divan-e Hafez are the other manuscripts on show. The former is the title given to the book containing the entire works of the great medieval Persian poet and prose writer Sa’adi (1213-1291) including Bustan (orchard) and Gulistan (rose garden).
The script was handwritten by Jamal al-Din Hossein Ibn Abdol-Fattah in 1581, and includes 70 miniatures.
The latter, Divan-e Hafez, is the collection of sonnets of Khajeh Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafez Shirazi (1315-1390) known by his pen name Hafez (literally meaning ‘memorizer’ or ‘keeper’). Hafez’s collection of sonnets is very popular in the Persian-speaking world. His life and poems have been the subject of much debate, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-14th century Persian writing more than any other author.
The Divan on display was written in 1473 by Sultan Ali Mashhadi (1438-1522), one of the famous calligraphers of his time.
The manuscripts and documents will remain on show till the closing of book fair on May 12.
