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Archives & Libraries

Archives

Iran has multiple public archives with a wealth of resources documenting Iran's history. Some of these collections are only accessible to Iranian citizens. Read this article: Finding Your Way Around Tehran's Public Archives, by Navid Zarrinnal, for a good overview of the different archives, their holdings, and how you might be able to gain access to them.

National Library and Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The archive is the primary repository for Iran's historical documents, including census', manuscripts, books on minority groups and their families, Dhimi Tax Documents, and Troop Levy Documents. Some of these resources have been digitized and can be accessed through the link below. Although membership (and access to record details) is limited to Iranian citizens, you can try requesting more information through their technical support page.

P.O. Box 19395-69573
Haqani Expressway
Tehran 1537614111 Iran

Tel:+98 21 8864 4080

• Website
• Digital collections (searchable)
• Search the digital archive by family name (in Arabic)
• For further reading, see this Wikipedia article on the holdings and history of the archive.

Iranian Institute for Contemporary Historical Studies
15, Shahid Fayyazi Avenue
(Fereshteh), Elahieh
Tehran 19649, IRAN

P.O.Box 19395-1975
Telephone: (021) 22604037-8
Fax: (021) 22602096
Website
Oral history
Statesmen

• Holds documents dating back to the 19th century. The institute also has a good photographic archive, and runs an oral history project.

Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran
Website
A wealth of online documents and photos from the Qajar Era that can be browsed by subject or searched by name.

• Obituaries
• Marriage records
• Inheritance records
• Wills
• Tribal records
• Letters
• Iranian Jews

Foundation for Iranian Studies
4343 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 200
Bethesda, MD 20814
Telephone: 301.657.1990/ 301.657.1991
Email: FIS@fis-iran.org
Website

• This website offers a wealth of free resources online about Iranian history and culture, including documents, oral histories, books, articles, music, and more.

Endangered Archives Programme
Website
An initiative run by the British Library focused on preserving endangered archives throughout the world. The repository holds over 2,000 collections from Iran, which are mostly periodicals, photos, some manuscripts, and other cultural and historical collections.

• Iran archives

Shahre Farang
Website
Visual archive of Iranian cultural heritage. Includes a small collection of birth certificates of Iranian Men and Women born in 1942 from a private collector.

Qatar Digital Library

Libraries

Arab Genealogy Books Online
Website
Open access collection of Arabic genealogy books that have been digitized and can be browsed by country/region. Books contain valuable information about tribal histories and family lineages.

Islamic Consultative Assembly Library, Museum and Documentation Centre
Ketabkhaneh Majles-e Shora-ye Eslami
1 Baharestan Square
1157613411 Tehran, Iran

P.O. Box 11365-866
Tel:+98 21 33137810-11
Fax:+98 21 33137813

Malek National Library and Museum
Melal Mottahed (Bagh Melli) Street
Imam Khomeini Street
Janbe Vezarate Kharejeh
Tehran, Iran

Post box 111555/547
Phone:66726613 and 53
Fax:66705974
Website

• The library contains over 70,000 books and many catalogs and periodicals, some of which may be of genealogical value. The library also includes catalogs for Iranian libraries in other institutions and archives in Europe and Türkiye. There is also a catalog for Arabic and Ottoman materials.

Museums

Google listing of museums in Iran

National Museum of Iran
No.1, Henri Rolin St., Siy-e Tir Street
Emam Khomeini Avenue
Tehran, Iran

Telephone: +98 21 66702061-6
Fax: +98 21 66746164
Post Box: 4364-116945
Website

Record Offices

Governmental Civil Registration Office
District 6
Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Telephone: +98 21 8871 2662

National Organization for Civil Registration
District 11
Tehran, Iran

Telephone: +98 21 6674 2876
Wikipedia: National Organization for Civil Registration