Iran seeks registration of two works on UNESCO list

TEHRAN,April 3(MNA) -- Iran has recently applied for registration of a collection of historical maps and a reference book on traditional Iranian medicine on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register list. Documents detailing “Maps from the Qajar Period” and “The Reserve of the Khwarizmshah Dynasty” (“Zakhire-ye Kharazmshahi”) were sent to UNESCO’s International Advisory Committee last week, Fariba Farzam, a member of the Iranian National Committee for Memory of the World, told on Sunday. Translation of the documents was completed under the auspices of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, she added. The works will be discussed during the 11th Meeting of the International Advisory Committee for the Memory of the World Programme in May 2013. UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register is a list of library collections and archive holdings of world significance. “Maps from the Qajar Period” consists of 500 unique hand-drawn and lithographic geographical maps that are kept at the Center for Documentation and Research Services of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Most of the maps refer to Iran and nearby regions. Some of the maps show the lands, which were split from Iran over the past centuries as result of political events. Some of the maps bear the signatures of officials and political and cultural figures of the time in the margins. “The Reserve of the Khwarizmshah Dynasty” is a Persian reference book on traditional Iranian medicine, which has been authored by Seyyed Ismael Jurjani (c. 1042-1136 CE), mostly known as Hakim Jurjani. Topics from speech therapy to varieties of pesticides are discussed in the book that is kept at the library of the Shahid Motahhari School and Mosque in Tehran. There are several other versions of the book in Iranian libraries, but the version kept at the library of the Shahid Motahhari School and Mosque in Tehran is the most intact one. Five other works have already been registered on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register list. A collection of Iranian documents dating back to the Safavid era was added to the list in 2009. In addition, the Shahnameh of Baysunqur, one of three ancient copies of Ferdowsi’s epic masterpiece, and the Endowment Deed of Rab-e Rashidi are two other Iranian works, which were registered on the list in 2007. “At-Tafhim” written by Abu Rayhan Biruni (973-1048 CE) and “Khamseh” composed by Nezami Ganjavi (c. 1141-1209 CE) were other Iranian works registered on the list in May 2011.