THE DELEGATION OF MATENADARAN IS IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

31 January, 2024

On January 26-31, 2024, the delegation of Matenadaran (Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts), headed by the director of the institute Ara Khzmalyan, visited the Islamic Republic of Iran with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia. During their visit, they held meetings with the heads of spiritual and manuscript centers in Isfahan, Qom, and Tehran, as well as archive museums and representatives of the Armenian community.

As part of the Matenadaran delegation’s visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a presentation was given by Yvette Tajarian, a senior researcher at Matenadaran, at the museum of the Monastery of Saint Amenaprkich of Isfahan/New Julfa. The presentation was the debut on the album “A compilation of Photographs from Mashtots Matenadaran’s Collection” compiled by Ms. Tajarian.

The Armenian delegation visited the Ayatollah Marashi Najafi Library in Qom, the library is the largest center of Islamic manuscripts in Iran and the third largest in the Islamic world, with a collection of approximately 85,000 manuscripts in different languages, including religious and scientific texts.

The delegation went on a tour of the manuscript repository, digitization, and restoration departments as part of their visit. The center’s director, Mahmoud Marashi Najafi, expressed his willingness to cooperate with Matenadaran and emphasized the importance of studying the Armenian manuscripts in the center. Examining these manuscripts for the first time is a significant milestone in the cooperation between the two centers.

During a visit of the Matenadaran delegation to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a meeting was held with the leadership of the Scientific Research Center for the Study and Publication of Written Heritage in Tehran. The parties discussed the need to deepen their joint work in studying the Armenian-Iranian written heritage.

As a first step, three bilingual manuscripts in Armenian and Persian were selected and provided in digital format. The staff of Matenadaran will study these manuscripts in the coming months. An agreement was reached that an Armenian section will be opened in the library and 5 Armenian manuscripts will be studied.

During the visit of the Matenadaran delegation to the Islamic Republic of Iran, they met the leaders of Iran’s prominent publishing centers. A productive discussion was held with the “Mashkh” publishing house, whose programs also prioritize the popularization of Armenian culture in Iran.

The delegation visited Iranology Foundation and an initial arrangement was made with the leadership of the Iranology Foundation to train specialists and organize joint conferences and exhibitions.

https://matenadaran.am/en/2024/01/29/the-delegation-of-matenadaran-is-in-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/

https://matenadaran.am/en/2024/01/30/armenian-manuscripts-will-be-examined-for-the-first-time-in-the-largest-manuscript-centre-of-iran/

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