In Iran since ancient times, like other ancient civilizations, records and documents have been filed in archives and great importance has been attached to them. For example, during the Achaemenid period (330 to 550 BC), the foundation of the empire’s administrative organization was formed by the royal archive, with the head of the administrative organization also serving as the head of the royal archive. The preservation of records continued during the Parthian and Sasanian periods, and after the spread of Islam in Iran, records were kept in a place called the “Treasury” under the guidance of Iranian ministers and secretaries. In the Safavid government, the preparation and sending of records and documents related to state affairs were protected in the office of the High Court (Chehel Sutun Building).
Although the history of matters related to records and their storage in government and royal repositories has a long history, the idea of the emergence of archives in its modern sense goes back to the Qajar era. At the beginning of the Qajar era, the archive was in the court organizations and was a part of the Biotat administration, but since the era of Naser al-Din Shah, with the expansion of administrative organizations in Iran and the mass production of non-current papers and files, the creation of a national archive and a non-current archiving center for the whole country became an inevitable necessity. During the years 1280-1309, a French and Belgian delegation implemented a plan to reform the country’s filing system. After that, in 1309, the Council of Ministers approved a resolution to establish a government archives center. According to this resolution, the Ministry of Finance (Treasury) has the authority to collect most of the contracts, privileges, and government records in a room located in Golestan Palace, titled “Government Archives Center”. Finally, the bill for the establishment of the “Iranian National Archives Organization” was submitted to the National Assembly. After reviewing the law establishing the National Documents Organization of Iran on 1349/02/17, it was approved and reported to the government. Based on this law, a council named “National Archives Council” was formed from the very beginning, which has been one of the most important pillars of the National Archives since its inseption.
The National Archives Organization of Iran operated as an independent organization under the supervision of the Administrative and Employment Organization until 1381. On 1381/02/06, based on the approval of the Supreme Administrative Council, it was merged with the National Library of Iran and a new organization titleed the “National Library and Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran” was created. The new organization operates under the supervision of the presidential institution now function as independent deputies within it.