Karbala is a historic city in Iraq, important for its religious significance for Islam and its strategic geographic location. The 18th and 20th centuries were a time of significant political change and a time when new national identities were being formed in the region. Karbala was a place where many different peoples met and the documents and images are evidence of the widespread influence of the city on the areas from West to South-West Asia through to large areas of North Africa.

The collection includes legal deeds and documents, identity documents, petitions, family documents, minutes of meetings and photographs of urban sites. It covers a wide range of topics such as natural disasters, religious and ritual sites, education, social and political change, health, cultural affairs and the visits of kings and official dignitaries.



The documents and images are from the Qajar Dynasty (Iran), the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), and the Monarchy and Republic eras in Iraq. They are written by different groups of people including Indians, Iranians, Turks and Altai and the Turkish, Persian and Arabic languages are used. Some of the original documents that were held in Iraq have been destroyed and replaced by microfilm and digital copies.