Journal of Diplomatics Studies and Research

A Methodological Framework for Extracting and Representing Spatial Data from Iranian Historical Documents

https://doi.org/10.22034/dpr.2026.600468.1030
Volume 1, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
October 2026
Pages 293-313
Journal of Diplomatics Studies and Research

Document Type : Original Article

Author

fatemeh ahmadvand

Assistant Professor of the Department of History and Civilization of Islamic Nations, Faculty of Islamic Sciences and Researches, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

Abstract
Iranian historical documents, particularly endowment deeds, property deeds, and administrative records, often contain spatial information in the form of place names, boundaries, adjacency relations, water routes, administrative affiliations, and land uses. Directly converting such information into points, lines, or polygons may detach spatial data from its documentary evidence and obscure its degree of certainty. This study asks through what stages spatial information contained in a historical document can be transformed into data usable in a Geographic Information System (GIS) while ensuring that every mapped feature remains traceable to its documentary source. Using a qualitative, library- and document-based approach, the study draws on an integrative review of research in document studies, historical geography, and spatial methods. The proposed framework is then examined through two Qajar-period endowment deeds from Tehran. The findings identify three main principles. First, the basic unit of extraction should be the “documentary spatial statement” rather than an isolated place name. Second, a place’s name, type, administrative affiliation, and geometry should be recorded together with the date and source of the evidence. Third, each mapped feature should carry an identifier linking it to the relevant document, textual passage, and page or folio. Application of the framework to the endowment deed of the Sadrabad and Kazemabad qanats and that of Aqa Mehdi Malek al-Tojjar shows that relations such as water flow, location within a neighborhood, adjacency to a mosque or bathhouse, and the function of endowed property can be extracted and recorded before assigning a specific geometry. The study concludes that the reliability of spatial representation derived from historical documents depends primarily on the transparency of the transformation from document to data and the explicit recording of uncertainty, rather than on coordinate precision alone.

Keywords

Historical Documents
Historical Geography
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Place Names
Uncertainty
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 02 September 2026
  • Revise Date 26 September 2026
  • Accept Date 30 September 2026

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