Bibliography of Iranian Itineraries and Memoirs of Shrines of Iraq

Itineraries hold within themselves valuable information that cannot be found in history books, on the politics, economics, society, culture, and traditions of a region. Itineraries are valuable because they see the events through the eyes of a stranger whom all kinds of tribal prejudices and inclinations are absent. Similar to the rest of the world, a portion of the Iranian literature is formed by itineraries, in which itineraries on holy sites, specifically the holy shrines in Iraq, have the largest share.
Composing itineraries on the Holy Shrines in Iraq began in the Qajar era by authorities, businessmen, scholars, and some unknown persons. In the previous decade, since travel to these places have increased, such itinerary compositions have also reached their pike.
This article starts by explaining the importance of writing itineraries, specially those on pilgrimage, and their role in transferring the culture and traditions of one community to another, and from one generation to the next. It continues by introducing some of the first figures who wrote itineraries on the Holy Shrines of Iraq, and ends by indexing bibliographical information on the 106 itineraries that have been written in the previous two centuries.