Pilgrims of Imam Ali's (a.s.) Holy Shrine in the Archive

One of the most important issues related to holy shrines and centers of pilgrimage -mainly Najaf Al Ashraf which is regarded in this article- is annual attendance of many of lovers and Shiites for pilgrimage in these places. The historical review of this issue by documents left from the past, makes various aspects of the issue through the history clearer. In this article, which is organized according to available information and documents in Ottoman archives, various issues are considered such as: the number of annual pilgrims of holy shrine of Imam Ali (a.s.), the way they are transferred, positive and negative social and economic impacts of pilgrims’ presence in Najaf, security problems of pilgrims’ transferring route, tax of entry and exit and main ways they move.