In Search of the Persianate Tradition of Taking Minutes, or How to Transfer Words to Paper

Abstract The present paper investigates the development of taking minutes and record-keeping in Mughal India and Safavid Iran from the early modern period, including protocols taken as the part of legal processes, diplomatic discussions, government administration, and leisurely gatherings, through an analysis of administrative manuals, stylized literary letters ( monshaʾāt ), narrative sources, and documents. This study also addresses the relationship between official writings and Sufi literature. Even prior to the import of European bureaucratic practices, the tradition of writing reports of assemblies was well established in the Persian language, though the research here demonstrates how some passages found in the chronicles are probably an embellishment of official records. The practices discussed show a commitment to keeping the account of meetings and oral exchanges in the Persianate world.