Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• ahmad razi ¹
• Souzana Emami ²

¹ Professor of Persian Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

² M.A. Student in Persian Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

Abstract

This research aims to analyze Abul Fazl Bayhaqi’s historiographical method based on Wilhelm Dilthey’s hermeneutic theory. Dilthey, by distinguishing between “explanation” in natural sciences and “understanding” in human sciences, established hermeneutics as a fundamental method for historical studies. The concepts of “historical understanding,” “lived experience,” and “individuality” form the theoretical framework of this research. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and a hermeneutic approach, this study seeks to answer this question: Through what mechanisms does Bayhaqi achieve an understanding of the events of the Ghaznavid era? Findings indicate that Bayhaqi, in his understanding of history, emphasizes the role of lived experience, motivations, and individual human actions. Essentially, one of the key sources of Bayhaqi’s narrative is his “lived experience,” gained from his secretarial work in the Ghaznavid court, which distinguishes him from other contemporary historians. In a significant portion of his book’s narratives, he engages in understanding and interpreting historical events and the behavior of actors through the “projection” of emotions and the application of “re-creation,” “transfer,” and various forms of the “hermeneutic circle.

Keywords

• Hermeneutics
• Historical understanding
• Lived Experience
• Tarikh-e Beyhaqi
• Wilhelm Dilthey