- Jahrgang 165 (2015)
- Vol. 165 (2015)
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- Ausgabe 2
- Nr. 2
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- Seiten 369 - 394
- pp. 369 - 394
The Rhetoric of Qazvīnī's History of Shah Jahan
Seiten 369 - 394
DOI https://doi.org/10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.165.2.0369
It is well-established that Persian historiographers did not intend their histories to be reports of ‘objective facts’ but as lessons to be learned from the past. The rhetorical and narrative means by which they constructed their lessons from reports of events have not been researched so far. Historians have either focussed on the historians' opinions, or searched for ‘the facts’, excluding opinion, but have not enquired about the link between both.
This article demonstrates the means used in writing such a history, from the level of phrase and sentence to figures of speech, narrative techniques and employment, and finally to the overall concepts and message. It takes as an example the still unedited but nevertheless indispensable Pādšāhnāma of Muḥammad Amīn Qazvīnī, an official court history of the youth, young adulthood and the first ten years of the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan. Qazvīnī's explicit task was to present Shah Jahan as the greatest ruler ever, so we do not need to ponder on the purpose of his book. But how did he accomplish this task?
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