From Historical Event to Literary Narrative: A Narrative Reading of the Historical Event of the “Liberation of Bukhara” in Târix-i Jahângušâ through David Herman’s Narrative Theory

Authors
Shirin Roshani
Habibollah Abbasi
Nasergholi Sarli
Seyed Morteza Mirhashemi
Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
10.616224/jpll.33.98.215
Abstract
The historical event of the liberation of Bukhara is among those highly significant occurrences that have been recorded by numerous historians. The manner in which this event has been chronicled across different historical texts reflects the diversity of approaches and perspectives regarding historiography and the narration of events. In some of these texts, the accounts are presented in greater detail, to the point that the narrative transcends a mere historical report. One historian who recorded this event with an approach beyond simple reporting is Aṭa-Malik Juvayni, the author of Tarikh-i Jahangushay (The History of the World Conqueror). An analysis of Juvayni’s account reveals multiple factors that persuade the reader that he documented the events not solely for the purpose of reporting but from a broader outlook. In the present study, the event of the liberation of Bukhara was examined through a descriptive–analytical method and a narratological approach. The analysis is based on David Herman’s four-level narrative analysis theory, which examines narratives at the levels of happening, event sequencing, worldmaking/world disruption, and experientiality, thereby revealing the degree of narrativity within an event. At the first level of Juvayni’s narrative (happening), the narrator’s position can be identified in four distinct roles. In other words, Juvayni, by alternately assuming the roles of writer (reporter and reminder) and teller (reporter, moralizer), employs strategies that elevate the event beyond the confines of mere reporting to arrange a literary creation. At the second level (event sequencing), by skillfully arranging a beginning, middle, and end, Juvayni organizes the events into a causal structure, which presupposes a narrative plot. In shaping this narrative, Juvayni distinguishes between main and subsidiary events. This ordering of events, combined with precise depictions of time and place, illuminates Juvayni’s narrative method at the third level (worldmaking). Finally, at the fourth level, Juvayni induces a sense of experientiality in the reader through three techniques. It must be noted that such evocation is rarely perceived in historical texts. Yet, in their reports, Iranian historians often aim at purposes beyond mere chronicling, pursuing what can be termed the principle of instruction to influence their audience. At this level, by adopting three distinct techniques—an eloquent proemial description at the beginning of the narrative, the blending of discourse and image, and the incorporation of poetry and proverbs at the service of instruction—Juvayni affects the reader’s emotional system and transforms feeling into understanding. Ultimately, this process generates a central idea within the audience. This process results in the emergence of one of the essential elements of narrativity: the transition from the level of mere reporting to that of literary creation.
Keywords
Târix-i Jahângušâ-ye Juvayni
Liberation of Buxârâ
Narrative
Historical Report
Literary Creation
David Herman
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