Reflection of the Belief in Divine Will in Historiography of Ilkhanid Period: With an emphasis on Jahāngushāy and Wassāf History

By knowing the viewpoint of two historians in Ilkhanid period about the belief in divine will, this research tries to investigate its reflection in the content and method of their historiography. Therefore, we ask the following questions in order to meet this goal:
What is the motive for the history from the historian's viewpoint? What factors influenced this thinking? What kind of influence had the mentioned viewpoints on the method of historiography?
The following hypothesis is raised in answering these questions: Joveini's deep religious beliefs about divine will and unpleasant political-social circumstances in his time led to a kind of fatalistic attitude towards history; therefore in his historiography, he has not utilized the principles of "cause and effect and analysis" in spite of using critical viewpoints (in some events) and historical fairness in narrating history. In contrast, the epistemological viewpoints of Wassaf towards the essentials in the science of history, his familiarity with several sciences, his patterning from the great historians and thinkers, and his impressionability from Ikhwan al-Safa ('the Brethren of Purity') and at last improvement of socio-political circumstances did not lead to a kind of absolute extra-terrestrial attitude towards history. Basically, his historiography method was based on two principles of "cause and effect" and "critical analysis" following historical fairness; hence his historical narrations are more analytical