A Narrative of Two Defeats (A Discussion on Ferdowsi and Saadi's Narratives of Iran's Defeat by the Arabs and Mongols) مقالة

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A Narrative of Two Defeats (A discussion on the narratives of Ferdowsi and Saadi regarding Iran's defeat by the Arabs and Mongols) Dr. Cyrus Shamisa Allameh Tabataba'i University Abstract: In this article, an attempt has been made to address Saadi's issue—namely, the defeat of Iranians by the Mongols and the attribution of this event to fate and destiny (Qada and Qadar) from Saadi's perspective as presented in the fifth chapter of the Bostan—based on the principle of discourse. In the story of Yazdegerd and the defeat of Iran by the Arabs, Ferdowsi relies heavily on the issue of Qada and Qadar (fate and destiny) and the movement of the stars, which is not in harmony with other parts of the Shahnameh. Anyway, Saadi extends the issue of luck and fortune from war, defeat, and victory to other matters; such as when a poor husband, in response to his wife's protest regarding his poverty, says: که من دستِ قدرت ندارم به هیچ* به سر پنجه، دست قضا برمپیچ* (همان: 327) And in another tale, his recommendation in the face of this decree of fate and destiny is submission to contentment: چو رد می‎نگردد خدنگ قضا* سپر نیست مر بنده را جز رضا* (سعدي، 1376: 328) It seems that the discourse of predestination and free will, especially in the analysis of the Mongol victory in the seventh and eighth centuries, ultimately led to the conclusion that the defeat of the Iranians by the Mongols was a divine will.