Author
University 0f tabriz
Abstract
From the advent of historiography in Iran, the fields of history and historiography were faced with certain obstacles, problems and difficulties. Some of these obstacles and difficulties were related to the status of the discipline of history as a subfield of other disciplines, and to the domination of paradigms which were external to this area of knowledge, and some others originated from its relationship with the structure of power, political systems and governments. These obstacles – which are referred to in this article as epistemological and mental obstacles and political, economic and objective difficulties – affected the concept, meaning and knowledge of Iranian history and historiography, and they continued for a long time; thus, they prevented historiography from gaining an independent status among other fields, and they also prevented the fields of history and historiography from benefitting from rationality and freethought. The atmosphere that was created during the Qajar era was such that historians critiqued these obstacles and difficulties and focused on the problems and issues plaguing historiography. The focus on these obstacles and the resulting problems proved significant in the process of gradual development of the fields of history and historiography.
Keywords