A Comparative Study of Function of Poetry in Tarikh-I Bayhaqi and Tarikh-i al-Fakhri

Poetry and history belong to two different domains and their compatibility seems odd. Poetry has roots in imagination while history is based on reality but sometimes they are intertwined and a historical text uses poetry while a poem may benefit from history. Poetry as a beneficial and constructive tool has a strong presence in historical texts and plays several functions such as literary, historical, referential and interpretational. In this study two texts, Taikh-I Bayhaqi and Tarikh-I Fakhri are analyzed to see how each writer has used poetry. It is argued that using poetry has mostly a literary function. Interpretational and historical functions are less frequent.