An Analysis of Dominance of Destiny in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh based on Supernatural Practices of Prophecy and Prediction

The Shahnameh (the Book of Kings) has influenced by two worlds of reality and surrealism; namely, the worlds of free will and the world of destiny. What established its dominance in all stories of the Shahnameh is the world of destiny. This research does not aim to find the roots of destiny belief in the Shahnameh. Rather, it provides nothing, but the understanding of the most important factor in the formation of destiny in the book. The study focuses on the analysis of destiny in the Shahnameh based on supernatural practices of prophecy. Through this, events are predetermined: astronomers and angels found who know things in advance like Soroush and Israfil; well-informed and wise persons see the future; kings, princes, heroes and priests prophesy due to having a divine and artistic spirit; and fantastic phenomenon like Simorgh, the Crystal Ball and the illustrative tree tell about the future and secrets of the universe.This paper is the result of studies purposefully formed through qualitative method and analysis of textual data. The collection of materials has been done through library studies. Accordingly, all instances of future reading practices, counted more than one hundred, have been described and analyzed. Finally, it is proved that when all propositions for future prediction are realized, it is nothing but the domination of destiny. Such feature is present in all famous epics of the world