The Arabian Nights
Jinni Image
The following is a partial translation of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (i.e., The Arabian Nights) into English, by Sir Richard F. Burton. The Arabian Nights are a series of stories which depict life in the court of one the most famous Abbasid rulers, Caliph Harun al-Rashid. They describe the clothing, court life, and government of the period. Many of the stories revolve around the city of Baghdad (capital of the Abbasid dynasty).

The structure of the Arabian Nights consists of the following whimsical plot arrangment: Shahyrar, King of India, is inflamed with jealousy by his wifes wanton ways, and after executing her, he resolves to take his revenege on all womankind. Night after night he marries some beautiful girl, only to order her beheaded the next morning. But at last he meets Scheherazade, the beautiful and clever daughter of his vizier. Knowing that Shahryar loves a good story, she begins on the night of their wedding to spin a bewildering number of yarns which she suspends just as the climax is being reached. Devoured by curiosity to know the end of each story, Shahryar stays the hand of the executioner and after a thousand and one nights is cured of his mania.

The story of Sheherezade's ingenuity is of Persian origin. Mas'udi speaks of it in 944, and it is also referred to in the Fihrist (987) as appearing in the Hezar Afsan(Thousand Tales) which was attributed to the Princess Homai, daughter of Artaxerxes I. However, the tales are more Arabian than Persian in flavor. It is possible that they were collected in Cario by a professional storyteller around the fifeteenth century.

Thirty of the choicest tales by Scheherezade have been excerted here. I have edited and split the text to make it better readable.

  • Story of King Shahryar and His Brother
  • The Tale Of The Bull And The Ass
  • The Fisherman And The Jinni
  • The Tale Of The Ensorceled Prince
  • The Porter And The Three Ladies Of Baghdad
  • The First Kalandar's Tale
  • The Second Kalandar's Tale
  • The Third Kalandar's Tale
  • The Eldest Lady's Tale
  • The Tale Of The Three Apples
  • Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and his son Badr Al-Din Hasan
  • The City Of Many-Columned Iram And Abdullah Son Of Abi Kilabah
  • The Sweep And The Noble Lady
  • The Man Who Stole The Dish Of Gold Wherein The Dog Ate
  • The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through A Dream
  • The Ebony Horse
  • The Angel Of Death With The Proud And The Devout Man
  • Sindbad The Seaman And Sindbad The Landsman
  • First Voyage Of Sindbad Hight The Seaman
  • The Second Voyage Of Sindbad The Seaman
  • The Third Voyage Of Sindbad The Seaman
  • The Fourth Voyage Of Sindbad The Seaman
  • The Fifth Voyage Of Sindbad The Seaman
  • The Sixth Voyage Of Sindbad The Seaman
  • The Seventh Voyage Of Sindbad The Seaman
  • The Lady And Her Five Suitors
  • Khalifah The Fisherman Of Baghdad
  • Abu Kir The Dyer And Abu Sir The Barber
  • The Sleeper And The Waker
  • Story Of The Larrikin And The Cook
  • *Aladdin; Or, The Wonderful Lamp
  • Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves
  • Conclusion
  • Footnotes on Djin's and Ghuls

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