History and Background Arabian Nights History and Background

About the Text Has no single author Grew over the centuries Contains stories from Persia, India, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq Earliest known manuscript comes from a 9th century papyrus in Egypt Earliest surviving manuscript is from the 14th century

Has no authoritative manuscript – different texts contain different stories Familiar stories such as Aladdin and Ali Baba were probably late additions. It is thought that the original core of stories was an Arabic translation of Persian stories that were probably translations of Indian stories

Harûn el-Rashid Harûn el-Rashid was the Caliph of Baghdad from 786-809 AD. Many of the stories are associated with him. Even his stories were not written down until much later.

Importance “The frame of 1001 Nights is embedded in the entire history of world literature. It serves as a crossroads where many stories from the past and other cultures meet and from there are sent out into the future and the rest of the world.” -Professor Grant Voth At the height of the Islamic Empire, Arab storytellers had access to a great collection of stories. In the book, Scheherazade says that she is not making these stories up.

Some scholars believe the collection began in India and traveled to the Arab world through Persia. India already had collections of stories that used frames – The Jātaka, The Panchtantra. The Panchtantra was translated into Persian in the 6th century and into Arabic in the 8th century – it certainly provided stories for The 1001 Nights. In turn, The 1001 Nights provides material for many subsequent works even to the present day.

Modern History The stories were translated into French in the 18th century. The original French translator made changes to suit his audience and also added tales The Oriental fascination in Europe during this time made the stories popular. 19th century children grew up knowing these stories.

The Frame Story The frame story helps to tie lots of different types of stories together. Frames provide opportunities for greater storytelling complexity. King Sharyar and his brother have both been wronged by their wives King Sharyar resolves to marry a different woman every day and kill her the next morning Scheherazade volunteers to be one of the wives because she has a crafty plan…

What to look for Good storytelling There are stories of almost every genre here: romances, morality tales, animal fables, fairy stories, tragedies, etc. Scheherazade works within a limited frame – there is only one storyteller and 2 listeners Scheherazade keeps the listeners’ attention by nesting stories In the Hunchback series there are 11 stories being told simultaneously She also keeps the suspense up with cliffhangers

A lesson in maturity Scheherazade helps the king grow up by telling her stories Some of the stories have lessons that parallel Scheherazade’s situation or that teach the king what she wants him to learn Storytelling takes on a redemptive quality Scheherazade is the wise woman who initiates the king into maturity

Connections to other texts There are explicit and implicit connections in literature, movies, TV, and music. The 1001 Nights influenced not only other writers, but whole genres of writing such as science fictionm, fantasy, mystery, and horror.

Sources Arabian Nights. Trans. Richard Burton. Vol. 1. New York: Signet Classics, 2007. Voth, Grant. The History of World Literature. The Teaching Company.