1. The Arabian Nights

2. The Abbasid Era
Muslim world became intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine, and education
Translation of world’s knowledge into Arabic
“Cauldron” of cultures
Synthesized and collected knowledge from ancient Roman, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, North African, Greek, and Byzantine civilizations

3. “The ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr“
Value of Knowledge
“The ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr“
Knowledge and scholarly thought from all conquered empires brought to Islamic state
Decimal system traveled from India to Arabia
First form of algebra used
First university founded
First mental institution founded
Government positions awarded on merit and skill

6. Background of Nights
Stories recited orally, much like The Epic of Gilgamesh
Collection of West and South Asian stories
Arabic, Persian, Indian, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian folklore
Recorded and translated, first published in 1706
Loss of musicality

7. What is a Frame Story? Story within a story
Initial story begins – stories are told within
Example: Inception (dreams within dreams)
Frame story of ruler Shahryar (King) and his wife Scheherazade

8. Active Listening
Listen to the following BBC broadcast as they discuss the initial “frame story” for 1001 Arabian Nights
Write a brief summary after listening
Be ready to discuss the story with the class

9. The Frame Story
Two kings discover that their wives are sleeping with servants
Go on a journey to see if anyone has been more betrayed than they
A genie emerges from the sea with a casket containing a woman
Woman summons the two kings and wants to sleep with them

10. They sleep together and she takes their rings, added to 98 other rings
Kings realize that the Genie is more betrayed than they
King kills his wife and decides he will only sleep with virgins and the next day all virgins will be killed
Scheherazade insists her and her sister will sleep with the king next
Scheherazade begins telling story but does not finish telling it – continues every night without ever finishing

11. What makes a good translation?
Which translation do you prefer?
How does the use of a different but similar word affect the meaning and tone of a text?
What are the implications (meaning) of suppressing material, such as explicit language and content, in a translation?
Haddawy’s translation is the closest to the Arabic text, while both Lane and Burton have taken some serious liberties with their source material. What have Lane and Burton added? What have they omitted? What reasons can you suggest for this?
How is the character of Shahzaman affected by the different translations?