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******************************************************* 1001 Nights Resource by Michael Lundell A Brief Introduction to the 1001 Nights (this page) A Historical Timeline of the 1001 Nights A Comprehensive Bibliography of Academic Articles and Books on the Nights A Bibliography of Related Readings Versions of the 1001 Nights Online****************************************************** A Brief Introduction to the 1001 Nights
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights also known as The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night, One Thousand and One Nights, 1001 Arabian Nights, 1001 Nights, Arabian Nights, Arabian Nights Entertainments, The Nightly Entertainments or simply The Nights: is a medieval collection of stories compiled over thousands of years by various authors, translators and scholars. Though an original manuscript has never been found several versions date the collection's genesis to somewhere between 800-900 AD. Scholars suggest that the collection was greatly influenced by Arabic, Persian, Indian, ancient Greek and even Chinese folktales though starting in the 18th century translators began incorporating tales that were not in the original. The unclear history of the Nights makes it one of world literature's most debated over and puzzling pieces. What is common throughout all of the editions of the Nights is the initial frame story of Shahryar and Scheherazade and the framing device incorporated throughout the tales themselves. This frame tale is also purportedly first found in the ancient Persian story collection Hazar Afsanah though no physical evidence remains of Hazar Afsanah. The main frame story concerns a king and his new bride. The king, Shahryar, upon discovering his ex-wife's infidelity executes her and then declares all women to be unfaithful. He begins to marry a succession of virgins only to execute each one the next morning. Scheherazade agrees to marry him and each night, beginning on the night of their marriage, she tells the king a tale but does not end it so that the king keeps her alive in order to hear the next tale. The stories proceed from this original tale and fold in among themselves, some are frames within other frames while others begin and end on their own accord. Some versions, including early ones, contain only a few hundred tales while others include either 1001 or more stories and "nights." Well-known stories from the Nights include Aladdin, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor.
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