One-Thousand+and+One+Nights

Taking place in present day Baghdad during the Abbasid Empire, //The Thousand and One Nights // illustrates the lifestyle of high society as well as of Harun al-Rashid's court, the caliph at the time. The tome is a collection of tales supposedly told by a woman named Shahrazad, to a Sassanian king, to avoid her death. Every night for a thousand and one nights she recounted an adventure which did not finish until the next night when the following dtory began, until the ruler agreeably let her free. Originally a compilation of Persian fairy tales, known as //Hazar Afsahah //, it was then properly written in Arabic. The novel was one of the only Arabic writings that became popular in Western Europe and is considered quintessential in Arabian epic writings. It also influenced much of the 18th and 19th century European writers such as Samuel Johnson, Byron, and Wordsworth. The novel is a mixture of Persian, Indian, and Arabic cultures and helps historians study the influence and accomplishments of the Abbasid Era.

http://www.al-bab.com/arab/literature/nights.htm

http://www.art-arena.com/thousand.htm

Created by Christina Oelsner 10/20/08 Edited by Clare Wolf 10.22.08