Arabian Nights

The Arabian nights (also known as 1001 Nights) is probably the most well-known collection of tales in history. These days, almost everyone knows at least a couple of tales from these collected works. The stories are seeded within Persian, Arabic, Indian and Egyptian folklore, with hints of Ancient Greece being referenced.

The tales themselves have undergone many versions and translations to become what we know them as today. The oldest of the manuscripts recovered were dated back to the 9th century and were located in Syria, discovered in 1948. Between the earliest and most recent versions, the tales themselves have been translated into French, Persian, Arabic and finally into English.

Since the tales were first translated into English, they have has quote an extensive impact on Western writing, especially in film. A few of the stories have become bigger icons since elaborated on in America. The most famous one to date is Aladdin. Aladdin was turned into a Disney movie in 1992 and has become a classic among Disney’s films. Another icon that’s stemmed from these tales is Sinbad, which has also snatched it’s own animated movie within the past decade called “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas”.

In a more macabre sense, the tales were actually continued by a few authors, including one Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. He wrote the story for what he deemed “The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade”, in which he created one last tale: Sinbad’s final (8th) voyage. Another author who wrote his version of Sinbad’s final voyage, or at least references where he believe it should have gone, is John Barth. He includes Scheherazade as a character who show up inside the actual story of “Somebody” as opposed to “Sinbad”

The Arabian Nights has more recently inspired plays, such as the show “1001” written in 2005 by Jason Grote. He twisted the story to reference pop culture and modern icons while set in New York City, though openly credits Arabian Nights.

While inspiring literature and film with it’s various fables, Arabian Nights has also inspired games, such as the card game “Magic: The Gathering”. The game’s fourth card set, released in 1993, was labeled Arabian Nights. Some of the cards included the storyteller himself, djinn cards (genies), and a card that required the players to play another game within the game already being played. This reflects Arabian Nights, where all of the stories are told within the larger story.