One Thousand and One Nights
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Template:Lang-ar Kitāb 'Alf Layla wa-Layla, Template:Lang-fa Hazār-o Yak Šab, Template:Lang-tr (also known as The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night, One Thousand and One Nights, 1001 Arabian Nights, Arabian Nights, The Arabian Nights Entertainments, The Nightly Entertainments or simply The Nights) is a collection of stories compiled over thousands of years by various authors, translators and scholars.These collections of tales trace their roots back to Ancient Arabia and Ancient Persia. Though an original manuscript has never been found several versions date the collection's genesis to somewhere between AD 800-900.
What is common throughout all the editions of The Nights is the initial frame story of the ruler Shahryar and his wife Scheherazade (Persian: شهرزاد) and the framing device incorporated throughout the tales themselves. The stories proceed from this original tale; some are framed within other tales, while others begin and end of their own accord. Some editions contain only a few hundred tales, while others include 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."
