Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights, originally titled One Thousand and One Nights, is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales. The collection dates back to the Islamic Golden Age, which dates back to the 8th century thru the 13th century. The individual tales can be traced back to multiple countries including West, Central, and South Asia and North Africa.

The collection contains a frame story, which is one of the techniques seen in the writing. In this frame story Schedherazada acts as narrator for the tales and retells the stories to Sultan Shahriyar. The telling of the tales takes many nights, from which the name is derived. The collection contains a variety of literary techniques including dramatic visualization, fate and destiny, foreshadowing, repetition, sexual humor, horror, crime, fantasy, science fiction, and poetry. The stories take place in a variety of lands including Turkey, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, and possibly Greece.

Many writers through the years have referenced the collection in their own writings. Aladdin, Sinbad, and Ali Baba are all recognized characters even to many who have never read Arabian Nights. Many stories from Arabian Nights collection have used in the production of various movies. Some of these cinema uses of the tales date back to the early 1900s. In 1959, 1001 Arabian Nights was made into a animated feature by an American animation studio. There have been television series and mini-series developed around the Arabian Nights. Arabian Nights has also inspired many music compositions not just in classical music but also in Pop and Rock.