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This is a list of characters in ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( '' The Arabian Nights''), the classic, medieval collection of Middle-Eastern
folk tales Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used vary ...
.


Characters in the frame story


Scheherazade

Scheherazade or Shahrazad ( fa, شهرزاد}, ''Šahrzād'', or , ) is the legendary Persian queen who is the storyteller and narrator of ''The Nights''. She is the daughter of the kingdom's vizier and the older sister of
Dunyazad This is a list of characters in ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ''The Arabian Nights''), the classic, medieval collection of Middle East, Middle-Eastern Folklore, folk tales. Characters in the frame story Scheherazade Scheherazade or Shahraz ...
. Against her father's wishes, she marries King Shahryar, who has vowed that he will execute a new bride every morning. For 1,001 nights, Scheherazade tells her husband a story, stopping at dawn with a cliffhanger. This forces the King to keep her alive for another day so that she could resume the tale at night. The name derives from the Persian ''šahr'' () and ''-zâd'' (); or from the Middle-Persian ''čehrāzād'', wherein ''čehr'' means 'lineage' and ''āzād'', 'noble' or 'exalted' (i.e. 'of noble or exalted lineage' or 'of noble appearance/origin'),


Dunyazad

Dunyazad ( fa, دنیازاد, ''Dunyāzād''; aka Dunyazade, Dunyazatde, Dinazade, or Dinarzad) is the younger sister of Queen Scheherazade. In the story cycle, it is she who—at Scheherazade's instruction—initiates the tactic of cliffhanger storytelling to prevent her sister's execution by Shahryar. Dunyazad, brought to her sister's bedchamber so that she could say farewell before Scheherazade's execution the next morning, asks her sister to tell one last story. At the successful conclusion of the tales, Dunyazad marries
Shah Zaman Zaman Shah Durrani, or Zaman Shah Abdali (Persian: ; 1767 – 1844), was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1793 until 1801. He was the grandson of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the fifth son of Timur Shah Durrani. An ethnic Pashtun, Zaman Shah became th ...
, Shahryar's younger brother. She is recast as a major character as the narrator of the "Dunyazadiad" segment of John Barth's novel '' Chimera''.


Scheherazade's father

Scheherazade's father, sometimes called Jafar ( fa, جعفر; ar, جَعْفَر, ''jaʿfar''), is the vizier of King Shahryar. Every day, on the king's order, he beheads the brides of Shahryar. He does this for many years until all the unmarried women in the kingdom have either been killed or run away, at which point his own daughter Scheherazade offers to marry the king. The vizier tells Scheherazade the ''Tale of the Bull and the Ass'', in an attempt to discourage his daughter from marrying the king. It does not work, and she marries Shahryar anyway. At the end of the 1,001 nights, Scheherazade's father goes to
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
where he replaces
Shah Zaman Zaman Shah Durrani, or Zaman Shah Abdali (Persian: ; 1767 – 1844), was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1793 until 1801. He was the grandson of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the fifth son of Timur Shah Durrani. An ethnic Pashtun, Zaman Shah became th ...
as sultan. The treacherous sorcerer in Disney's ''Aladdin'', Jafar, is named after this character.


Shahryar

Shahryar ( fa, شهریار, ''Šahryār''; also spelt Shahriar, Shariar, Shahriyar, Schahryar, Sheharyar, Shaheryar, Shahrayar, Shaharyar, or Shahrear), which is pronounced /''Sha ree yaar''/ in Persian, is the fictional Persian Sassanid
King of kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...
who is told stories by his wife, Scheherazade. He ruled over a
Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
extended to India, over all the adjacent islands and a great way beyond the Ganges as far as
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, while Shahryar's younger brother, Shah Zaman ruled over
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
. In the frame-story, Shahryar is betrayed by his wife, which makes him believe that all women will, in the end, betray him. So every night for three years, he takes a wife and has her executed the next morning, until he marries Scheherazade, his vizier’s beautiful and clever daughter. For 1,001 nights in a row, Scheherazade tells Shahryar a story, each time stopping at dawn with a cliffhanger, thus forcing him to keep her alive for another day so that she can complete the tale the next night. After 1,001 stories, Scheherazade tells Shahryar that she has no more stories for him. Fortunately, during the telling of the stories, Shahryar has grown into a wise ruler and rekindles his trust in women. The word ''šahryâr'' (Persian: ) derives from the Middle Persian ''šahr-dār'', 'holder of a kingdom' (i.e. 'lord, sovereign, king').


Shah Zaman

Shah Zaman or Schazzenan ( fa, شاهزمان}, ''Šāhzamān'') is the
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
of
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
(aka Samarcande) and brother of Shahryar. Shah Zaman catches his first wife in bed with a cook and cuts them both in two. Then, while staying with his brother, he discovers that Shahryar's wife is unfaithful. At this point, Shah Zaman comes to believe that all women are untrustworthy and he returns to Samarkand where, as his brother does, he marries a new bride every day and has her executed before morning. At the end of the story, Shahryār calls for his brother and tells him of Scheherazade's fascinating, moral tales. Shah Zaman decides to stay with his brother and marries Scheherazade's beautiful younger maiden sister, Dunyazad, with whom he has fallen in love. He is the ruler of Tartary from its capital
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
.


Characters in Scheherazade's stories


Ahmed

Prince Ahmed ( ar, أحمد, ''ʾaḥmad'', 'thank, praise') is the youngest of three sons of the Sultan of the Indies. He is noted for having a magic tent that would expand so as to shelter an army, and contract so that it could go into one's pocket. Ahmed travels to
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
city and buys an apple that can cure any disease if the sick person smells it. Ahmed rescues the Princess Paribanou ( fa, پریبانو}, ''Parībānū''; also spelled Paribanon or Peri Banu), a
peri In Persian mythology, peris (singular: peri; from fa, پَری, translit=parī, , plural , ; borrowed in European languages through ota, پَری, translit=peri) are exquisite, winged spirits renowned for their beauty. Peris were later ado ...
(female jinn).


Aladdin

Aladdin ( ar, علاء الدين, ) is one of the most famous characters from ''One Thousand and One Nights'' and appears in the famous tale of ''Aladdin and The Wonderful Lamp''. Despite not being part of the original Arabic text of ''The Arabian Nights'', the story of Aladdin is one of the best known tales associated with that collection, especially following the eponymous 1992 Disney film. Composed of the words ( ar, , label=none, 'exaltation (of)') and ( ar, , label=none, 'the religion'), the name ''Aladdin'' essentially means 'nobility of the religion'.


Ali Baba

Ali Baba ( ar, , ''ʿaliy bābā'') is a poor
wood cutter Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...
who becomes rich after discovering a vast cache of treasure, hidden by evil bandits.


Ali Shar

Ali Shar ( ar, علي شار) is a character from ''Ali Shar and Zumurrud'' who inherits a large fortune on the death of his father but very quickly squanders it all. He goes hungry for many months until he sees Zumurrud on sale in a slave market. Zumurrud gives Ali the money to buy her and the two live together and fall in love. A year later Zumurrud is kidnapped by a Christian and Ali spends the rest of the story finding her.


Ali

Prince Ali ( ar, , ''ʿalīy''; fa, }) is a son of the Sultan of the Indies. He travels to Shiraz, the capital of Persia, and buys a magic perspective glass that can see for hundreds of miles.


Badroulbadour

Princess Badroulbadour ( ar, الأميرة بدر البدور) is the only daughter of the Emperor of China in the folktale, ''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'', and whom Aladdin falls in love with after seeing her in the city with a crowd of her attendants. Aladdin uses the genie of the lamp to foil the Princess's arranged marriage to the Grand Vizier's son, and marries her himself. The Princess is described as being somewhat spoiled and vain. Her name is often changed in many retellings to make it easier to pronounce.


The Barber of Baghdad

The Barber of Baghdad ( ar, المزين البغدادي) is wrongly accused of smuggling and in order to save his life, he tells '' Caliph'' Mustensir Billah of his six brothers in order: *Al-Bakbuk, who was a hunchback *Al-Haddar (also known as Alnaschar), who was paralytic *Al-Fakik, who was blind *Al-Kuz, who lost one of his eyes *Al-Nashshár, who was “cropped of both ears” *Shakashik, who had a harelip


Cassim

Cassim ( ar, , ''qāsim'', 'divider, distributor') is the rich and greedy brother of Ali Baba who is killed by the Forty Thieves when he is caught stealing treasure from their magic cave.


Duban

Duban or Douban ( ar, , ''ḏuʾbān'', 'golden jackal' or 'wolves'), who appears in ''The Tale of the Vizier and the Sage Duban'', is a man of extraordinary talent with the ability to read Arabic, Greek, Persian,
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
, Byzantine, Syriac, Hebrew, and Sanskrit, as well as a deep understanding of botany,
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, and natural history to name a few. Duban works his medicine in an unusual way: he creates a
mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and proport ...
and
ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...
to match, filling the handle of the mallet with his medicine. With this, he cures
King Yunan This is a list of characters in ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ''The Arabian Nights''), the classic, medieval collection of Middle-Eastern folk tales. Characters in the frame story Scheherazade Scheherazade or Shahrazad ( fa, شهرزاد} ...
from leprosy; when the king plays with the ball and mallet, he perspires, thus absorbing the medicine through the sweat from his hand into his bloodstream. After a short bath and a sleep, the King is cured, and rewards Duban with wealth and royal honor. The King's vizier, however, becomes jealous of Duban, and persuades Yunan into believing that Duban will later produce a medicine to kill him. The king eventually decides to punish Duban for his alleged treachery, and summons him to be beheaded. After unsuccessfully pleading for his life, Duban offers one of his prized books to Yunan to impart the rest of his wisdom. Yunan agrees, and the next day, Duban is beheaded, and Yunan begins to open the book, finding that no printing exists on the paper. After paging through for a time, separating the stuck leaves each time by first wetting his finger in his mouth, he begins to feel ill. Yunan realises that the leaves of the book were poisoned, and as he dies, the king understands that this was his punishment for betraying the one that once saved his life.


Hussain

Prince Hussain ( ar, الأمير حسين), the eldest son of the Sultan of the Indies, travels to Bisnagar ( Vijayanagara) in India and buys a magic teleporting tapestry, also known as a magic carpet.


Maruf the Cobbler

Maruf ( ar, , ''maʿrūf'', 'known, recognized') is a diligent and hardworking cobbler in the city of Cairo. In the story, he is married to a mendacious and pestering woman named Fatimah. Due to the ensuing quarrel between him and his wife, Maruf flees Cairo and enters the ancient ruins of ''Adiliyah''. There, he takes refuge from the winter rains. After sunset, he meets a very powerful Jinni, who then transports Maruf to a distant land known as ''Ikhtiyan al-Khatan''.


Morgiana

Morgiana ( ar, , ''marjāna'' or ''murjāna'', 'small pearl') is a clever slave girl from '' Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''. She is initially in Cassim's household but on his death she joins his brother, Ali Baba, and through her quick-wittedness she saves Ali's life many times, eventually killing his worst enemy, the leader of the Forty Thieves. Afterward, Ali Baba marries his son with her.


Sinbad the Porter and Sinbad the Sailor

Sinbad the Porter ( ar, السندباد الحمال) is a poor man who one day pauses to rest on a bench outside the gate of a rich merchant's house in Baghdad. The owner of the house is Sinbad the Sailor, who hears the porter's lament and sends for him. Amused by the fact that they share a name, Sinbad the Sailor relates the tales of his seven wondrous voyages to his namesake. Sinbad the Sailor ( ar, السندباد البحري; or ''As-Sindibād'') is perhaps one of the most famous characters from the ''Arabian Nights''. He is from Basra, but in his old age, he lives in Baghdad. He recounts the tales of his seven voyages to Sinbad the Porter. Sinbad ( fa, , label=, ''sambâd'') is sometimes spelled as Sindbad, from the Arabic ''sindibād'' ( ar, , label=none).


Sultan of the Indies

Sultan of the Indies ( ar, سلطان جزر الهند) has three sons— Hussain, Ali and
Ahmed Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
—all of whom wish to marry their cousin Princess Nouronnihar ( ar, الأميرة نور النهار, links=no). To his sons, the Sultan says he will give her to the prince who brings back the most extraordinary rare object.


Yunan

King Yunan ( ar, الملك يونان, ''al-malik Yunān'', ), or King Greece, is a fictional king of one of the ancient Persian cities in the province of Zuman, who appears in ''The Tale of the Vizier and the Sage Duban''. Suffering from leprosy at the beginning of the story, Yunan is cured by Duban, the physician whom he rewards greatly. Jealous of Duban's praises, Yunan's vizier becomes jealous and persuades the King that Duban wants to overthrow him. At first, Yunan does not believe this and tells his vizier the ''Tale of the Husband and the Parrot'', to which the vizier responds by telling the ''Tale of the Prince and the Ogress''. This convinces Yunan that Duban is guilty, having him executed. Yunan later dies after reading a book of Duban's, the pages of which had been poisoned.


Zayn Al-Asnam

Prince Zayn Al-Asnam or Zeyn Alasnam ( ar, زين الأصنام, ''zayn'' ''al-aṣnām''), son of the Sultan of Basra (or
Bassorah Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
), is the eponymous character in ''The'' ''Tale of Zayn Al-Asnam''. After his father's death, al-Asnam wastes his inheritance and neglects his duties, until the people revolt and he narrowly escapes death. In a dream, a
sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
tells the Prince to go to Egypt. A second dream tells him to go home, directing him to a hidden chamber in the palace, where he finds 8 statues made of gold (or diamond). He also finds a key and a message telling him to visit Mubarak, a slave in Cairo. Mubarak takes the Prince to a paradise island, where he meets the King of the Jinns. The King gives Zayn a mirror, called the touchstone of virtue, which, upon looking into it, would inform Zayn whether a damsel was pure/faithful or not. If the mirror remained unsullied, so was the maiden; if it clouded, the maiden had been unfaithful. The King tells Zayn that he will give him the 9th statue that he is looking for in return for a beautiful 15-year-old virgin. Zayn finds the daughter of the vizier of Baghdad, but marries her himself, making her no longer a virgin. The King, however, forgives Zayn's broken promise, as the young lady herself is revealed to be the ninth statue promised to Zayn by the King. The jinn bestows the Prince with the young bride on the sole condition that Zayn remains loving and faithful to her and her only. Burton, Richard F.
When it was the Five Hundred and Thirteenth Night
." ''Supplemental Nights To The Book Of The Thousand And One Nights With Notes'' ''Anthropological And Explanatory'', vol. 3. The Burton Club.
The Prince's name comes from Arabic ''zayn'' ( ar, , label=none), meaning 'beautiful, pretty', and ''aṣnām'' ( ar, , label=none), meaning 'idols'.


Zumurrud

Zumurrud the Smaragdine ( fa, زمرد سمرقندی}, ''Zumurrud-i Samarqandi'', 'emerald of Samarkand') is a slave girl who appears in ''Ali Shar and Zumurrud''. She is named after
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
, the city well known at the time of the story for its emeralds. She is bought by, and falls in love with, Ali Shar with whom she lives until she is kidnapped by a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. Zumurrud escapes from the Christian only to be found and taken by Javan (Juvenile) the
Kurd ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
. Again, Zumurrud manages to get away from her captor, this time by dressing up as a man. On her way back to Ali Shar, Zumurrud is mistaken for a noble
Turk Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
and made Queen of an entire kingdom. Eventually, Zumurrud is reunited with Ali Shar.


Real people

}) , an Arab linguist, a companion of Ali bin Abu Talib, and the father of Arabic grammar. , ''Abu al-Aswad and His Slave-girl'' , - , Abu Nuwas ( ar, أبو نواس) , a renowned, hedonistic poet at the court of the '' Caliph'' Harun al-Rashid. , several tales , - , Abu Yusuf ( ar, أبو يوسف) , a famous legal scholar and judge during the reign of Harun al-Rashid. Abu Yusuf was also one of the founders of the Hanafi school of islamic law. , * ''Abu Yusuf with Harun al-Rashid and Queen Zubayda'' * ''Harun al-Rashid and the Slave-girl and the Imam Abu Yusuf'' , - ,
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( ar, عبد الملك ابن مروان ابن الحكم, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; July/August 644 or June/July 647 – 9 October 705) was the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from April 685 ...
( ar, عبد الملك ابن مروان) , the most celebrated Umayyad Caliph, ruling from 685 to 705, and a frequent character in ''The Nights'' , * ''Alî and Zâhir from Damascus'' * ''City of Brass'' * ''Hind bint al-Nu‘mân and al-Hajjaj'' * ''The Two Dancers'' * ''Ni‘ma and Nu‘m'' , - , Adi ibn Zayd ( ar, عدي بن زيد, label=, links=no) , a 6th-century
Arab Christian Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who l ...
poet from
al-Hirah Al-Hirah ( ar, الحيرة, translit=al-Ḥīra Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of I ...
, ''‘Adî ibn Zayd and the Princess Hind'' , - , Al-Amin ( ar, الأمين) , the sixth
Abbasid Caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came t ...
. He succeeded his father, Harun al-Rashid, in 809, ruling until he was deposed and killed in 813 during the civil war with his half-brother,
al-Ma'mun Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mu ...
. , * ''Al-Amin ibn al-Rashid and His Uncle Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi'' * ''Muhammad al-Amin and the slave-girl'' , - , Al-Asmaʿi ( ar, الأصمعي, label=, links=no) , a celebrated Arabic grammarian and a scholar of poetry at the court of the Hārūn al-Rashīd. , ''Al-Asma‘î and the Girls of Basra'' (in which Al-Asmaʿi tells a story about himself during the 216th night) , - ,
Al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī ( ar, أبو محمد موسى بن المهدي الهادي; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab Al-Hādī (الهادي‎) was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succee ...
( ar, الهادي, label=, links=no) , the fourth Abbasid caliph who succeeded his father Al-Mahdi and ruled from 785 until his death in 786 AD. , * ''Harûn al-Rashid and the Barmakids'' * ''The Tale of the Slave of Destiny'' , - ,
Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr (13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh ( ar, الحاكم بأمر الله, lit=The Ruler by the Order of God), was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili ima ...
( ar, الحاكم بأمر الله) , the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th
Ismaili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
imam (996–1021). , ''The Caliph Al-Hâkim and the Merchant'' , - ,
Al-Ma'mun Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mu ...
( ar, المأمون) , the seventh
Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came t ...
, reigning from 813 until his death in 833. He succeeded his half-brother al-Amin after a civil war. Al-Ma'mun is one of the most frequently mentioned characters in the nights. , * ''The Story of Al-Ma’mun and the Kilabite Girl'' * ''The Story of Al-Ma’mun and the Parasite'' * ''The Caliph Al-Ma’mun and the Pyramids of Egypt'' * ''The Caliph Al-Ma’mun and the Strange Scholar'' * ''Al-Ma’mun and Zubayda'' * ''Abu Hassan al-Ziyadî and the Khorasan Man'' * ''The Loves of Al-Hayfa’ and Yusuf'' * ''Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi and the
Barber-surgeon The barber surgeon, one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, was generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians, but instead by barbers ...
'' * ''The Story of the Kiss'' , - , Al-Mahdi ( ar, المهدي) , the third Abbasid Caliph, reigning from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his father, al-Mansur. , * '' Ma‘n obtains Pardon for a Rebel'' * ''The Tale of the Slave of Destiny'' , - , Al-Mu'tadid ( ar, المعتضد بالله) , the Abbasid Caliph from 892 until his death in 902. , * ''Abu ’l-Hasan of Khorasan'' * ''The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad'' , - ,
Al-Mutawakkil Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was t ...
( ar, المتوكل على الله) , an
Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came t ...
who reigned in
Samarra Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional army ...
from 847 until 861. , * ''Al-Fath ibn Khâqân and the Caliph al-Mutawakkil'' * ''Al-Mutawakkil and His Concubine Mahbûba'' , - , Mustensir Billah (or Al-Mustansir) ( ar, المستنصر بالله ) , the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1226 to 1242. , (The Barber of Baghdad tells Mustensir stories of his six brothers) , - , Al-Mustazi (aka Az-Zahir) , the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1225 to 1226. , ''The Hunchback’s Tale'' , - ,
Al-Walid II Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd (709 – 17 April 744) ( ar, الوليد بن يزيد) usually known simply as Al-Walid II was an Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 743 until his assassination in the year 744. He succeeded his uncle, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. ...
( ar, الوليد بن يزيد) , an Umayyad Caliph, ruling from 743 until his assassination in the year 744. , ''Yûnus the Scribe and Walîd ibn Sahl'' (appears spuriously) , - ,
Baibars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak ...
( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس) , the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and the real founder of the
Bahri dynasty The Bahri dynasty or Bahriyya Mamluks ( ar, المماليك البحرية, translit=al-Mamalik al-Baḥariyya) was a Mamluk dynasty of mostly Turkic origin that ruled the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate from 1250 to 1382. They followed the Ayyubid ...
. He was one of the commanders of the Egyptian forces that inflicted a defeat on the Seventh Crusade. He also led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260. In ''The Nights'', Baibars is the main protagonist of ''The Adventures of Sultan Baybars'', a romance focusing on his life; he also features as a main character in ''Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari and the Sixteen Captains of Police'', the frame story of one cycle. , * ''The Adventures of Sultan Baybars'' * ''Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari and the Sixteen Captains of Police'' , - , David IV of Georgia (appears as 'Sword of the Messiah') , Portrayed as having a cross carved onto his face. Sharkan kills him in this story, weakening the Christian army. , story of Sharkan , - , Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هارون الرشيد) , fifth Abbasid Caliph, ruling from 786 until 809. The wise Caliph serves as an important character in many of the stories set in Baghdad, frequently in connection with his vizier, Ja'far, with whom he roams in disguise through the streets of the city to observe the lives of the ordinary people. , several tales , - ,
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administra ...
( ar, هشام ابن عبد الملك) , the 10th Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until 743. , * ''Hishâm and the Arab Youth'' * ''Yûnus the Scribe and Walîd ibn Sahl'' , - ,
Ibrahim al-Mawsili Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm al-Mawṣilī (; 742–804) was an Arab musician of Persian origin who was among the greatest composers of the early Abbasid period. After Arab and Persian musical training in Ray, Iran, Ray, he was called to the Abbasid ...
( ar, إبراهيم الموصلي) , a Persian singer and Arabic-language poet, appearing in several stories , * ''The Lovers of al-Madina'' * ''Abdallah ibn Fadil and His Brothers'' * ''Ibrahim of Mosul and the Devil'' , - , Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi ( ar, إبراهيم بن المهدي) , an Abbasid prince, singer, composer, and poet, featuring in several tales. , * ''Al-Amîn ibn al-Rashîd and His Uncle Ibrâhîm ibn al-Mahdî'' * ''Ibrâhîm ibn al-Mahdî and the Barber-surgeon'' * ''Ibrâhîm ibn al-Mahdî and the Merchant’s Sister'' , - , Ishaq al-Mawsili ( ar, إسحاق الموصلي) , a Persian musician and a boon companion in the Abbasid court at the time of Harun al-Rashid. Ishaq appears in several tales. , * ''Ishaq of Mosul and the Lost Melody'' * ''Ishaq of Mosul and the Merchant'' * ''Ishaq of Mosul and His Mistress and the Devil'' * ''The Story of Ishaq and the Roses'' , - , Ja'far ibn Yahya ( ar, جعفر البرمكي) (aka Ja'far or Ja'afar the Barmecide) , Harun al-Rashid's Persian vizier who appears in many stories, normally accompanying Harun. In at least one of these stories, '' The Three Apples'', Ja'far is the protagonist, depicted in a role similar to a
detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
. In another story, '' The Tale of Attaf'', he is also a protagonist, depicted as an adventurer alongside the protagonist Attaf. , * '' The Three Apples'' * '' The Tale of Attaf'' , - , Khusrau Parviz ( New Persian: ; ar, كسرى الثاني, label=Arabic) (aka Khosrow II, Kisra the Second) , the King of Persia from 590 to 628. He appears in a story with his wife, Shirin on the 391st night. , ''Khusrau and Shirin and the Fisherman'' (391st night) , - ,
Ma'n ibn Za'ida Abu'l-Walid Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani () (died 769/70) was an 8th-century Arab general of the Shayban tribe, who served both the Umayyads and the Abbasids. Under the Umayyads Ma'n was a member of the nobility of the Shayban tribe, settled in th ...
( ar, معن بن زائدة, label=Arabic) , an 8th-century Arab general of the Shayban tribe, who served both the Umayyads and the
Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
. He acquired a legendary reputation as a fierce warrior and also for his extreme generosity. Ma'n appears as a main character in four tales in ''The Arabian Nights''. , * ''Tale of Ma‘n ibn Zâ’ida'' * ''It is Impossible to Arouse Ma‘n’s Anger'' * ''Ma‘n Obtains Pardon for a Rebel'' * ''Ma‘n ibn Zâ’ida and the Badawî'' , - ,
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
, the Biblical prophet appears in one story recited on the 82nd night by one of the girls trained by Dahat al-Dawahi in order to infiltrate the Sultan's court. In the story, Moses helps the daughter of Shu'aib fill her jar of water. Shu'aib tells them to fetch Moses to thank him but Moses must avert his eyes from the woman's exposed buttocks, showing his mastery of his sexual urges. , story on the 82nd night , - ,
Muawiyah I Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, label=Arabic) , the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. , * ''Qamar al-Zamân and Budûr'' * ''The Badawî and His Wife'' , - ,
Roderic Roderic (also spelled Ruderic, Roderik, Roderich, or Roderick; Spanish and pt, Rodrigo, ar, translit=Ludharīq, لذريق; died 711) was the Visigothic king in Hispania between 710 and 711. He is well-known as "the last king of the Goths". He ...
, the Visigothic King appears in a story recited on the 272nd and 273rd night. In the story, he opens a mysterious door in his castle that was locked and sealed shut by the previous kings. He discovers paintings of Muslim soldiers in the room and a note saying that the city of
Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...
will fall to the soldiers in the paintings if the room is ever opened. This coincides with the fall of Toledo in 711. , story on the 272nd and 273rd night , - , Shirin ( fa, شيرين}, ''Šīrīn'') , the wife of Sassanid King
Khosrow II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩, Husrō), also known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian king (shah) of Iran, ruling fr ...
(Khusrau), with whom she appears in a story on the 391st night. , ''Khusrau and Shirin and the Fisherman'' (391st night) , - ,
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, سليمان بن عبد الملك, Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, – 24 September 717) was the seventh Umayyad caliph, ruling from 24 February 715 until his death. He began his career as governor of Palestine, wh ...
( ar, سليمان ابن عبد الملك) , the seventh Umayyad caliph, ruling from 715 until 717. , ''Khuzaymaibn Bishr and ‘Ikrima al-Fayyâd''


See also

* List of stories within ''One Thousand and One Nights''


References


External links


''The Thousand Nights and a Night'' in several classic translations
includin
unexpurgated version by Sir Richard Francis Burton
and John Payne translation, with additional material. * ''Stories From One Thousand and One Nights'', (Lane and Poole translation)
Project Bartleby edition
* ''The Arabian Nights'' (includes Lang and (expurgated) Burton translations)
Jonathan Scott translation of ''Arabian Nights''
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061214060125/http://www.crock11.freeserve.co.uk/arabian.htm ''The Book of the Thousand and One Nights''by John Crocker
(expurgated) Sir Burton's c.1885 translation, annotated for English study.

1001 Nights, Representative of eastern literature
(in Persian) *"
The Thousand-And-Second Tale of Scheherazade "The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade" is a short-story by American author Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849). It was published in the February 1845 issue of ''Godey's Lady's Book'' and was intended as a partly humorous sequel to the celebrated ...
" by Edgar Allan Poe (Wikisource)
Arabian Nights
Six full-color plates of illustrations from the ''1001 Nights'' which are in the public domain * The Tales in Arabic on Wikisource * A poem by Letitia Elizabeth Landon from Forget Me Not, 1826. {{DEFAULTSORT:Characters In One Thousand And One Nights Iraqi folklore * *
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...