Invitation to World Literature

Classroom Resources > Invitation to World Literature > 13. The Thousand and One Nights > 13.4 The Thousand and One Nights – Map & Timeline

The Thousand and One Nights – Map & Timeline

The region where The Thousand and One Nights originated as oral tales.
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The stories in The Thousand and One Nights have traveled the world repeatedly over the centuries. But this region is where they originated, first told by storytellers in the 600s-900s CE in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and India. They journeyed to Baghdad, capital of the Abbasid Empire, and spread west from there. Even within the empire, the stories were changed and amplified. When this empire broke up, the stories remained.

?-9th century

Folktales are told in Persia, Arabia, and India that will form the basis of The Thousand and One Nights.

9th century

The tales reach Baghdad, capital of the Abbasid Empire.

786-809

Haroun al-Rashid rules as the third Caliph and greatest leader of the Abbasid Empire.

Al-Rashid appears as a character in some of the tales of The Thousand and One Nights.

850

The Abbasid Empire reaches its peak of power.

late 1200s

The collection of stories that became Alf Laylah wa Laylah (The Thousand and One Nights) was written down, most likely in Syria.

late 1300s

The Syrian archetype copy was written down.

1300s-1700s

The tales circulate throughout the Middle East, including Cairo, where copyists record the tales. These versions become the basis for later editions.

1646

French translator Antoine Galland is born.

1704-17

Galland’s pathbreaking translation is published.

1839-41

Edward Lane’s English translation is published.

Lane uses the Bulaq, and edits the stories to make them “decent.”

1885-6

Richard Burton’s English translation is published.

Burton uses the Bulaq, and adds florid language, together with copious ethnographic notes, using the tales to explain Islam and Middle Eastern customs.

1984

Muhsin Mahdi, an Iraqi scholar of Arabian history, literature, and philosophy publishes a definitive modern edition of the Syrian archetype.

1990

Husain Haddawy publishes a collection of stories based on Mahdi’s translation called The Arabian Nights.

Sections

13.1 The Thousand and One Nights – Getting Started

13.2 The Thousand and One Nights – Read the Text

Read the Excerpt

13.3 The Thousand and One Nights – Expert’s View

Experts' View: Stories Within Stories

13.4 The Thousand and One Nights – Map & Timeline

13.5 The Thousand and One Nights – Connections

13.6 The Thousand and One Nights – Key Points

Key Teaching Points and Discussion Prompts

Transcript: The Thousand and One Nights Video Transcript

Transcript

Slideshow: The Thousand and One Nights

Images

Units

Unit 1 The Epic of Gilgamesh

The first known human story is that of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Images of artifacts from ancient Iraq mix with beautiful illustrations, dance, and costume to tell of the relations between gods and mortals, the search for friendship, love, and immortality. Featured cast members include Assyriologist Ben Foster, comic book illustrator Jim Starlin, and poet and playwright Yusef Komunyakaa.

Unit 2 My Name Is Red

Both an historical novel and a graphic murder mystery set among the miniaturists of the Ottoman court. With its focus on Istambul, a major crossroads of the world, it tells of the artistic/cultural contest between Europe and the East. Cast members include the book's Nobel-prize winning author, Orhan Pamuk, and its English translator, Erdağ Göknar.

Unit 3 The Odyssey

Odysseus must travel the known and unknown world before he can return home to his beloved island kingdom of Ithaca. What does this ancient story say to readers today? In this program, Odysseus's story is given ancient and modern historical and philosophical context, and illustrated with centuries of art. Featured are theater director Mary Zimmerman, actor-director Tim Blake-Nelson, and psychologist/author Jonathan Shay.

Unit 4 The Bacchae

The city of Thebes is torn apart by the conflicting demands of reason and religion, as the disguised god Dionysus returns to his home town demanding to be worshipped. Opposing him is the young king Pentheus, who is doomed to suffer the ultimate punishment for his disbelief. Featured speakers include world-renowned playwright/author Wole Soyinka, actor Alan Cumming, and Daniel Mendelsohn of Bard College.

Unit 5 The Bhagavad Gita

This epic tale of the warrior-prince Arjuna confronting a life-or-death dilemma during civil war presents a unique and powerful philosophy of duty, discipline, and serving a higher purpose. Beautiful illustrations connect the story with its rich history and culture. Featured speakers include Sheldon Pollock, Professor of Sanskrit Studies and acclaimed composer Philip Glass.

Unit 6 The Tale of Genji

This portrait of court life in medieval Japan follows the life and exploits of the great Genji. Written by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of the Japanese court, it provides an insider's view of Japanese court life, the official and behind the screen. Art, clothing, music from the time of the novel illustrate the obserations of authors Jane Smiley and Chiori Miyagawa, among others.

Unit 7 Journey to the West

The powerful and mischievous Stone Monkey King brings chaos to heaven and earth. Freed from a mountain prison in order to guard a Chinese monk on his journey to retrieve the Buddhist scriptures from India, Monkey seeks his own spiritual transformation. Modern performance, contemporary art, and Buddhist philosophers provide a rich context to the ancient tale. Featured cast members include playwright David Henry Huang, storyteller Diane Wolkstein, and translator Professor Anthony Yu.

Unit 8 Popol Vuh

The Mayan book of creation, the dawn of life, and the glories of gods and kings. This magnificent epic was saved from destruction at the hands of the Spanish by Quiché chroniclers. Once repressed, the story is now interwoven with the history of today's Mayan people. Featured speakers include archaeologist Richard Hanson, humorist Mo Rocca, and Guatemalan artist Shuni Giron.

Unit 9 Candide

A satirical novel following the travails of Candide, a hopeless optimist whose faith in his tutor's mantra that his is "the best of all possible worlds" is tested beyond all limits. Voltaire's challenge to the aristocracy of his day proves refreshingly amusing and biting today. Original illustrations, songs, and comic book figures plumb the depths of this satire. Featured speakers include director Harold Ramis, actress Kristin Chenoweth, and cartoonist Chris Ware.

Unit 10 Things Fall Apart

In this foundational modern African novel, Chinua Achebe's story follows the lives of people trying to understand which belief systems deserve their loyalty. The protagonist, Okonkwo is a tribal leader who battles neighboring villages, the English, and his own demons in early colonial Nigeria. The perspectives of readers from around the world reveal the novel's universal themes. Cast members include playwright and professor Tess Onwueme and theater director Chuck Mike.

Unit 11 One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel García Márquez's multigenerational saga of the Buendía family in the isolated town of Macondo inaugurated the boom in Latin American literature in the 1970s and marked the beginning of magical realism. Writer Sandra Cisneros and scholar of Latin American literature, Ilan Stavans lend their thoughts and voices to the discussion of this epic novel.

Unit 12 The God of Small Things

Fraternal twins Rahel and Estha struggle to reclaim their lives after their childhood is destroyed by tragic circumstances. As past and present merge in this narrative of Indian society and politics, the many layers of the caste system are mirrored in the poetic and inventive language of the author. Featured speakers include Simon Gikandi of Princeton University, author Evelyn Ch'ien.

Unit 13 The Thousand and One Nights

Shahrazad must hold the interest of her despotic husband the sultan with nightly tales, lest she lose her life in the morning. This wellspring of storytelling, circulating from medieval Persia to Egypt to Iraq, like its wily raconteur lives on in many modern adaptations. Art, performance, and film images are employed to show the collection's broad span of influence. Featured speakers include Marin Alsop, musical director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Aly Jetha and Shabnam Rezai, co-producers of the 1001 Nights animated series.