History of the Arabian Nights

Manuscripts and Print Editions of Shahrazad 1001 Tales

Nov 16, 2009 Lito Apostolakou

The manuscripts and print editions of the Arabian Nights have a long history as do the One Thousand and One tales of Shahrazad.

The history of the Arabian Nights is as fabulous as the 1001 tales that Shahrazad told the King every night to save her life. The tales that have been told and retold by generations are of various Indian, Persian and Arabic origins though the exact origin of each remains unknown. Collections of the One Thousand and One Nights tales existed already in the 10th century; from then onwards emerged a variety of copied manuscripts and later print editions.

History of the Arabian Nights, Manuscripts

In the introduction of his translation of the Arabian Nights, Husain Haddawy, relates the history of the Arabian Nights as this unfolds in the different manuscripts:

The history of the tales begins with the Thousand Nights, a 10th-century manuscript collection of tales translated from the Persian work "Hazar Afsana" (Thousand Legends). From Hazar originates the popular title of "One Thousand and One Nights" and the style of storytelling of Shahrazad. Both works are lost.
The Arabian Nights tales are written down in the second half of the 13th century, in the Mamluk kingdom, in Syria or Egypt. This manuscript is considered the original version of the Arabian Nights and is now lost.
The original version, or Mamluk original, was copied and became the archetype for subsequent copies. Two branches of manuscripts evolved from that: the Syrian and the Egyptian.
Of the Syrian manuscripts of the Arabian Nights, the one that is held in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris is the oldest and closest to the original and dates from the 14th century. The rest are copied in the 16th, 18th and 19th centuries.
The Egyptian manuscripts are mostly copies done in the 18th and 19th centuries that contain a plethora of added folk tales. These manuscripts are not faithful to the Mamluk original of the 14th century.

As Haddawy comments there emerged "a large, heterogeneous, indiscriminate collection of stories by different hands and from different sources, representing different layers of culture", stories that had very little to do with the original Arabian Nights of the Mamluk period.

History of the Arabian Nights, Print Editions

"If the history of the manuscripts is a confusing tale", writes Haddawy, "the history of printed editions is a sad comedy of errors". Until the 1980s the print editions of Arabian Nights consisted of a collage of 1001 tales from different manuscripts including some forgeries.

Fort William College edition, Calcutta, in two volumes, 1814 and 1818; it included random texts from the Syrian manuscripts and other works.
Breskau edition by Maximilian Habicht, 8 volumes, 1824-1843; a print edition of Arabian Nights with tales patched together from 14thC Syrian and late Egyptian manuscripts.
Bulaq edition, 1835. Based on a late Egyptian manuscript this edition comprised several tales of diverse literary styles and purported to be "complete". However, it was very different from the original Mamluk version in both substance and style.
William Macnaghten edition, Calcutta, 1839-1842 in 4 volumes. The 1001 tales of Shahrazad printed here are based on a late Egyptian manuscript.
Mahdi edition. This is the definite edition of the 14th century Syrian manuscript held in the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris. Haddawy based his translation on this edition and praises it as "a coherent and precise work of art that is like a restored icon or musical score without the added layers of paint or distortions, thus as close to the original as possible".

The Arabian Nights. Translated by Husain Haddawy. Based on the text of the 14thC Syrian manuscript edited by Muhsin Mahdi. This edition published by Everyman's Library: Alfred A. Knopf, NY, London, Toronto, 1992.

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The copyright of the article History of the Arabian Nights in Historical Resources is owned by Lito Apostolakou. Permission to republish History of the Arabian Nights in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Arabian Nights, or One Thousand and One Nights	History of Arabian Nights and its Manuscripts	One Thousand and One Nights, 1001 Tales
Print Editions of Arabian Nights