Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights is a sprawling compilation of nearly a thousand folktales emerging from centuries of oral circulation and evolving manuscript traditions, embedded within an amalgamation of cultures whose histories are intertwined with the Middle East, including North Africa, South Asia and Central Asia. Predating several medieval Arabic literatures, a number of the stories herein contain motifs and narrative ploys that are reminiscent of ancient Sanskrit fables, like the Panchatantra and Baital Pachisi, while others bear traces of Persian and even Mesopotamian storytelling.