The Arabian Nights , or The Thousand and One Nights Alf Layla wa Layla in Arabic has multiple origins in several cultures, and a long history of collection, publication, translation and scholarship. Its deepest roots lie in the oral tradition of storytelling in Asia. Frame tales and moral stories from India, Persian stories of magic and the world of unseen creatures, and other tales of unknown origins came together and were translated into Arabic language from about the eighth century.
The stories were added to and embellished over the centuries both in print and orally. The first eighteenth century translation of The Arabian Nights into French began a tradition of publication in Europe, then globally. Ibn al Nadim ca.
The document is found in by Solomon Goitein. A Syrian manuscript of Alf Layla wa Layla containing about stories is found.
French archaeologist Antoine Galland translates a Constantinople manuscript of the Sindbad the Sailor stories into French. Galland publishes translations of the 14th century Syrian manuscript The Thousand and One Nights in 12 volumes. The Egyptian government under Muhammad Ali , establishes a printing press in Egypt. Christian Maxmilian Habicht b. This edition contains stories, using existing versions and adding tales from al-Najjar and unknown sources.
British orientalist Edward W. Richard Francis Burton β , geographer, explorer, orientalist, cartographer, linguist, poet, and diplomat, publishes an English translation known for its sexual content. Muhsin Mahdi publishes an Arabic edition claiming fealty to the oldest Arabic versions, based on early manuscripts from the Syrian tradition.
