In the distant past, in ancient times, there was a king from the Sassanid kings on the islands of India and China. He was a ruler with soldiers, aides, servants, and attendants. He had two sons, one older and the other younger, both were brave knights, but the elder was braver than the younger. He ruled the land with justice among his people and was loved by his subjects. His name was King Shahryar, and his younger brother's name was King Shah Zaman, who was the king of Samarkand of Persia. Their rule remained stable for twenty years, with each king governing his kingdom justly, living in great happiness and comfort.
One day, the elder brother longed to see his younger brother, so he ordered his vizier to travel and bring him. The vizier obeyed, traveled safely, and met the younger brother, conveying the elder brother's message of longing and intention to visit. Shah Zaman responded with obedience, prepared for travel, and left his vizier as the acting ruler. As he set out on his journey, he remembered something he had forgotten in his palace. Returning, he found his wife in his bed, embracing a black slave. Seeing this, the world darkened before his eyes, and he thought to himself, "If this has happened while I am still in the city, what will this harlot do if I am away visiting my brother for some time?" He drew his sword and killed them both in the bed, then immediately ordered departure and continued his journey to his brother's city.
King Shahryar was overjoyed by his arrival, met him with great happiness, decorated the city for him, and they sat together, talking joyfully. But King Shah Zaman kept recalling his wife's betrayal, becoming deeply distressed, pale, and weakened. Seeing his brother in such a state, Shahryar assumed it was due to leaving his kingdom and did not question him further. One day, Shahryar suggested, "Brother, I sense a deep wound within you," without mentioning his wife's infidelity. He invited Shah Zaman to join him on a hunting trip, hoping it would lift his spirits. Shah Zaman refused, so Shahryar went hunting alone.
From the palace, Shah Zaman watched through windows overlooking his brother's garden. He saw the palace gates open, and twenty maidservants and twenty slaves, led by his brother's beautiful wife, walked to a fountain, undressed, and mingled. The king's wife called out, "O Masoud."
A black slave came to her, and they embraced and made love, just as the other slaves did with the maidservants. They continued kissing and embracing until the day ended. When the king's brother saw this, he said, "By God, my misfortune is lighter than this calamity." His grief and sorrow lessened, realizing that his ordeal was nothing compared to this. He continued eating and drinking. When his brother returned from his trip, they greeted each other, and King Shahryar noticed that his brother, King Shah Zaman, had regained his color, his face now red, and he was eating heartily after having eaten little before. Shahryar was surprised and said, "Brother, I saw you pale and weak, and now your color has returned. Tell me what happened." Shah Zaman replied, "Please forgive me for not telling you the reason for my change in color." Shahryar insisted, "First tell me why you were pale and weak, and then I will listen." Shah Zaman explained, "When you sent your vizier to bring me to you, I prepared to leave my city. However, I remembered a jewel I had left in my palace and returned to find my wife with a black slave in my bed. I killed them both and came to you, deeply troubled. This is why I was pale and weak. As for my recovery, please forgive me for not mentioning it."
When his brother heard this, he swore by God that Shah Zaman should tell him the reason for his recovery. So Shah Zaman told him everything he had seen. Shahryar then said, "I wish to see this with my own eyes." Shah Zaman suggested, "Pretend to go hunting and hide with me so you can witness it yourself." The king immediately announced a hunting trip, and the soldiers and tents left the city. The king then sat in his tent and told his men not to let anyone in. He disguised himself and secretly went to his brother's palace, sitting at a window overlooking the garden. After some time, he saw the maidservants and their mistress enter the garden with the slaves, doing as his brother had described until the afternoon.
Seeing this, King Shahryar lost his mind and said to his brother, "Let's leave immediately. We have no need for the kingdom. We must find out if anyone else has suffered as we have, or death will be better than life." His brother agreed, and they left the palace through a secret door, traveling for days and nights until they reached a tree in the middle of a meadow near a spring of water by the salty sea. They drank from the spring and rested. After an hour, they saw the sea agitate, and a black column rose from it, reaching the sky, and heading toward the meadow. Frightened, they climbed the tall tree and watched. A large, broad-chested jinn with a box on his head emerged from the sea. He came to the tree, sat under it, opened the box, and took out a container. When he opened it, a radiant, beautiful girl emerged, as bright as the shining sun, As the poet said,
"In the darkest night, her light brings dawn,
Illuminating skies, all darkness gone.
The sun itself from her glow springs,
And the moon hides away, its light withdrawn.
Before her grace, all creatures kneel,
As veils lift, their secrets are now revealed.
Her lightning flashes, a guardian's spark,
And the rain falls gently, tears of the dark".
When the jinn looked at her, he said, "O lady of noble birth, whom I abducted on your wedding night, I want to sleep a little." Then the jinn rested his head on her lap and fell asleep. She raised her head towards the top of the tree and saw the two kings up there. She gently lifted the jinn's head from her lap, placed it on the ground, and stood under the tree, signaling to them to come down and not to fear the jinn. They hesitated and pleaded, "For God's sake, spare us from this." She insisted, "By God, come down, or I will wake the jinn, and he will kill you in the worst possible way."
Frightened, they climbed down to her. She then said to them, "Embrace me vigorously, or I will wake the jinn." Terrified, King Shahryar said to his brother King Shah Zaman, "Brother, do as she commands." Shah Zaman replied, "I will not do it until you do it first." They both hesitated, eyeing each other about the act. Seeing this, she said, "Why are you hesitating? If you do not come forward and do as I say, I will wake the jinn." Out of fear of the jinn, they did as she commanded.
When they finished, she stood up and took a pouch from her pocket. She pulled out a necklace with five hundred and seventy rings and asked them, "Do you know what these are?" They replied, "No, we do not." She explained, "All the owners of these rings have had their way with me behind the back of this jinn. Now give me your rings." The two kings gave her their rings from their fingers.
She said, "This jinn abducted me on my wedding night. He placed me in a container, locked it in a box, and fastened the box with seven locks. He threw it to the bottom of the raging sea, believing he could keep me from doing what I wanted. But as you can see, when a woman desires something, she cannot be stopped, as some say,
"Trust not the ways of women fair,
Nor in their promises, beware.
Their love and anger often change,
With whims and fancies, they rearrange.
They show a love that's false and sly,
With betrayal hidden in their sly eye.
Heed the tales the people tell,
And guard against their cunning spell.
Recall how Eve, with her deceit,
Led Adam to his fateful defeat".
When they heard her words, they were utterly astonished and said to each other, "If this jinn has suffered something worse than what happened to us, then this is something to console us." They immediately left her and returned to King Shahryar's city, entering his palace. Shahryar then executed his wife, as well as the maidservants and the slaves. He began to take a new virgin bride each night, deflower her, and kill her by morning. This continued for three years, causing great distress among the people, and all the daughters fled the city, leaving no young woman who could endure such treatment.
The king ordered his vizier to bring him a young woman, as per his usual practice. The vizier searched but could not find anyone, and he returned home, angry, distressed, and fearful for his life.
The vizier had two daughters, both beautiful and graceful. The elder daughter was named Shahrazad, and the younger was named Dunyazad. Shahrazad had read many books, histories, and tales of ancient kings and past nations. It was said that she had collected a thousand books of historical accounts related to previous nations, kings, and poets.
When she saw her father in distress, she asked, "Father, why do you look so troubled and sorrowful?"
When the vizier heard his daughter's words, he told her everything that had happened with the king, from beginning to end. She said, "By Allah, father, marry me to this king. Either I will live, or I will be a ransom for the daughters of the city and a means of their salvation from his hands." He responded, "By Allah, my daughter, do not endanger yourself." She insisted, "I must do this."
So he prepared her and took her to King Shahryar. She had already instructed her younger sister, Dunyazad, saying, "When I go to the king, I will send for you. When you come to me and see that the king has finished his business with me, say, 'Sister, tell us a strange tale to pass the night.' I will then tell you a story that will bring salvation."
Her father, the vizier, took her to the king. When the king saw him, he was pleased and said, "Have you brought what I need?" The vizier replied, "Yes." When the king was about to enter her chamber, she began to weep. The king asked, "What troubles you?" She replied, "O king, I have a younger sister whom I wish to bid farewell." The king sent for her, and she came and embraced her sister. Dunyazad then sat under the bed.
The king then took Shahrazad's virginity, and they sat talking. Dunyazad said, "By Allah, sister, tell us a tale to pass the night." Shahrazad replied, "With pleasure and honor, if this noble king permits." When the king heard these words, and because he was anxious and restless, he was happy to listen to the tale.