Arabic Version A (The Seven Viziers)

1. Home
2. Version
3. Arabic Version A (The Seven Viziers)

The narrative titled كتاب السندباد [Kitāb al-Sindbād, The Book of Sindbad], or الوزراء السبعة [Al-Wuzarāʾ al-sabʿa, The Seven Viziers] was transmitted independently as a stand-alone narrative, in addition to its redaction as part of the larger One Hundred and One and One Thousand and One Nights tale collections. This independent iteration of the Seven Viziers narrative, referred to in scholarship as the Arabic version A (e.g., Krönung, 2016), is most closely related to the version found in the One Hundred and One Nights (A101), but also exhibits some distinct differences. For example, the independent Version A does not include the story of the king and the elephant, Elephantus, often found at the start of the A101 text. Other than that, the embedded stories are then essentially the same for the two versions up to the 15th (Version A) or 16th (Version A101) story, Simia, after which their patterns diverge. The (see story order, below).

The different Arabic Version A manuscripts, listed here, also demonstrate some variation in the number and order of stories contained within them. For example, the earliest surviving independent Seven Viziers text - c. 1535, edited by Ateş in the appendix to his edition of Sindbad-name (1948), found in the Ali Paşa Library in Istanbul - contains the 21 stories listed below. Other later versions from the 18th century, including Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 3670 and Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 3639 translated by Basset in 1903, include 24 stories instead. Notably, they include some stories - e.g. Curiositas, Imago, Capsa - that appear infrequently (if at all) elsewhere in the tradition.

Identification and general Information
Reference Number
Siglum of the version of the Seven Sages	A (The Seven Viziers)
Version Number
Title	الوزراء السبعة (Al-Wuzarāʾ al-sabʿa, The Seven Viziers)
Author

Tradition and Lineage
Branch of the tradition	Book of Sindbad
Adapted from (version)
Adapted into (version)
Source for composition and adaptation information

Recorded secondary versions
Seven Viziers Arabic Version A (The Seven Viziers) Arabic Version A1001 (Thousand and One Nights) Arabic Version A101 (Hundred and One Nights)

Connected manuscripts

Manuscript Language Location Date of Production Berlin Staatsbibliothek Glaser 166 Arabic Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz 1668 Berlin Staatsbibliothek Sprenger 1368 Arabic Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz ca. 1200 AH (1785) Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Sprenger 1243 Arabic Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz c. 1600 Istanbul Şehit Ali Paşa Library 2743 Arabic Istanbul, Şehit Ali Paşa Library 1533 - 1535 Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France Arabe 3639 Arabic Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France ca. 1700 Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 3670 Arabic Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France 1701 - 1800

Language and Composition
Original language of version	Arabic
Language of text	Arabic
Regional or specific language of version
Translated into (languages)
Place of composition
Date of composition	700 - 850
Islamic date of composition
Hebrew date of composition
Source for date of composition	Krönung (2016), Ateş (1948)

Modern Scholarship and Editions
Modern research literature	Ateş (1948), Krönung (2016), Redwan (2023), Ott (2012), Artola (1978), Perry (1960), Basset (1903), Belcher (1987)
Modern Editions	Ateş, Sindbād̲-nāme (1948)

Notes and Commentary
Note
Notes on motifs
Notes on the frame

Pattern of embedded stories in this version

Has Short Title Has Sequence Number Has Narrator Has Name Variation Leo 1     Avis – The Bird 2     Lavator 3     Panes 4     Gladius – The Drawn Sword 5     Striga – The Prince and the Ogress 6     Mel 7     Zuchara 8     Fons 9     Balneator 10     Canicula 11     Aper – The Boar and the Fruit 12     Canis – The Faithful Dog 13     Pallium 14     Simia 15     Turtures 16     Elephantinus 17     Ingenia 18     Puer 3 annorum 19     Puer 5 annorum 20     Copy Embedded Stories Copy Embedded Stories × Select Target Page: Close Process

Connected prints
No connected prints