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{{Version
{{Version
|Has Description=The Persian ''Sindbadnama'' traditions are all thought to derive from a Middle Persian (Pahlavi) original. Older scholarship presumed an Indian source for this, but no Sanskrit texts have been found as evidence of this ([[Krönung (2016)]].  
|Has Description=The earliest Persian version that has survived is Ẓahīrī of Samarqand’s ''Sindbādnāma'' [Book of Sindbad] dated to around 1160CE. There is also a shortened version embedded into Nakhshabī’s ''Ṭūṭīnāma'' [Tales of a Parrot] (''c.''1330CE) and a versified version by ‘Aḍud Yazdī from ''c.'' 1375CE (on these texts, see the individual version entries).  


The Pahlavi text was adapted into early New Persian several times, by such luminaries as Rudaki (Dabir Siyaqi 1955) and Daqayeqi (Zakeri 2023).  
Most scholars now assume that the ''Seven Sages of Rome/Book of Sindbad'' story-matter was first written down in Persian long before the extant versions. Several early Arabic and Persian historians evidence the existence of a Persian book about Sindbad, now lost, which Krönung 2016 dates to the sixth to seventh centuries but which may also have been written earlier or later. The Persian historian Hamza of Isfahan, for example, states in his ''Annals'' of Persian history (961CE) that a book with this title was written after the death of Alexander the Great and before the arrival of the Sasanians, under the Arsacid kings of Armenia (Perry 1960). Michael Andreopoulos in his Greek ''Syntipas'' (c. 1090–1100CE) mentions a previous story of Sindbad by someone called “Mousos the Persian”. Most academics agree that Mousos/Musa was an Arabic writer who translated an existing story in Pahlavi (Middle Persian) into Arabic (Nöldeke 1879, Krönung 2016, Belcher 1987). Ẓahīrī in his ''Sindbādnāma'' says that the text was translated from Pahlavi (Middle Persian) into Dari (Persian) in 950–951CE. The current scholarly consensus, following Perry 1960, is that a Pahlavi (Middle Persian) text was translated into Arabic and from there into Syriac and then Greek (Krönung 2016), as well as continuing to be transmitted in Persian.  


However, only the version originally translated by Fanaruzi (c. 9th century CE/3rd century AH) and ornamented by Zahiri al-Samarqandi in c. 1160 CE/555 AH survives from this period of early New Persian transmission.  
Some Arabic historians writing in the ninth and tenth centuries also mention that the story may have had Indian precursors. While much older scholarship presumed that there was an Indian version predating the Persian text, most academics since Perry (1960) think that this is unlikely, as no written traces of such an Indian version have been found, though its existence is still considered a possibility by Krönung 2016.  


However, it was inserted, in abridged form, into other popular fable collections, such as Nakhshabi’s Tutinama and Daqayeqi's Bakhtiarnama. These abridgements tend to conform far more to the Makr al Nisa/wiles of women genre in which the 9th century Arab historian al Yaqubi places the Sindbad tradition than does Zahiri's version, potentially suggesting a closer link to the original Middle Persian tradition. Later, in 1374, the Shirazi belletrist and courtier Azod Yazdi versified Zahiri's version for the govenor of Shiraz, Tamerlane's son Shah Rukh. Of these different surviving versions, Zahiri's version seems to have been by far the most popular and sought after, particularly in the Ottoman Empire.
Entered by Bettina Bildhauer
|Has Display Title=Persian Sindbadnama
|Has Display Title=Persian Sindbadnama
|Has Branch Of Tradition=Book of Sindbad
|Has Branch Of Tradition=Book of Sindbad
|Is Adapted Into=Nakhshabi Tutinama; Zahiri al Samarqandi, Sindbadnama; Azod Yazdi versification; Bakhtiarnama abridgement
|Is Adapted Into=Nakhshabi Tutinama; Zahiri al Samarqandi, Sindbadnama; Azod Yazdi versification
|Has Language Of Version=Persian
|Has Language Of Version=Persian
|Has Regional Language=Dari (Insha)
|Has Start Date Of Composition=200
|Has End Date Of Composition=800
|Is Date Uncertain=No
|Is Date Uncertain=No
|Has Modern Research Literature=Perry (1960); Zakeri (2023); Dabir Siyaqi (1955); (see specific versions for more)
|Has Source For Date Of Text Composition=Krönung (2016); Perry (1960)
|Has Note=Roughly 50% of the early manuscripts are to be found in Iranian libraries, who did not reply before the completion of this database. Below is a list of manuscripts in Iranian libraries whose existence can be confirmed:
|Has Modern Research Literature=Perry (1960); Zakeri (2023); Dabir Siyaqi (1955); Krönung (2016); Nöldeke (1879); Belcher (1987)
|Has Internal Notes=Roughly 50% of the early manuscripts are to be found in Iranian libraries, who did not reply before the completion of this database. Below is a list of manuscripts in Iranian libraries whose existence can be confirmed:




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Mashhad, Āstān-i Quds-i Raḍavī  MS 9415
Mashhad, Āstān-i Quds-i Raḍavī  MS 9415


               
 
 
Check: turtures 2; canicula 3 AND 2; Aper 1, Annuli, Ingenia 1a
|Has Note=Note: story order (below) is based on the Zahiri al-Samarqandi narrative.
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Vulpes et simia
|Has Sequence Number=1
|Has Narrator=Sindbad
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Camelus
|Has Sequence Number=2
|Has Narrator=Sindbad
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Elephantus
|Has Sequence Number=3
|Has Narrator=Sindbad
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Rex simiarum
|Has Sequence Number=4
|Has Narrator=First Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Avis
|Has Sequence Number=5
|Has Narrator=First Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Gladius
|Has Sequence Number=6
|Has Narrator=First Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Lavator
|Has Sequence Number=7
|Has Narrator=Empress
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Turtures
|Has Sequence Number=8
|Has Narrator=Second Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Zuchara
|Has Sequence Number=9
|Has Narrator=Second Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Striga
|Has Sequence Number=10
|Has Narrator=Empress
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Canis
|Has Sequence Number=11
|Has Narrator=Third Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Canicula 3
|Has Sequence Number=12
|Has Narrator=Third Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Aper
|Has Sequence Number=13
|Has Narrator=Empress
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Balneator
|Has Sequence Number=14
|Has Narrator=Fourth Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Canicula
|Has Sequence Number=15
|Has Narrator=Fourth Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Mel
|Has Sequence Number=16
|Has Narrator=Empress
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Panes
|Has Sequence Number=17
|Has Narrator=Fifth Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Annuli
|Has Sequence Number=18
|Has Narrator=Fifth Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Simia
|Has Sequence Number=19
|Has Narrator=Empress
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Nomina
|Has Sequence Number=20
|Has Narrator=Sixth Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Pallium
|Has Sequence Number=21
|Has Narrator=Sixth Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Fons
|Has Sequence Number=22
|Has Narrator=Empress
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Leo
|Has Sequence Number=23
|Has Narrator=Seventh Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Ingenia
|Has Sequence Number=24
|Has Narrator=Seventh Master
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Lac venenatum
|Has Sequence Number=25
|Has Narrator=Prince
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Mater negligens
|Has Sequence Number=26
|Has Narrator=Prince
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Puer 3 annorum
|Has Sequence Number=27
|Has Narrator=Prince
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Puer 5 annorum
|Has Sequence Number=28
|Has Narrator=Prince
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Senex Caecus
|Has Sequence Number=29
|Has Narrator=Prince
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=4 liberatores
|Has Sequence Number=30
|Has Narrator=Prince
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Vulpes
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Fatum
|Has Narrator=Sindbad
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Upupa
|Has Narrator=Sindbad
}}
{{EmbeddedStory
|Has Short Title=Vespa et formica
|Has Narrator=Sindbad
}}
}}

Latest revision as of 17:15, 12 March 2026

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  3. Persian Sindbadnama
The earliest Persian version that has survived is Ẓahīrī of Samarqand’s Sindbādnāma [Book of Sindbad] dated to around 1160CE. There is also a shortened version embedded into Nakhshabī’s Ṭūṭīnāma [Tales of a Parrot] (c.1330CE) and a versified version by ‘Aḍud Yazdī from c. 1375CE (on these texts, see the individual version entries).

Most scholars now assume that the Seven Sages of Rome/Book of Sindbad story-matter was first written down in Persian long before the extant versions. Several early Arabic and Persian historians evidence the existence of a Persian book about Sindbad, now lost, which Krönung 2016 dates to the sixth to seventh centuries but which may also have been written earlier or later. The Persian historian Hamza of Isfahan, for example, states in his Annals of Persian history (961CE) that a book with this title was written after the death of Alexander the Great and before the arrival of the Sasanians, under the Arsacid kings of Armenia (Perry 1960). Michael Andreopoulos in his Greek Syntipas (c. 1090–1100CE) mentions a previous story of Sindbad by someone called “Mousos the Persian”. Most academics agree that Mousos/Musa was an Arabic writer who translated an existing story in Pahlavi (Middle Persian) into Arabic (Nöldeke 1879, Krönung 2016, Belcher 1987). Ẓahīrī in his Sindbādnāma says that the text was translated from Pahlavi (Middle Persian) into Dari (Persian) in 950–951CE. The current scholarly consensus, following Perry 1960, is that a Pahlavi (Middle Persian) text was translated into Arabic and from there into Syriac and then Greek (Krönung 2016), as well as continuing to be transmitted in Persian.

Some Arabic historians writing in the ninth and tenth centuries also mention that the story may have had Indian precursors. While much older scholarship presumed that there was an Indian version predating the Persian text, most academics since Perry (1960) think that this is unlikely, as no written traces of such an Indian version have been found, though its existence is still considered a possibility by Krönung 2016.

Entered by Bettina Bildhauer


Tradition & Lineage

Branch of the tradition
Book of Sindbad
Adapted into (version)
Nakhshabi Tutinama, Zahiri al Samarqandi, Sindbadnama, Azod Yazdi versification

Recorded Secondary Versions

Connected Manuscripts

Language & Composition

Language of version
Persian


Date of Composition
200 - 800


Source for date of composition
Krönung (2016), Perry (1960)

Modern Scholarship & Editions

Modern research literature
Perry (1960), Zakeri (2023), Dabir Siyaqi (1955), Krönung (2016), Nöldeke (1879), Belcher (1987)

Notes & Commentary

Note
Note: story order (below) is based on the Zahiri al-Samarqandi narrative.

Pattern of Embedded Stories in This Version



















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This page was last edited on 12 March 2026, at 17:15.
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