Syriac Sindban

The Syriac Sindban only survives in one fragmentary manuscript, Berlin Staatsbibliothek Petermann I 24. Entries in the manuscript mentions the date 1579CE (as well as the date 1583, and elsewhere the date 1660), which led its German translator Baethgen (1879) to presume that is was written some time before 1579CE. Krönung (2016) follows that dating, as does Perry (1960). Sachau's catalogue of the Berlin library (1899), however, considers these entries to be a later addition, and dates the manuscript to 1400-1450CE. The current digital Berlin library catalogue follows this dating.

There is credible evidence that the text itself must have been composed much earlier: Michael Andreopoulos plausibly claims to have translated his Greek Syntipas from a Syriac text. The text of his Greek Syntipas is close to the surviving Syriac manuscript, leading most academics to assume that both were based on a common source (Perry 1960, Krönung 2016). Krönung 2016 assumes that the Syriac version was composed some time in the ninth, tenth or eleventh centuries, Minets 2023 speaks of the eighth to the eleventh centuries.

The frame narrative in this version is set at the court of King Cyrus, the prince is taught by Sindban alone, who reads the prophecy in the stars. The seven philosophers who come to the defence of the prince are the king's counsellors.

Entered by Bettina Bildhauer

Identification & General Information

Title

ܟܬܒܐ ܕܣܢܕܒܢ (The Book of Sindban)

Tradition & Lineage

Branch of the tradition

Book of Sindbad

Adapted into (version)

Andreopoulos Syntipas

Source for composition and adaptation information

Krönung (2016), Perry (1960), Toth (2016)

Recorded Secondary Versions

Syriac Sindban

Connected Manuscripts

	Has Language	Has Location	Has Date Range Of Production

Language & Composition

Language of version

Syriac

Regional or specific language of version

Syriac (Serto script)

Translated into (languages)

Greek

Place of composition

Melitene (Malatya)

Date of Composition

801 - 1100

Source for date of composition

Krönung (2016)

Modern Scholarship & Editions

Modern research literature

Barsoum (2003), Macler (1903), Gollancz (1987), Minov (2013), Minets (2023), Jernstedt (1912), Krönung (2016), Perry (1960), Sachau (1899)

Modern Editions

David Taylor (in progress as of 2025)

Pattern of Embedded Stories in This Version

Has Short Title	Has Sequence Number	Has Narrator
Leo	1	First Master
Avis – The Bird	2	First Master
Lavator	3	Empress
Panes	4	Second Master
Gladius – The Drawn Sword	5	Second Master
Striga – The Prince and the Ogress	6	Empress
Mel	7	Third Master
Zuchara	8	Third Master
Fons	9	Empress
––––	10	Fourth Master
Canicula – The Weeping Dog	11	Fourth Master
Aper – The Boar and the Fruit	12	Empress
Canis – The Faithful Dog	13	Fifth Master
Pallium	14	Fifth Master
Simia	15	Empress
Turtures	16	Sixth Master
Elephantinus	17	Sixth Master
Nomina	18	Seventh Master
Ingenia 1 – The Trick: The Wiles of Women Collection	19	Seventh Master
Lac venenatum	20	Prince
Puer 3 annorum	21	Prince