In the Great Khan’s Tent
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Creator: Saif Beg
Fables and Fairy Tales and Folklore, Adaptation Single-voiced Serial Audio Book
Synopsis:
In the Great Khan’s Tent hosted by Saif Beg is a bi-weekly episodic narrative Podcast focusing on the History, Literature, and Folk Literature from the regions of the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia including Mongolia and the Russian Far East, and South Asia.
Format: Audio Book
Continuity: Serial
Voices: Single
Genres: Fables and Fairy Tales and Folklore, Adaptation
Framing device:
Maturity: Young adult
Creator demographics: / BAME/BIMPOC
Character demographics: / BAME/BIMPOC
Content warnings (creator selected):
Country of origin: International
Transcript details:
Completion status:
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Episodes:
In The Great Khan's Tent Episode 35: The Arabian Nights Part 33
Sat, 24 Aug 2024 13:42:39 -0400
In this episode, we continue our exploration of the One Thousand and One Nights with the continuation of the story of “The Story of Sultan ‘Umar ibn al-Nu’man and his sons Sharkhan and Dau’ al-Makan and the strange and remarkable things that happened to them” with the continuation of Night 50 and the beginning of Night 51.
We continue with the adventure that Sharkhan and the princess Abrizah are on and learn her backstory of why she was in the monastery and why Sultan ‘Umar was asked by the King of Constantinople to help wage war against the King of Caesarea, the father of Abrizah.
Furthermore, we also learn the backstory of Sufiyeh, the concubine of Sultan ‘Umar and mother of Dau' al-Makan and Nuzhat al-Zaman and how she was given to him.
Stay tuned as this epic story continues to be an exciting and fascinating listen!
In other news, we are fast approaching our 2nd year anniversary on the 15th of September! I would like to ask all of our listeners to let me know what you’d like me to talk about in celebration of the 2nd year of In The Great Khan’s Tent! Like before I have special episodes planned to celebrate!
Thank you all for journeying with me as we continue to explore the rich history and texts of the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, North Africa, Mongolia, and the Russian Far East!
In The Great Khan's Tent Presents: Tales from the Far East Episode 1
Sat, 03 Aug 2024 16:11:43 -0400
Welcome to a new special series In The Great Khan’s Tent! In The Great Khan’s Tent Presents: Tales for the Far East focuses on the tales from the Far East, also known as the Russian Colonized Far East, from the region of Siberia all the way east to the Pacific Ocean.
In this episode we focus on the tales from the Yakut ethnic group with three stories, “The Fern Girl”, “How the Birds Flew North”, and “The Obedient Daughter in Law”.
The first story “The Fern Girl” is in a similar vein to those that we encountered in the Tales from Central Asia series. Our hero, Kharzhit Bergen meets and falls in love with a girl who has magically appeared in the pasture of an old woman, first as a horsetail fern, and then when taken home turns to a beautiful girl whom she adopts as a daughter.
In the second story “How the Birds Flew North” is a story in a similar vein to traditional tales which feature animals as main characters which tend to explain how they do the things that they do. In this case the question is how the birds migrated northward. Though to be honest I have never seen a Crane carry a Duck before.
The last story “The Obedient Daughter in Law” is a short story which focuses on why it is important to think for oneself even when obeying commands.
In the next episode, we will continue our exploration of the One Thousand and One Nights.
On a side note, I would like to formally apologize to when these episodes are being released. Our release day is usually on Thursday every two weeks but the month of July has tested our technological limitations and I aim to improve the flow process to get episodes out sooner! Thank you with your patience as we sort this out!
In The Great Khan's Tent Episode 34: The Arabian Nights Part 32
Sat, 13 Jul 2024 11:42:09 -0400
In The episode, we continue the epic tale of “The Story of Sultan Umar ibn al-Nu’man and his sons Sharkhan and Dau’ al-Makan and the strange and remarkable things that happened to them” with Nights 49 and 50.
We continue with our exploration of the adventure of Sharkhan, our heroic prince, who in previous episodes met the Greek princess, who in this episode is revealed to be Abrizah, in the convent and wrestled with her and failed and has now spent a number of days enjoying her company.
While the Princess Abrizah has continually shown that she triumphs over Sharkhan in many different formats, in this episode it is Chess, the reasons for her triumphs are also reviled as we go further in this episode when both are interrupted by soldiers from her father’s kingdom and Sharkhan is shown as the heroic and warlike personality that he is.
This episode celebrates reaching the 50th night a tremendous achievement to have met. This is all thanks to the listeners, supporters, and well-wishers who continue to support this podcast series. Thank you!
In our next episode, we will begin a new special series bringing you once again tales of wonder, joy, and fancy as we explore the world of literature and folk literature from underserved parts of the world!
In The Great Khan's Tent Episode 33: The Arabian Nights Part 31
Fri, 21 Jun 2024 17:50:14 -0400
In this episode, we continue the story “The Story of Sultan Umar ibn al-Nu’man and his sons Sharkhan and Dau’ al-Makan and the Strange and Remarkable things that happened to them” with Nights 47 and 48.
After leaving the army in the valley and going to a reconnaissance mission by himself, he winds up in a meadow that has a monastery where he spies 11 beautiful maidens and an old woman.
This part of the story is a moral tale with the great and heroic Sharkhan being bested by the so far as of yet unnamed main woman character who seems a princess of the Greeks that is stationed in that monastery for some reason. It speaks of the disadvantages of being prideful and that no matter how great you are, there is always someone who is greater or can bring you down to earth.
For a first in this series, wrestling appears in these stories, with the sport being popular in both in the past and in the present especially in the modern-day nation states of Iraq and Iran. Although mentions are made of three wrestlers who were popular in the author’s time period, I have not found any biographical description of them.
As he continually loses, to absolute credit to Sharkhan however, it does seem like he rolls with the punches, being quick to adapt to his new found situation.
With this episode, we are almost reaching the first milestone for our main series, as we have almost reached the 50th night. There is only 950 or so nights to go!
What does the future hold for our hero? Stay tuned for the next episode to find out!
In The Great Khan's Tent Episode 32: The Arabian Nights Part 30
Fri, 07 Jun 2024 13:48:01 -0400
In this episode, we reach the exciting conclusion of the story of “The Story of Ghanim, the son of Ayyub, the Distracted Slave of Love” with Nights 44 and 45. We then begin a thrilling and exciting epic story, one of many within the One Thousand and One Nights, titled “The Story of Sultan Umar al-Nu’man and his sons Sharkhan and Dau’ al-Makan and the Strange and Remarkable things that happened to them” which continues Night 45 and goes into Night 46.
This story is on the same level as any of the Greek Heroic tales, as this episode sets up the story of the three main characters, Sultan 'Umar, Sharkhan, and Dau' al-Makan and their secondary companions so far, the concubine of Sultan Umar, Sufiyeh, and the Vizir Dandan.
It is interesting to note here that this is the first appearance and reference to the Byzantine or Greek characters appearing in the story as well as the first appearance of the historical region known as Lesser Armenia centered around the old city of Caesaria or Mazaca.
However, note the setting this story takes place in.
This was before the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Abdul Malik ibn Marwan (685-705 CE), which was still in the Umayyad dynasty and Baghdad is the central place of Sultan Umar’s Empire. The storyteller and the subsequent writer may have wanted to tell the tale in a setting far removed from the Abbasid court and in a time when there was still tribulations and anarchy in the Umayyad Caliphate due to rebellions and various movements within the shaky foundations of the Caliphate which was only to fall a mere 50 years later to the Abbasids in 750 CE.
While it is certain that there was no Sultan Umar in Baghdad, this story could have its roots in the porous border regions of the Caliphate and Byzantium and would be an attempt to explain to the listeners of the time period the issues that were being faced at this time.
Finally, it should be noted that this story does not appear in the Edward William Lane’s translation of the One Thousand and one night without any explanation.
This will be the focus on an upcoming Special Episode coming out soon.
In The Great Khan's Tent Presents: Tales From Central Asia Episode 4
Fri, 17 May 2024 15:40:09 -0400
Announcing our Merchandise Store has now opened!
In this episode, we conclude our first special series "In The Great Khan’s Tent Presents: Tales from Central Asia" with Episode 4 focusing on tales from the Azerbaijani, Kyrgyz, and Kazakh ethnic groups.
The first two stories that are told are the Azerbaijani tales “The Story of Zarniyar Who Had All Her Wits About Her” and “Sheidullah the Loafer”.
The story of Sheidullah the Loafer is an interesting one as it is one of the only tales we have encountered in this special series and in our main series The One Thousand and One Nights so far where this main character does not have any redeeming traits at all. This clearly is meant to be a moral tale warning of the acts of sloth, laziness, and not performing your duty when other people are relying on you.
The third tale we encounter is the Kyrgyz story of “Which was the Biggest?” Do you know which was the biggest? Email me your answer at inthegreatkhanstent@gmail.com and I’ll compile the answers and present all the votes on the next episode!
The last tale we encounter in this special series if the Kazakh tale of “Aldar-Kose and Shigai-Bai”. Aldar-Kose is a extremely popular character in Kazakhstan and is known for all the tricks he plays on those who are greedy or on evil Khans but is also kind and helps the poor and the weak.
Although this special series is ending, fear not listeners! We have a new special series in the works and it will begin soon. So stay tuned and I hope you enjoy listening to this episode!
In The Great Khan's Tent Trailer
Mon, 06 May 2024 18:58:51 -0400
This is the Trailer for In The Great Khan's Tent!
In The Great Khan's Tent Episode 31: The Arabian Nights Part 29
Thu, 02 May 2024 17:02:39 -0400
This episode marks two important milestones that we have reached here at In The Great Khan’s Tent!
Firstly this is the 40th episode we have reached! Secondly, we have reached 2,000 all time downloads!
Both could not have happened without the support of our listeners, our supporters, and those who continue with us on our journey to examine the Literature and Folk Literature from the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, North Africa, Mongolia and the Russian Far East.
We will continue to strive to bring you the same informative, educational, and entertaining content that we have been doing! Thank you all and hope you continue this journey with us!
In light of reaching these milestones, I have decided to update our cover art and logo. I would really appreciate your comments if you like this one or prefer our older one.
In this episode, we continue our exiting exploration of the One Thousand and One Nights with the continuation of the story of “The Story of Ghanim, the son of Ayyub, the Distracted Slave of Love” with Nights 42 and 43.
Once again the historical characters of Harun al-Rashid and Jafar al-Barmaki appear but this time, their roles are clearly superseded by our main characters, Ghanim and Qut al-Qulub, and they are reduced to being secondary characters.
What differs from other stories we have encountered so far that feature Harun al-Rashid, he this time appears as someone who is more religiously inclined than before with clear issues about being punished in the afterlife. This is shown by how many times both Qut al-Qulub and his main wife Zubeydah, are either told to as in the case of Zubeydah by the old woman, or is known as when Qut al-Qulub indicates.
This indicates, to me, that this might have been told and written down when Harun al-Rashid was older and somewhat more mature than was previously shown.
We are also re-introduced to the characters of Ghanim’s mother and his sister, Fitneh, as they appear lamenting the supposed loss of Ghanim. The concept of mistaken identity is continual here with how often all three women characters overlook Ghanim due to the troubles he finds himself in and the state, both mentally and physically, he is reduced to due to his separation from Qut al-Qulub.
In the next episode, we will conclude our special series, In The Great Khan’s Tent Presents: Tales from Central Asia, with Episode 4. However, fear not listeners, we will have a new special series to replace this one coming out next month!
In The Great Khan's Tent Episode 30: The Arabian Nights Part 28
Thu, 18 Apr 2024 14:13:39 -0400
In this episode, we continue our exciting exploration of the One Thousand and One Nights, with the story of “The Story of Ghanim the son of Ayyub, the Distracted Slave of Love” with Nights 40 and 41.
We are first told the story of the first slave, Buhkait, and how he eventually found himself castrated. We then listen to the story of the second slave, Kafur, and the mischief he inflicted on his master and the city before getting his supposed comeuppance.
We finally then return back to our main character, Ghanim the son of Ayyub, and what he found in the chest that the three slaves had carried and had attempted to bury in the graveyard.
As you listen to this episode, consider why Ghanim could have gotten the title of the “Distracted Slave of Love” by considering what he went to Baghdad to do and what he was actually doing.
This episode is important as it highlights one of the great divergences that begins to take place within the One Thousand and One Nights translations that we will have to deal with as we continue our explorations with this work. The story of the first slave, Buhkait, was excluded from the translation of Edward William Lane, on account of its content, but was included in the translation of John Payne and of Richard Burton. Payne's version of this tale, by my estimation, was significantly toned down due to English sensibilities in contrast to Burton's version which ramped up the obscenity.
If you need a refresher on Obscenity and Bowdlerization within the One Thousand and One Nights, then refer back to our One Year Special Episode 1 where we dealt with the groundwork on this issue.
In The Great Khan's Tent Presents: Ramadan/Ramzan Special Episode Part 2
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 14:05:54 -0400
Welcome to In The Great Khan’s Tent Presents: Ramadan or Ramzan, if you prefer, Special Episode Part 2!
In our final special episode for this holy month of Ramadan, we delve into two tales of lesser known and uniquely Arab, Prophets, Salih (A.S.) who was sent to the people of Thamud, located in what we would know as present day Saudi Arabia, and Shu’ayb (A.S.) who was sent to two groups of people, the people of Midian and the people of the Thicket, both of whom are also located in the present day region of Saudi Arabia.
The tale of Salih (A.S.) is an interesting one and delves into the problems of asking a prophet for a sign of his prophethood. In Salih (A.S.) case, he had given the people of Thamud a she-camel which provided them with endless milk but their hatred and jealousy against him caused them to strike out against the camel and invite their own destruction. Of interesting note here is that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), does interact with the legacy of Salih (A.S.) and the remains left after Allah destroyed them. He warns his companions, as he travels through this region, to not drink the water or even enter the town. Furthermore, the Prophet (PBUH) warns of people of asking for signs of prophethood since it is tantamount that people are really asking for the destruction of themselves and their people.
The tale of Shu’ayb (A.S.) is unique from the tale of Hud (A.S.) and that of Salih (A.S.) in that while Shu’ayb (A.S.) did ask people to come to righteousness, he also especially targeted the people of Midian and the people of the Thicket to stop exploiting people through devious means particularly through modified and erroneous use of weights and measures as well as to stop them from highway robbery.
In the next episode we will continue our retelling of the One Thousand and One Nights with the continuation of “The Story of Ghanim the son of Ayyub, the Distracted Slave of Love”.
In The Great Khan's Tent Presents: Ramadan/Ramzan Special Episode Part 1
Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:59:49 -0400
Welcome to In The Great Khan’s Tent Presents: Ramadan or Ramzan, if you prefer, Special Episode Part 1!
In this special episode we will examine the oral and written narratives pertaining to Islam, in particular focusing on some of the lesser known Prophets mentioned in the Qur’an including the related topics to them.
The purpose of these episodes is to tell the tales and stories told about these unique Prophets that are mentioned in the Qur’an and that do not relate to either the Jewish or Christian tradition and hence are purely Arabic ones. This unique group includes of course the final seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (PBUH), but also includes the three we will be focusing on, Hud (A.S.), Salih (A.S.) and Shuaib (A.S.).
The structure of this episode is uniquely different because we are dealing with religious narratives. The first section of the episode recounts the Qur’anic verses dealing with the topic that we will be discussing before moving on to the narratives themselves.
Listeners will encounter a list of names ranging from one to many before a narrative has begun. This is called a isnad or the “chain of transmission”. The function of an isnad is to be a reliable guide to note which oral narratives have good standings and can be understood or agreed upon. The people in these isnad are often vetted through certain processes, such as not being prone to carelessness, and are understood as truthful people in good standing. Since these are religious oral tales, essentially, they use the isnad method.
In this specific episode, we deal with the narratives of Hud (A.S.) and the people he was sent to. His tale is a purely Yemeni one, as the people he was sent to were the ‘Ad, located within the present day regions of Oman and Yemen. His story is primarily known only through the Qur’an and there is an entire chapter that is named after him. The rest of his tale and the people he was sent to is transmitted through a select few oral tales.
Since we have no records of his life, the oral tales revolve around his warning to the people of ‘Ad, their ignorance or outright violence in their attempt to drive him away, and their eventual destruction by Allah for ignoring the call to return to righteousness.
After encountering the narrative of Hud (A.S.) we then move to tell the tale of the lost city called Iram of the Pillars, a city build by the king of ‘Ad, Shaddad ibn ‘Ad, and his attempt at recreating Heaven on the Earth.
The last narrative that is told, is the journey undertaken to Shaddad’s tomb and their adventures within it.
These two last narratives, certainly fitting within the folk tale genre, resemble the tales we will encounter further on in the One Thousand and One Nights.
In the next special episode of this holy month of Ramazan, we will be looking at the Prophets Salih (A.S.) and Shuaib (A.S.).
In The Great Khan's Tent Episode 29: The Arabian Nights Part 27
Thu, 29 Feb 2024 15:16:55 -0500
In this episode, we continue with our exploration of the One Thousand and One Nights, with the exciting conclusion of the story of “The Story of Nur-ud-din and Anis al-Jalis” with Night 38 and begin a new story, “The Story of Ghanim the son of Ayyub, the Distracted Slave of Love” with Night 39.
The role played by Harun al-Rashid in the story of Nur-ud-din and Anis al-Jalis clearly is another, more calmer and rational, aspect of his personality than what we saw in the “The Story of the Humpback”. While he does continue to threat Ja’far al-Barmaki with death if he does not do exactly as he says, his sense of justice is clearly more sharpened in this story than the previous one, especially in regards to the vizir al-Mo’in the son of Sawi and the Sultan, Muhammad the son of Suleyman al-Zeyni, who is his cousin.
This story also shows how the power base of the Abbasid Khalifate was built around with vital posts, such as the Sultan of Basra, being given to his family members rather than anyone from outside the immediate tribal connection.
The new story of Ghanim, returns us to the root of who these stories were really meant for with the main character being the son of the merchant who also becomes a merchant selling his wares in the city of Baghdad having traveled from his home in Damascus. We are not told yet as to why he has the appellation of “The Distracted Slave of Love” though hopefully the story will tell us. This story is once again set in the time of Harun al-Rashid, once again indicating that this story maybe one of the core stories of the One Thousand and One Nights.
In The Great Khan's Tent Presents: Tales from Central Asia Episode 3
Wed, 14 Feb 2024 14:24:41 -0500
In this episode, we continue with our on-going series titled “Tales from Central Asia” by looking at four different tales from four different ethnic groups.
The first story that is told is from the Turkmen ethnic group titled “A Mountain of Gems”. The second story that is told is from the Uzbek ethnic group titled “The Clever Brothers”. The third story that is told is from the Tajik ethnic group titled “The Greedy Qazi”.
What is interesting about these three stories is that they all bear a resemblance to similar tales that we have encountered and have yet to encounter in the One Thousand and One Nights. Although there is no indication of the provenance of these stories it can be conjectured that they were inspired by the One Thousand and One Nights and subsequently were modified to fit in their local storytelling environments. Another theory that can be examined is that these stories were developed in parallel to one another, in an isolated environment.
As we encounter these stories in the One Thousand and One Nights, there will be future special episodes comparing and contrasting them.
The last story that is told is from the Altai ethnic group called “Boroldoi-Mergen and his Brave Son”. This story is similar in its structure to the Bashkir story we encountered, Altyn-Saka the Golden Knucklebone, as well as the story of Tsarkin Khan and the Archer, the Kalmyk story. The main characters in all three of these stories are uniquely different from the environment that they find themselves in as the rest of the characters, or the village in the case of Boroldoi-Mergen, are cowardly and not brave and it is solely up to them to stand up to the unrighteous.
In the next episode, we will once again resume our exploration of the One Thousand and One Nights.
In The Great Khan's Tent Episode 28: The Arabian Nights Part 26
Fri, 26 Jan 2024 11:05:02 -0500
In this episode, we continue “The Story of Nur-ud-din and Anis al-Jalis” with Night 37.
As mentioned before, we again encounter the three historical characters of Harun al-Rashid, Jafar al-Barmaki, and Mansur. There is a marked difference in how the relationship between Harun al-Rashid and Jafar al-Barmaki is portrayed. Unlike the previous encounters, however, these new threats are now tempered with joviality and humor. This may lead one to believe that these threats were often used as playful banter between the two or at the very least by Harun al-Rashid. The reaction that Jafar has when faced with these threats, however, does not make it seem like he knew they were simply how Harun al-Rashid joked with him. This continues to deepen the mystery of both their portrayal within the One Thousand and One Nights and what exactly is the storyteller attempting to show.
We once again encounter the character of the fisherman, someone who was first encountered when we first began this series. Although the role Karim the fisherman plays is small, the presence of this character including the depiction of his poverty may have been an effort to show that not all characters are from similar social situations and classes.
In the next episode, we will return once again to another episode of the “Tales from Central Asia”.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode 27: The Arabian Nights Part 25
Thu, 11 Jan 2024 18:38:17 -0500
In this episode, we continue “The Story of Nur-ud-din and Anis al-Jalis” with Night 36.
Once again, this is another sort of morality tale warning about the wasteful spending with unreliable people or hangers on who are just there for spending a persons wealth, as in the case of Nur-ud-din, but once the wealth has run dry and the person needs help, they disperse and claim to not to know you. As Nur-ud-din finds out, these sorts of “friends” do not help and will only hinder a person in the long run.
We get a small glimpse of the slave markets that were present in Basra during the Abbasid Caliphate with a number of ethnicities present in this tale. There is a marked difference between this sort of slave trade and the transatlantic slave trade which most readers are familiar with. This difference will be explored in an upcoming special episode later this year.
As we go further in the tale, once again we encounter the Khalifa Harun al-Rashid in passing, referencing the garden that Nur-ud-din and Anis al-Jalis find themselves in after they had run to protect themselves from al-Mo’in ibn Sawi. The presence of Harun al-Rashid in this tale further strengthens the concept that this is one of the core stories of the One Thousand and One Nights, as the earlier tales prior to this one featured Khalifas that were successors of Harun al-Rashid.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode 26: The Arabian Nights Part 24
Fri, 22 Dec 2023 17:40:36 -0500
In this episode, we continue our One Thousand and One Nights narration, with the finale of “The Case of the Tailor, The Hunchback or Humpback, the Jew, the Inspector, and the Christian” or known as “The story of the Humpback” with Night 34. This has been a long tale first begun during Night 25 and reaches a satisfying conclusion for all parties involved in this tale. We begin a new tale, that of “The Story of Nur-ud-din and Anis al-Jalis” with Night 35.
The story of Nur-ud-din and Anis al-Jalis is one of the core stories known in the One Thousand and One Nights, with it being present in one of the oldest manuscripts extant of this work. The story is similarly framed to the earlier story we encountered, “Nur-ud-din and his Son and Shams-ud-din Mohammad and his Daughter”, in that the two central characters in this plot are vizers of a singular Sultan. However, unlike the earlier story they are both polar opposites of one another.
As we continue to explore the central core stories found in manuscripts of the One Thousand and One Nights, it might behoove us if we pay attention to how these core stories may have influenced other stories, some found earlier and some we will encounter later, and how similar characters can be found in them.
As we reach the end of the Gregorian calendar for 2023, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our listeners for sticking with us and hopefully you continue to support us in the New Year. May Allah bless you all and have a happy holiday whatever you are celebrating.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Presents: Tales from Central Asia Episode 2
Thu, 07 Dec 2023 17:37:30 -0500
In this episode, we continue with the story of “Tsarkin Khan and the Archer”, the Kalmyk Mongol tale.
In our last episode, we met the anonymous Archer who spotted three Gold Cranes who turned into beautiful ladies. He hid the feathers of one and gave them back to her. As a result, they married but his wife drew the attention of his Khan, Tsarkin Khan. Wanting the Archer’s wife for himself, he sent the Archer to get the milk of the Tigeress, feigning to be sick, in the hopes that he would be killed and be able to take his wife. He survived, however, and Tsarkin Khan then decided to sent him to search out No-One-Knows-What in No-One-Knows-Where, once again feigning to be sick.
As we continue this story, take notice of the various magical items that are being used to accomplish his goals. The string used to meet his wife’s sisters, Murza the mystical item that provides and entire meal, the khadak which creates a palace, and the golden stick which summons an army of mounted warriors or archers depending on which end is hit on the ground. All of which he uses to accomplish his goal of getting No-One-Knows-What and returning home to his beautiful wife.
This is clearly a tale with a message on morality, lying, and what happens when a Khan does not act like a Khan.
In the next episode we will continue with the One Thousand and One Nights.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode 25: The Arabian Nights Part 23
Thu, 23 Nov 2023 19:00:46 -0500
In this episode, we continue the story of “The Story of the Tailor” with Night 32 and the story of the “The Barber’s Story of his Fifth Brother” and go on to Night 33 and the story of the “The Barber’s Story of his Sixth Brother”.
Both of these brothers are seemingly different that what has been described by the Barber with his other brothers. The Fifth brother is clearly more courageous going as far as fighting back against what happened to him quite competently and getting his revenge on those who wronged him, while still having the traits that resulted in his finding himself in a dangerous situation. The beginning of the fifth brother’s story, where he dreams of wealth and what he shall do with it, is a common theme among folklore where the future is dreamed of but back in reality, something occurs that results in the shattering of that dream.
The sixth brother’s story is also different than that of his other brothers as the his form of being tricked, is not malicious, but rather is shown as something jovial and eccentric and his reaction to this shows how he approaches the situation using his smarts. It is only after a series of unfortunate events, where others are the cause of his misfortune, that causes him to suffer as he did.
It is interesting to note that in the sixth’s brother’s story the Barmakids are mentioned once again, however, this is an unnamed character meant to show the weird nature of the rich. Unfortunately it is unclear on who this is based on. He clearly is not based any of the main Barmakids, as they were already long dead especially by the time of the Caliph al-Muntasir bi’llah. The only plausible explanation might be that these were their descendants, from their children since there is no indication that the entire family was killed, or were distant relatives.
In the next episode, we will continue the series "Tales from Central Asia"!
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode 24: The Arabian Nights Part 22
Fri, 10 Nov 2023 11:16:01 -0500
In this episode, we continue the story of “The Barber’s Story of his First Brother” in Night 31 and begin the story of “The Barber’s Story of his Second Brother” and then move on to the story of “The Barber’s Story of his Third Brother” and “The Barber’s Story of his Fourth Brother” in Night 32.
As we encounter and listen to the Barber tell the story of his brothers and their misdeeds, foolishness, and gullibility, it is interesting to note how the characters that are central to the story remain nameless, oftentimes simply repeating the tropes that is commonly found within these tales.
You really have to think that the revenge concocted by the man in the Third brother’s story went so far just because the foolish brother did not reply when he was asked before the man descended all the way down his house. The magician in the Fourth Brother’s story is an interesting one because one would think that a person would be scared of confronting the man who was able to change paper into coins and the harm that he would do to a person if he was directly confronted. We have already met sorceresses who used magic to their will, but in this case it seems that his purpose is solely to be the catalyst for the expulsion of the Fourth brother.
Finally, it would seem, again, that the fourth brother’s story would become a story within a story, however this tale directly tells us that the people who caught the fourth brother did not believe him at all and went for the more obvious solution.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode 23: The Arabian Nights Part 21
Thu, 26 Oct 2023 16:59:50 -0400
Thank you to Thematic for sponsoring this episode! Listeners, use the code TENT6 at Free Music for YouTube Videos & Social Media • No Copyright (hellothematic.com) for a 1 month of free use at Thematic!
In this episode, we continue the story “The Story of the Tailor” in Night 30 and begin the story of “The Barber’s Story of Himself” and “The Barber’s Story of his First Brother” in Night 31.
As you go through this story, which is hilarious due to the actions and characteristics of the Barber himself, you can note how he portrays himself to how he actually is especially when he claims to be a man of little speech.
The story of the First Brother focuses on the actions of a love-sick man who falls for a married woman and how they deal with his feelings. Although it is meant to be a humorous tale, the actions of all the characters in the first brother’s stories are downright mean sometimes.
It should be noted that the presence of the character of the Caliph, this time al-Muntasir bi’llah (reigned 861-862 CE), clearly mark this tale as being created or at least written down a good time after the death of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid and is clearly a later story included in the One Thousand and One Nights.
Finally, a note of housekeeping. The numerical symbols on the titles will now be in Arabic character, rather than the Roman characters. This is due to the finicky and complicated nature of Roman numbers themselves. The back catalog will be updated going forward to adapt to this change.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Presents: Tales from Central Asia Episode 1
Thu, 12 Oct 2023 15:37:47 -0400
Thank you to Thematic for sponsoring this episode! Listeners, use the code TENT6 at Free Music for YouTube Videos & Social Media • No Copyright (hellothematic.com) for a 1 month of free use at Thematic!
In this Episode, we begin our new series which will be ongoing parallel to the current One Thousand and One Nights series we are going through, Tales from Central Asia!
We begin with a tale from the Bashkir tribe, the story of “Altyn-Saka the Golden Knucklebone”.
As you listen to this tale, you will notice the similarities present to what I have discussed in both our One Year Anniversary Special Episodes and with our regular special episodes, that is the presence of animal companions which both help and hinder the protagonist and often give advice and help.
This show that tales which involve animals speaking are quite common and are found in all different types of cultures and time periods. In addition, each of these tales may provide moral lessons if they can.
Note the presence of Sparrows, often considered pests, are now described as being helpful while other birds who are considered smarter or more intelligent decline to help Altyn-Saka.
The second tale in this episode, is from the Kalmyk tribe, “Tsarkin Khan and the Archer”.
Listeners may in fact find similarities between this tale and other tales which feature swans or sometimes cranes casting off their feathers to take on a human appearance and eventually finding a lover or a husband.
Animals once again play a significant role here, the interaction between the Archer and the Tigress being a prominent example in this tale. We also get our first reference to the Russian Far East, with the Archer being sent to get the milk of the aforementioned Tigress.
Fear not regular listeners! We are continuing with the One Thousand and One Nights next episode!
I hope you enjoy our first foray into Tales from Central Asia!
In The Great Khan’s Tent One Year Special Episode II
Thu, 28 Sep 2023 17:52:03 -0400
In The Great Khan’s Tent is now a year old!
We would like to firstly thank all of our listeners and supporters for accompanying us on our mission so far and hope that you are pleased by our offerings that we strive to provide you. Please stick around and support us as we reach new and better heights of providing programming that you want while bringing you the same educational, informative, and entertaining context that we are known for. Without all of you this would not have been possible. Thank you!
In the second of our One Year Specials, in the first part we examine the early history of the Abbasid Caliphate and examine the perceptions of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid especially regarding who would be his successor to him and why his perceptions within the story cycle of the Porter and of the Three Apples differs so widely. In the second part, we continue the examination of possible South Asian fonts of inspiration for the One Thousand and One Nights by examining the last two of the four indicated by Robert Irwin in his work The Arabian Nights: A Companion, the Katha Sarit Sagara and the Sukasaptati.
As always a reading list is provided on our website. We hope that you enjoy this episode and continue to listen to us!
In The Great Khan’s Tent One Year Special Episode I
Thu, 14 Sep 2023 14:37:35 -0400
In The Great Khan’s Tent is now a year old!
We would like to firstly thank all of our listeners for helping us with our journey so far and hope you are pleased by our offerings so far and plan to stick around as we reach new and better heights while bringing you the same quality of educational, informative, and entertaining content that we are known for!
I would also like to thank all those supporters and well wishers who have led us this far in the life of this podcast. Without you, this would not be possible. Thank you!
In the first of our One Year Special, we examine the question of Obscenity and Censorship in the One Thousand and One Nights. This was a part of a question that a listener had asked of us, concerning the translators and why we use their translations for this podcast. In this talk, I discuss how the question of obscenity, censorship, and the translators themselves transformed the corpus of literature that we know today as the One Thousand and One Nights. The history of the translators themselves, their translations, and their publication history will be examined in detail at a later time.
If you’d like to know more than the basic structure I provide, there is a reading list provided on the website and I would recommend reading Edward Said’s book on Orientalism to get a better grip of the environment and the ideologies that these translators used to produced their works.
We hope that you have found the offerings of In The Great Khan’s Tent to be to your liking and hope you continue to listen to us! Thank you!
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XXII: The Arabian Nights Part XX
Thu, 31 Aug 2023 17:38:20 -0400
In this Episode, we conclude the story “The Story told by the Jewish Physician” continuing with Night XXVIII and begin the story “The Story told by the Tailor” in Night XXIX and Night XXX. I will have to say at the outset that the story told by the Tailor and the character of the Barber which features in this cycle of stories is one of my favorite characters in the One Thousand and One Nights.
What becomes evident, though told in a humorous manner, is that the level of education and prominence of the multiple fields of study one would have undertake to be considered as being on the same “educated” level of the Barber. The fields of knowledge which the barber lists, such as morphology, rhetoric, knowledge of the religious texts and of the Qu’ran all in there way speak to the educational environment available for the populace if they had time and the money, although there was free education as well, to employ the best teachers in all these fields.
The main character who is telling this story, is once again to no ones surprise, a son of a merchant, who much like the protagonist in the Jewish Physician’s story, suffers from some sort of event which causes him to become lame. As we continue on with this story, we may find out, in a hilarious manner, of why the protagonist suffered from the Barber and became lame.
On a different note, as we reach the one year anniversary of In The Great Khan’s Tent in September, there will be a plethora of episodes to celebrate this momentous occasion including Part III of our Special Episode series focusing on the history of the One Thousand and One Nights and other special episodes released for this occasion. Be sure to check us out!
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XXI: The Arabian Nights Part XIX
Thu, 17 Aug 2023 21:25:11 -0400
In this Episode, we conclude the story “The Story told by the Sultan’s Steward” with Night XXVIII and beginning the story “The Story told by the Jewish Physician”.
Once again, in a similar vein to the stories told in this cycle, the main character for the story told by the Jewish Physician is a merchant, this time from Mosul, who travels to cities of Aleppo and Damascus and by the time we reach the end of this episode, he has run away to Cario. There is a clear indication that these stories all seem to focus around the travel either to or from Cario and it seems that this city was the city to go to for every merchant, at least in the stories we have encountered so far.
Another common theme that seems to be in this cycle of stories is the harm brought out by falling in love, whether it be the death of a loved one, the harm brought to the protagonist through his love for a woman, and in this story the murder of a luckless damsel by another while he was sleeping. This may be a reflection of the costs of falling in love too quickly.
An important historical figure, that of the lady Zubeydah the wife of the Khalifa Harun al-Rashid, also features in the story told by the Steward. It is interesting to note that there is no recorded reaction to this story by Harun al-Rashid, who is listening to this cycle of stories from his vizier Jaf’ar al-Barmaki, to his wife making an appearance, playing a large role in how the protagonist from the Steward’s story ends up with his eventual wife, and how he was living in his private quarters for a considerable period of time. I would make the assumption that he would not have been very pleased by this revelation.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XX: The Arabian Nights Part XVIII
Thu, 03 Aug 2023 14:35:35 -0400
In this Episode, we conclude the story “The Story told by the by the Christian Broker” with Night XXVI and in Night XXVII we begin the story “The Story told by the Sultan’s Steward”.
The story told by the Christian broker was in essence a sad one. Although he does gain his wealth back and more by the end, what he has lost is more immense than can be recovered by mere wealth alone. This fact is clearly indicated by the merchant, who at the end of his story, travels back to his home city of Basra with the Broker, but leaves to return to Cario perhaps to be closer to his loved one.
Although there can be many interpretations of what motivated the merchant, in the end it is followed on by the Sultan hearing another story, this time from the steward. Why did the Sultan not like this story when compared to the story of the Humpback? Probably because this was more of a romantic tale, while the humpback’s one was more comedic.
This new story, much like the story of the Christian Broker, is again based on the experiences of a merchant, this time a store owner, who has debts to discharge incurred by his father and how he meets a female customer who he falls in love with.
These stories seem to revolve around the characters of merchants and their love lives in a more common setting perhaps indicating who this tale, at least from the onset, was meant for when the storyteller plied his trade.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XIX: The Arabian Nights Part XVII
Thu, 20 Jul 2023 16:46:49 -0400
In This Episode we have concluded the story of “The Story of Nur-ud-din Ali and his Son and of Shams-ud-din Mohammad and his Daughter” with Night XXIV and beginning a new story, “The Case of the Tailor, The Hunchback or Humpback, the Jew, the Inspector, and the Christian” or known as “The story of the Humpback” with Night XXV.
This new story is, much like some of the earlier ones, a story within a story and in this episode, we are introduced to the Christian’s story, “The Story told by the Christian Broker”. This is one of the stories where there is a clear appeal to the merchant crowd being made with references to trading, weights and measures, trading methods being employed which the merchants would be aware of, and the naming of locations in Cario where merchants may have themselves stopped.
Although the story itself is set in the Iraqi city of Basra, Cario was still an important trading city. Much of the architecture and areas mentioned were build during the Fatamid period, in the 10th and 11th centuries well after the reign of Harun al-Rashid which may give an indication that these stories where written down or created sometime after the heyday of the Abbasid Caliphate.
We here at In the Great Khan’s Tent would like to take this opportunity to thank Sandman Stories Presents for featuring us on his podcast! We really appreciate it!
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XVIII: The Arabian Nights Part XVI
Thu, 06 Jul 2023 15:01:27 -0400
In this Episode we are reaching the conclusion of the story of “The Story of Nur-ud-din Ali and his Son and of Shams-ud-din Mohammad and his Daughter” continuing with Night XXIII and going into Night XXIV.
In this night we see that Shams-ud-din Mohammad, his daughter Sitt al-Husn, and his grandson Ajib, are all in Damascus and then going to Basrah to pick up Hasan Badr-ud-din’s mother and returning to Damascus where they finally find Hasan Badr-ud-din and take him in a unique method back to Cairo.
It should be noted that unlike the previous episode, where we could adequately identify the camping grounds that Shams-ud-din stayed in, this time the camping grounds are identifiable to some degree, but their history is not really known and my research as proven inconclusive. The area of Raidaniya (or al-Raydaniyeh according to Edward William Lane) is only identifiable with the battle between the Mamluk forces of Egypt and the Ottoman empire in 1517 C.E.
It is also unclear why Shams-ud-din went to the Viceroy to gain his permission to take Hasan Badr-ud-din, when he had already taken him and what this act was meant to accomplish.
I would love to hear your thoughts about it.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XVII: The Arabian Nights Part XV
Thu, 22 Jun 2023 15:06:48 -0400
Welcome back to In The Great Khan’s Tent and our continuing series on the One Thousand and One Nights also known as the Arabian Nights.
To recap, we had begun the story of “The Story of Nur-ud-din Ali and his Son and of Shams-ud-din Mohammad and his Daughter” where Hasan Badr-ud-din, whose father Nur-ud-din had died after leaving Egypt for Basra, found himself being taken away as he slept to Egypt and winding up in the wedding of his cousin Sitt al-Husn and the humpback groom.
We continue this story with Night XXIII with the events that soon followed after showing the last two dresses of Sitt al-Husn, and the events afterwards where the humpback groom was confronted by the Ifrit. It is interesting to note here that this tale is the first time that Allah and his angels take a direct role with the punishment of the Ifrit, the reasons of which are not clear about nor why such a drastic action would have been taken.
We also encounter the son of Hasan Badr-ud-din and Sitt al-Husn who is described in a mystical way as he grows up. This tale is also the first time where Damascus, the city in Syria, is encountered as much of the tales so far were either in a mystical place or were situated in either Iraq or Egypt. This may be an indication of where this story originated and at what time.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Presents: The Later Mughals Episode II
Thu, 08 Jun 2023 15:00:26 -0400
In this episode of In The Great Khan’s Tent Presents: The Later Mughals we continue with the struggle of the three sons of Aurangzeb, this time focusing on the two strongest candidates, Bahadur Shah and Azim Shah and the beginning of the culmination of this conflict with the start of the battle of Jajau on the 20th of June 1707 C.E. Azam Shah’s struggles with the loyalty of some of his prominent supporters and their own competing interests began to be more clearer in this episode with the culmination of the actions taken by two prominent supporters, Zulfikar Khan and Raja Jai Singh Kachhwaha, and how it effected the struggle at Jajau. As in the last episode, Azam Shah’s own personality faults can be attributed to result from Aurangzeb’s own suspicious nature also plays a role in how he reacted to ongoing developments.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Present: The Later Mughals Episode I
Fri, 26 May 2023 12:55:28 -0400
Welcome to a new series from In The Great Khan’s Tent! Fear not listeners! We will be continuing the One Thousand and One Nights shortly but wanted to take this podcast in a new direction under our directive to educate people. What better way to do that than to look at one of the overlooked areas of History than the Later Mughals. Thus, I present you with IN The Great Khan’s Tent: The Later Mughals! We begin this series with the death of the last great Mughal, Aurangzeb, and see the struggles that began for control of the Mughal empire. We also encounter the repercussions of Aurangzeb’s rise to power and how his suspicious nature shaped this coming conflict. We are introduced to in this episode by the three principal players, Aurangzeb’s surviving sons, Mohammad Muazzam, Azam Shah, and Muhammad Kam Bakhsh and their offspring. We are also introduced to the notables who will play an increasingly important role as we continue this series, and how they began to play kingmaker and competing for both eminence and power. We hope that you enjoy this series as much as you enjoy the One Thousand and One Nights and once again, I would like to reiterate that we will continue where we have left off shortly! Thank you for always listening to us!
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XVI: The Arabian Nights Part XIV
Thu, 13 Apr 2023 18:59:43 -0400
In this episode, we continue “The Story of Nur-ud-din Ali and his Son and of Shams-ud-din Mohammad and his Daughter” with Nights XXI and XXII. In this part, unlike in other tales told, we see here believing Jinns directly facilitate the story by transporting Hasan Badr-ud-din, the son of Nur-ud-din to Cario to participate in the shenanigans that are occurring. We also get to see the appearance of the first known Jewish person directly interacting with the main character in a story. In this case it is a money lender named Ishaq, or unnamed in other versions, giving Hasan Badr-ud-din some much needed funds to continue his life after he ran away from being executed. Much of the poetry in this episode can be linked to a poet named al-Mutanabbi (915-965 CE) a court poet during the Abbasid Caliphate.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XV: The Arabian Nights Part XIII
Thu, 30 Mar 2023 17:25:34 -0400
In this episode, we continue “The Story of Nur-ed-din Ali and His Son and of Shams-ud-din Mohammad and his Daughter”. We see here, for the first time, actual geographical destinations that do correspond in actuality to the location where Nur-ed-din begins his journey in Cario, going to Bilbais, Jerusalem, Aleppo, and finally ending in Basra. We also have mention of a town in Egypt, Qalyub or Kalyub as Nur-ed-din tries to throw off his scent as his brother might try to follow him. References here are also made on how people perceived travelers during this time, such as the interaction between the Vizier of Basra and Nur-ed-din, how they have to concoct a story in order to adopt those coming from outside of their known environs. Lastly, the special episode that was supposed to be out today will be delayed to our next upload due to some unforeseen circumstances.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XIV: The Arabian Nights Part XII
Wed, 15 Mar 2023 19:38:48 -0400
In this episode, we end the story cycle of the “The Porter, the Three Ladies of Baghdad, and the three Dervishes” with Night XIX and begin another story cycle “The Story of the Three Apples” with Night XX. Within the “Three Apples” cycle we start “The Story of Nur-ed-din Ali and His Son and of Shams-ud-din Mohammad and his Daughter”. What is interesting about both the end of the first cycle and the start of the second is that there is a considerable change in the attitude that is displayed by Harun-al-Rashid. Instead of the calm, reasonable, Caliph Harun al-Rashid is seen continually threatening his vizier Jafar al-Barmaki with death of not only himself but that of his entire family, a fact which may reflect on his actual execution and of his entire family in 803 C.E. Furthermore, this may reflect that fact that these stories may have been created, written down, or modified soon after the first Abbasid Civil War of 811-813 C.E. This is particularly important view to consider, as the references to al-Amin may refer to the condition Baghdad was in under his reign. This aspect will be explored in the upcoming special episode.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XIII: The Arabian Nights Part XI
Wed, 01 Mar 2023 19:10:44 -0500
In this episode, we end “The Story of the First of the Three Ladies of Baghdad” and move on to “The Story of the Second of the Three Ladies of Baghdad” with the continuation of Night XVII and Night XVIII. We once again encounter two Jinn, the main dealings are with the Jinniyah with the other being an anonymous enemy of her, and see the type of help they provide. It is interesting that her help was stipulated with a warning to continue the punishment of her sisters unless she wants to be turned into a black dog as well. The story of the second lady of Baghdad is also highly engaging with the mystical elements that are incorporated within it, especially regarding the sister and the old lady, who we are never really informed if they are Jinn, magicians, or just illusions meant to punish the second lady for an unspecified supposed crime.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XII: The Arabian Nights Part X
Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:51:12 -0500
In this episode, we finally end the story of “The Third Royal Dervish” and begin the final round of tales with the “The Story of the First of the Three Ladies of Baghdad” continuing with Night XVI and going into Night XVII. We again encounter the prospect of being lost at sea and winding up in an entirely new place setting a precedent with the orphan stories like Sindbad. We also encounter for the first time the presence of the Magians or commonly now known as the Magi the priests of the Zoroastrians. This is the first instance we have so far seen that the call to convert to Islam was not heeded. We also surprisingly encounter, for the first time, the tendencies to loot a city when the first lady and her sisters are confronted with a city where they are able to take what they want at will and this is shown by their willing to separate when going through the city.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XI: The Arabian Nights Part IX
Wed, 01 Feb 2023 18:56:53 -0500
In this episode, we begin the story of “The Third Royal Dervish” with Night XV and Night XVI. Note that the Third Royal Dervish is the first instance we encounter of a hero who enjoys sailing, owns ships, and is subsequently shipwrecked. This clearly shows that the fundamental ideas that were to be found in orphan stories like Sindbad do have some basis in the One Thousand and One Nights. We also encounter, for the first time, the mythological bird called Rukh or Roc, again a staple in the Sindbad and other stories as well. Keep in mind here, what the Third Royal Dervish is attempting to convey and how it differs from the First and Second Royal Dervishes stories.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode X: Special Episode II
Sun, 22 Jan 2023 17:26:26 -0500
In this series of special episodes, I hope to highlight the historical background for the One Thousand and One Nights, by examining the history of the work, where the text drew its inspiration from, the original manuscripts, translators and translations, and how it found a new iteration in Children's Literature. In this Second special episode, I look into the brief history of oral literature, providing example from Gilgamesh and the Great Flood story, go into a surface level discussion about why my scholarly opinion disregards the monocausal hypothesis, and look into the first two inspirations from the subcontinent, the Jataka and the Panchatantra.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode IX:The Arabian Nights Part VIII
Wed, 04 Jan 2023 14:25:02 -0500
In this episode we continue the story of “The Second Royal Dervish” in the continuation of Night XIII and part of Night XIV. Within this story is a nested tale of “The Story of the Envier and the Envied” which provides a moral tale for those who are envious. Within the story of “The Second Royal Dervish” we encounter, for the first time, an actual confrontation head on with the Jinn, in this case with Jarjaris, where all other previous interactions were feats of intellectual battles. This confrontation showcases that humans can go head-to-head with the Jinn, however, the cost of doing so is great.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode VIII: The Arabian Nights Part VII
Wed, 21 Dec 2022 19:51:31 -0500
In this episode, we continue the story of “The First Royal Dervish” in the continuation of Night XI, Night XII, and part of Night XIII. We also hear part of the story of “The Second Royal Dervish” and encounter the Jinn once again. However, unlike previous episodes this time the Jinn is named, Jarjaris, and given a lineage which links him to Iblis, commonly known as Satan, providing evidence for the Islamic belief that Iblis was allowed to procreate. Jarjaris clearly is placed in the category of those Jinn who are unbelievers. Notice the themes that are present in both these stories and what social issues they are trying to convey, aside from the surface level interpretations.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode VII: The Arabian Nights Part VI
Wed, 07 Dec 2022 17:03:10 -0500
In this episode, we continue with the story of “The Porter, The Three Ladies of Baghdad, and the Three Dervishes: with Night IX, Night X, and the beginning of Night XI. We also begin to learn more about the three Dervishes with the beginning of the first Dervish’s story “The Story of the First Royal Dervish” in Night XI. This section of the One Thousand and One Nights also marks the first appearance of Harun al-Rashid, Jafar, and the executioner Mansur and we will continue to encounter them in one form or another from now on. This episode, much like the last episode, also continues the scientific wording referring to bodily anatomy.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode VI: The Arabian Nights Part V
Thu, 24 Nov 2022 12:05:22 -0500
In this episode, we finally reach the end of the story of the Fisherman and the Jinn with Night VIII and Night IX. Within Night IX, we also begin one of the popular stories in the Arabian Nights, that of “The Porter, The Three Ladies of Baghdad, and The Three Dervishes”. Here we also encounter the first scientific wording which refers to bodily anatomy. We also begin to see more references to the Abbasid Caliphate, which will continue within this story as we go along.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode V: Special Episode I
Thu, 10 Nov 2022 19:09:21 -0500
In this series of special episodes, I hope to highlight the historical background for the One Thousand and One Nights, by examining the history of the work, the original manuscripts, translators and translations, and how it found a new iteration in Children's Literature. In this episode I focus on my own academic/scholarly history to help the listener understand where I am approaching this topic from and I discuss the very first manuscript from the 9th Century CE, of which only a fragment remains.
In the Great Khan’s Tent Episode IV: The Arabian Nights Part IV
Wed, 26 Oct 2022 15:28:49 -0400
In this episode, the story of the Fisherman and the Jinn in Nights V, VI, VII is continued and the beginning of Night VIII and again we encounter evidence of a story that is not told, this time said by the Jinn to the Fisherman, that of “Umameh and ‘Atikeh”. We also introduced to the story of the “The Young King of the Black Islands” although moving directly away from the Fisherman and the Jinn, he is still present in the background encapsulating the wider story.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode III: The Arabian Nights Part III
Wed, 12 Oct 2022 13:49:02 -0400
In this episode, we continue with Nights III, Night IV and the middle of Night V. There are certain things which are different in this episode as compared to the last. One of the most important things to note here is that this is one of the first instance of a tale which we do not encounter, which is the “Story of the Crocodile” as mentioned by the Sage Duban. As we listen, I would suggest that the listeners try to interpret a deeper understanding of what is to be conveyed.
In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode II: The Arabian Nights Part II
Wed, 28 Sep 2022 16:02:04 -0400
In this episode we look at the beginning of the Thousand and One Nights with Night I and Night II with the story of the Merchant and the Jinn. Note the role that the Jinn play in these tales and how the structure of the narrative is formed. We also look at the beginning of Night III with the opening of the Tale of the Fisherman which is one of the more commonly known tales. As you are listening, pay attention to the deeper layers and meaning of what these tales are trying to convey.
In the Great Khans Tent Episode I: The Arabian Nights Part I
Thu, 15 Sep 2022 12:34:28 -0400
In this series of In the Great Khan’s Tent I will be reading “The Thousand and One Nights” or commonly referred to as the “Arabian Nights”. Two translations will be used as the basis of this podcast, the four volume “The Thousand on One Nights: The Arabian Nights Entertainment” translated by Edward William Lane and Stanley Lane-Poole and the 3 volume “Tales from the Arabic of the Breslau and Calcutta Editions of the Book” by John Payne.