When the new live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic, Aladdin, hits theaters on Friday, it will be just the latest step in the very long history of the tale — one with surprising origins.

The collection of stories known as "Les Mille et Une Nuits" is originally an Arabic work with roots in the Middle East and South Asia. It features a framing story of Scheherazade, a clever and ...

Quick! Name a story from the The Arabian Nights. If you answered Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, as most people probably do, you’d be wrong – at least technically speaking. There is no evidence that this ...

A new translation of memoirs by the 18th-century Syrian traveller Hanna Diyab casts fresh light on well-known tales from the Arabian Nights, writes David Tresilian Following the spectacular success of ...