Rare manuscript of One Thousand and One Nights to be scrutinized in Tehran

A rare manuscript of One Thousand and One Nights dating back to the Qajar period (1789–1925) will be scrutinized in a meeting, which will be organized at the Anthropology Museum of Golestan Palace in Tehran on Wednesday.

The folio, which has been illustrated by Iranian painter and miniaturist Sani ul-Molk and his pupils during the 1850s, is preserved at the archives of the palace, a public relations team announced in a press release on Tuesday

It is one of few fascinating manuscripts of the One Thousand and One Nights in the world. Prints of about 40 folios of the manuscript have previously been showcased during exhibitions in several Iranian cities.

“One Thousand and One Nights” is the story of the Persian king Shahriar who marries a girl each night and the next morning he beheads her to take revenge from his unfaithful wife.

He finally marries Scheherazade, who begins to tell a fascinating story during the night for the king but she does not finish it, so the king keeps her alive to find out the end of the stories.

Over the course of 1001 nights, the king had fallen in love with Scheherazade, so he spared her life and made her his queen.