One of the Islamic kings of India had three sons, namely Houssain (Husayn), Ali, and Ahmed (Ahmad), and a niece named Nouronnihar (Nur al-Nahar).[2] Prince Ahmed was the younger brother of Houssain.[3] The latter possessed a magic carpet of wondrous locomotive powers.[3] Ahmed was equally blessed in the ownership of a magic tent, a present from the fairy Paribanou (Peri Banu), which would cover a whole army when spread, yet fold up into so small a compass that it might be carried in one's pocket.[3]
Analysis
Tale type
The tale is a combination of two tale types listed in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index: ATU 653A: "The Rarest Thing in the World", and ATU 465: "The Man Persecuted because of His Beautiful Wife".[4]
Origins
The tale is also considered to be one of the so called "orphan stories" of the Arabian Nights compilation, because a Persian or Indian original text has not been found, unlike other tales.[5] Some scholars, including Шаблон:Ill and Ruth Bottigheimer, ascribe its source to a Maronite Christian named Hanna Diyab, from whom French author Antoine Galland collected the story.[6][7][8]
Legacy
According to Ulrich Marzolph, tales collected later from oral tradition derive from Galland's translation of this story in The Arabian Nights.[4]
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