Lably
Skip to content

Sinbad the Sailor

Fictional sailor

  • 26 min read
  • 4 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Abbasid Caliphate, Common Era and Indian Ocean

Lab · Class 6–12Ancient Indian Ocean Trade

Origins and sources

The origins of the Sinbad tales are not known with certainty. They are a relatively late addition to One Thousand and One Nights, being absent from the early Arabic manuscripts that date from the 14th into the 17th centuries. They appear to have originated independently, with versions incorporated into One Thousand And One Nights beginning around the early 17th century.

The earliest extant manuscripts of the Voyages of Sinbad date to the 17th century, but the tale is substantially older. Scholars of the 19th century dated it from the 9th through the 13th centuries. In contrast, Jean-Claude Garcin thought the earliest versions came together more recently, in the late 14th century, with the best known versions taking shape in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Sinbad cycle is set in the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786–809). The tales reflect the trends within the Abbasid realm of Arab and Muslim sailors exploring the world. The stories display the folk and themes present in works of that time. The Abbasid reign was known as a period of great economic and social growth. Arab and Muslim traders would seek new trading routes and people to trade with. The process of growth is reflected in the Sinbad tales. The Sinbad stories take on a variety of different themes. Later sources include Abbasid works such as the "Wonders of the Created World", reflecting the experiences of 13th century Arab mariners who braved the Indian Ocean.

The Sinbad tales are included in the first European translation of the Nights, Antoine Galland's Les mille et une nuits, contes arabes traduits en français, an English edition of which appeared in 1711 as The new Arabian winter nights entertainments and went through numerous editions throughout the 18th century.

The earliest separate publication of the Sinbad tales in English found in the British Library is an adaptation as The Adventures of Houran Banow, etc. (Taken from the Arabian Nights, being the third and fourth voyages of Sinbad the Sailor.), around 1770. An early US edition, The seven voyages of Sinbad the sailor. And The story of Aladdin; or, The wonderful lamp, was published in Philadelphia in 1794. Numerous popular editions followed in the early 19th century, including a chapbook edition by Thomas Tegg. Its best known full translation was perhaps as tale 120 in Volume 6 of Sir Richard Burton's 1885 translation of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night.

Sign in to keep reading

3 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Literature

MahabharataAncient smṛti text and Sanskrit epicOxford English DictionaryHistorical dictionary of the English languageScience fictionLiterary genreIliadEpic poem attributed to HomerLiteratureWritten work of artPoetryForm of literature