The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights

by vol 02 (tr Malcolm C

  Nights 675 to 694

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the six hundred and seventy-fifth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when Gharib had killed the marid, he went off into that valley and discovered that it was in a large island in the middle of the sea with all the kinds of fruits that lips and tongues could wish for. For a period of years he stayed there drinking from the streams and eating the fruits as well as fish that he caught. After seven years of this lonely existence, one day while he was sitting there, two marids came down to him from the sky, each carrying a man. When they saw him they asked him: ‘What are you and to which tribe do you belong?’, thinking that he must be a jinn because his hair had grown so long. He answered their question by saying that he was not a jinn, and telling them his story from beginning to end. They were sorry for him, and one of them said: ‘Stay where you are until we have delivered these two lambs to our king, one for him to eat in the morning and the other in the evening. Then we shall come back and take you to your own country.’ Gharib thanked them but asked where their two lambs were, to which they replied: ‘These two mortals are the lambs.’ ‘I take refuge with the God of Abraham, the Friend of God, the Lord of all things, the Omnipotent!’ exclaimed Gharib, and the marids then flew off. Gharib sat there waiting and after two days one of them came back, bringing clothes for him to put on, after which he took Gharib up and flew off with him into the upper air, far away from the earth, where he could hear the sound of the angels glorifying God in heaven.

  The angels aimed a fiery dart at the marid, who tried to escape by diving towards the earth, but when he was within a spear’s throw of the surface the dart caught up with him. Gharib had jumped down from his shoulder before the dart struck him, reducing him to ashes, while Gharib himself fell into the sea, sinking to a depth of two fathoms. He then rose to the surface and swam all that day, the following night and the next day, until he had become so weak that he was sure he was going to die. When the third day came he had despaired of life, but at that point he caught sight of a tall mountain, to which he swam. He came to shore there and walked on the mountain, getting food from plants and then resting for a day and a night. He climbed to the summit and went down the other side, after which he walked on for two more days before reaching a city with walls and towers, together with trees and streams. When he got to the gates, the gate guards seized him and brought him to their queen.

  The name of this queen was Jan Shah. She was five hundred years old and every man who came into the city was brought before her, after which she would take him and lie with him, killing him when he had finished her business. In this way she had slaughtered great numbers of men. When Gharib was brought to her, she was impressed by him and she asked him his name, his religion and his country. ‘My name is Gharib,’ he told her. ‘I am king of Iraq and my religion is Islam.’ ‘Abandon your religion and adopt mine,’ she told him, ‘and then I shall marry you and make you a king.’ Gharib looked angrily at her and cursed both her and her religion. ‘Do you insult my idol, which is made of red carnelian studded with pearls and gems?’ she cried, and then she told her men: ‘Shut him in the idol’s dome as it may soften his heart.’ They did this and locked the doors on him…

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the six hundred and seventy-sixth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the guards took Gharib and shut him in the dome of the idol, locking the doors on him before going on their way. Gharib looked at the red carnelian statue with necklaces of pearls and gems around its neck and, advancing on it, he lifted it up before dashing it to pieces on the ground, after which he slept until daybreak.

  The next morning the queen took her seat on her throne and told her guards to bring in the prisoner. They went to fetch him and when they opened the dome and went in, they found the idol smashed. They beat their faces so violently that blood flowed from the corners of their eyes, and then they advanced on Gharib to lay hands on him, but he struck one of them and then another, killing them both, and he went on striking one after the other until, when he had killed twenty-five, the rest took flight. They went shrieking to the queen, and when she asked them what was wrong they said: ‘The prisoner has broken your idol and killed your men.’ They told her the whole story, at which she dashed her crown to the ground and exclaimed: ‘Idols have no more value!’ She then rode out towards the idol’s temple with a thousand champions and found Gharib, who had come out from it. He took a sword and began to kill opponents and throw others to the ground. At the sight of his bravery Jan Shah fell deeply in love with him and said: ‘I have no need of the idol, and what I want is for Gharib to lie in my arms for the rest of my life.’ She ordered her men to withdraw and stay away from him, after which she went up and muttered a spell which paralysed his arm, relaxing the forearm muscles so that the sword fell from his hand, and the queen’s men then seized and pinioned him, leaving him humiliated and helpless.

  The queen went back to sit on her royal throne, ordering her guards to go off and leave her alone. Then she said: ‘Arab dog, do you break my idol and kill my men?’ ‘You damned woman,’ he answered, ‘had that idol been a god, it would have defended itself.’ ‘Sleep with me,’ she told him, ‘and I shall pass over what you have done.’ He refused and she threatened him with the most painful of tortures, after which she took some water, recited a spell over it and sprinkled it on him, so turning him into a monkey. She kept him in a cell, providing him with food and water and assigning keepers to look after him. After two years had passed, one day she called for him to be brought to her, and said: ‘Will you listen to me?’ He made a sign with his head to indicate yes, and, pleased by this, she released him from her spell. She had food brought and when he had eaten he toyed with her and kissed her, so winning her confidence. Then, when night fell, she lay back and said: ‘Come and do your business.’ ‘Yes,’ he said, but after mounting on her breast he broke her neck and did not get up until she was dead.

  He now caught sight of an open closet, and when he entered it, he discovered a jewelled sword and a shield of Chinese iron. He put on full armour and waited until morning, when he went out and took his stand by the palace gate. The emirs arrived intending to go in to present their services to the queen, only to find him standing there wearing his armour. He told them: ‘You people, abandon your idolatry and worship the Omniscient King, the Creator of night and day, the Lord of all mankind, Who brings life to dry bones. He is the Creator of all things and has power over all things.’ On hearing this the infidels attacked him, but he charged at them in his turn, moving among them like a ravening lion and killing them in large numbers…

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the six hundred and seventy-seventh night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that Gharib charged at the infidels and killed a large number of them, but by the time night fell their numbers were having an effect and all of them were exerting themselves to capture him. Just then, however, a thousand marids armed with swords attacked the infidels, with Zilzal, son of al-Muzalzil, at their head, putting them to the sword and causing them to drain the cup of death, as Almighty God hastened their souls to hellfire, leaving none of them to tell the tale. The rest called for quarter and believed in God, the Judge, Who is not distracted by one thing from another, the Destroyer of the Chosroes, the Overthrower of tyrants, the Lord of this world and the next.

  Zilzal greeted Gharib and congratulated him on his safety, at which Gharib asked who had told him of his plight. Zilzal replied: ‘When my father imprisoned me and sent you to the Valley of Fire, I was in prison for two years, after which he released me. I stayed with him for a further year until I was restored to his favour, and then I killed him and won the support of the army. After I had ruled for a year I fell asl
eep thinking of you, and in a dream I saw you fighting against the people of Jan Shah. So I took these thousand marids and came to you.’ Gharib was astonished by this coincidence, and he then took the wealth of the queen and of her people, appointing a governor over the city. The marids carried off the booty together with Gharib himself, and by nightfall they were back in Zilzal’s city, where he stayed as Zilzal’s guest for six months.

  He then wanted to leave, and Zilzal, having prepared gifts, sent three thousand marids to carry all the treasure from the city of al-Karaj, adding it to the wealth of Jan Shah. On his orders they brought all this to Isbanir, while Zilzal himself carried Gharib. They arrived before midnight and when Gharib looked, he saw that the city was surrounded by a huge army like a flooding sea. ‘What is the reason for this siege, brother, and where have these troops come from?’ he said to Zilzal, before alighting on the castle roof and calling out to Kaukab al-Sabah and Mahdiya. The two ladies started up from sleep in astonishment and said: ‘Who is calling us at this hour?’ ‘It is I, Gharib, your master, the hero of wonderful deeds,’ he replied. They were filled with delight when they heard this, as were the slave girls and the eunuchs, and when he came down they threw themselves on him with cries of joy that resounded throughout the palace. The officers, roused from their beds, came up to the palace to discover what was happening, and they asked the eunuchs whether one of the slave girls had given birth. ‘No,’ they replied, ‘but the good news is that King Gharib has arrived.’

  The emirs were delighted, and after Gharib had greeted his harem he came out and they threw themselves on him, kissing his hands and feet, praising and extolling Almighty God. Gharib took his seat on his throne and at his summons his companions came and sat around him. In reply to his question about the army encamped outside, they said: ‘They have been here for three days; there are both jinn and men with them, but we don’t know what they want and there has been no fighting and no parleys.’ Gharib promised to send a letter to them on the following day to discover their purpose, and they then told him that the name of the army’s leader was Murad Shah and that he had with him a hundred thousand horse, three thousand foot and two hundred jinn.

  This army had come to Isbanir on an important matter.

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the six hundred and seventy-eighth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that this army had come to Isbanir on an important matter. When Sabur had sent off his daughter, Fakhr Taj, with two of his men, he had instructed them to drown her in the Jaihun. They had taken her out of the city but had then told her to go off where she wanted provided she didn’t let her father see her, as in that case he would kill all three of them. She wandered off helplessly, not knowing where to go and wishing that Gharib were there to see her plight. On she went from land to land and from valley to valley until she passed by a valley full of trees and streams, in the middle of which was a high castle, strongly built, as though it belonged to the garden of Paradise. Fakhr Taj made for it, and when she entered she found it carpeted with silks and full of vessels of gold and silver. In it there were a hundred beautiful girls who, when they saw her, rose to greet her, thinking that she must be one of the daughters of the jinn. They asked her about herself and she told them her story, explaining that she was the daughter of the king of Persia. When they heard what she had to say, they sympathized with her and consoled her, telling her to take heart and be cheerful, adding: ‘You can have whatever you want to eat or drink or wear, and we are all at your service.’ She blessed them and, when they then brought her food, she ate her fill before asking them who was their master, the lord of the castle. ‘His name is Salsal, son of Dal,’ they told her, ‘and he comes here for one night in each month, leaving in the morning to exercise his rule over the tribes of the jinn.’

  Fakhr Taj had stayed for five days with these girls when she gave birth to a son as beautiful as the moon. They cut the umbilical cord, putting kohl on his eyes and naming him Murad Shah, while his mother tended to him. Soon afterwards, King Salsal arrived mounted on a paper-white elephant as big as a lofty tower, surrounded by troops of jinn. When he entered the castle the hundred girls came to meet him and kissed the ground. With them was Fakhr Taj, and when Salsal saw her he asked the others who she was. ‘She is the daughter of Sabur, king of the Persians, the Turks and the Dailamis,’ they told him, and when he then asked who had brought her there, they told him her story. He was sorry for her and said: ‘Don’t grieve, but wait until your son has grown to manhood. Then I shall go to Persia, strike your father’s head from his shoulders and place your son on his throne for you.’ She rose, kissed his hand and called down blessings on him.

  She stayed there and brought up her son with those of Salsal. They began to ride horses and to go hunting, so that Murad Shah learned how to pursue wild beasts and hunt down savage lions whose flesh he would eat, until his heart became harder than stone, and by the time that he had reached the age of fifteen he had a haughty spirit. At that point he asked his mother who his father was, and she told him: ‘My son, your father is Gharib, the king of Iraq, and I am the daughter of the king of Persia.’ When he had heard what she had to tell him, he asked: ‘Did my grandfather order you and my father to be killed?’ When she said yes, he pleased her by saying: ‘I swear by the debt that I owe you for having raised me that I shall go to your father’s city, cut off his head and bring it to you.’

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the six hundred and seventy-ninth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that Murad Shah had been in the habit of riding out with two hundred marids with whom he had been brought up, and together they started launching raids and cutting roads. They penetrated as far as Shiraz, which they attacked, and during an assault on the royal palace Murad Shah cut off the head of the king as he sat on his throne and killed large numbers of his men, while the rest called for quarter and kissed his stirrup. When he counted them, he discovered that they numbered ten thousand riders, who then took service with him on an expedition to Balkh. There they killed the king, destroyed his army and took control of his people, after which they went on to Nurain, by which time Murad Shah’s army numbered thirty thousand riders. The ruler of Nurain came out to offer his submission, with money and gifts, and the thirty thousand moved on first to Samarkand and then to Akhlat, both of which they took. From there on they captured every city that they reached until the army had swollen to a huge size. The wealth and the treasures they had taken were divided among them by Murad Shah, who won their affection both by his bravery and by his generosity. It was after this that he came to Isbanir, and here he told his followers: ‘Wait until the rest of my army arrives, and then I shall seize my grandfather, bring him before my mother and cure her sorrow by cutting off his head.’ He sent an escort to fetch her, and it was because of this that there had been no fighting for three days.

  In the meanwhile Gharib came together with Zilzal and forty thousand marids, who were carrying wealth and gifts. When Gharib asked about the attacking force, his men told him that they did not know where they had come from and that for three days there had been no fighting on either side. It was after this that Fakhr Taj arrived. She embraced her son, who told her to sit in her tent until he brought her her father, and she prayed that the Lord of mankind, the Ruler of heaven and earth, might give him victory. The next morning Murad Shah rode out to the sound of the war drums, flanked on the right by his two hundred marids, and on the left by his mortal kings. Gharib heard the drums, mounted and rode forward, summoning his army to battle, with the jinn on his right and his men on the left. Murad Shah himself advanced in full armour, riding from right to left of the line and calling out: ‘Let no one come out against me except your king! If he defeats me, he will be the leader of both these armies, and if I defeat him, I shall kill him as I have killed others.’
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  When Gharib heard this, he said: ‘Off with you, Arab dog,’ and each charged at the other, thrusting with their lances until they broke and then striking with their swords until they were blunted. They continued to charge and retreat, advance and retire, until midday when their horses collapsed beneath them. They then seized hold of one another, and Murad Shah, attacking Gharib, caught him up with the intention of dashing him to the ground, but Gharib seized hold of his ears and tugged with all his might. It seemed to Murad Shah that the sky had fallen in on the earth, and he called out at the top of his voice: ‘I am under your protection, champion of the age.’ Gharib tied him up…

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the six hundred and eightieth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when Gharib seized hold of Murad’s ears and tugged at them, Murad called out: ‘I am under your protection, champion of the age.’ Gharib tied him up, and at that Murad’s marids were about to charge to his rescue when Gharib attacked them with a thousand marids of his own, who were about to fall on them when they called for quarter and threw down their arms.

  Gharib now took his seat in his pavilion, which was of green silk, embroidered with red gold and studded with pearls and jewels. At his summons, Murad Shah was brought before him hobbling in his fetters, and at the sight of Gharib he hung his head in shame. ‘Arab dog,’ Gharib said, ‘what kind of a man are you to ride out and measure yourself against kings?’ ‘Master,’ Murad Shah replied, ‘don’t hold this against me, for I have an excuse.’ ‘What kind of excuse is this?’ asked Gharib, and Murad Shah replied: ‘I came to take vengeance for my father and mother on Sabur, king of the Persians. He wanted to have them killed, but my mother escaped and whether or not he killed my father I don’t know.’ ‘By God, you are to be excused!’ exclaimed Gharib, and he then went on to ask who his parents were and what were their names. Murad Shah replied: ‘My father was Gharib, king of Iraq, and my mother’s name is Fakhr Taj, the daughter of Sabur, the Persian king.’