REEL HISTORY: The tales we call Arabian Nights or 1001 nights weren’t Arabian at all. They began in Persia and India — first written as ‘Hezār Afsān’ (“A Thousand Stories”) during the Sassanid Empire, centuries before Islam. It was translated into Arabic as Alf Layla wa-Layla, retold in French salons, and reimagined in Victorian England and it became the global legend of 1001 Nights. #history #arabiannights #arabic #farsi #persian #english #french #story #stories #literature #writing #sassanids #sasanian #persianhistory #sanskrit #india #indian #folklore #fables #arabhistory #author #love #afghanistan #samarqand #samarkand #uzbekistan #rome #ancienthistory #islam #arab