Shahriyar Meets Shahrazade Long ago when tales traveled along the Silk Road from China to Persia there lived two Persian kings They were brothers and each was handsome brave and loving One brother ruled from the city of Ctesiphon in the west and the other from Samarkand in the east so neither saw the sun set at the same time as the other The elder brother was called Shahriyar The younger brother was called Shahzaman Both brothers had married for love not for money or status and both were blissfully happy with their wives They were also kept extremely busy year after year dealing with affairs of state However not everything went well with the brothers marriages A time came when both of their wives betrayed them Shahzaman was so saddened by this that he became a hermit and vowed never to come close to a woman again As for Shahriyar he was convinced that all women were treacherous However he also missed their laughter and their warmth their embraces and their jokes their wit and their grace What should he do Instead of seeking someone
languages The Arabian Nights whom he could grow to trust and love over time he came up with the dreadful notion of marrying a new bride every day spending the evening and night with her and in the morning having her put to death A month passed during which time Shahriyar had already married thirty women and put each one of them to death He had wedded the daughters of princes and merchants officers and commoners each of them just for one night In the morning each young woman was beheaded A whole year passed and still no one could stop Shahriyar's Shahriyar's madness The task of finding a new bride each night fell to his vizier The vizier hated this distasteful task but he knew he had no choice He also knew that one day one of his daughters would have to be presented to his cruel master He was dreading that day because he had not one but two lovely daughters The elder was Shahrazade and the younger Duniazad Both daughters were as clever as they were beautiful but of the many talents they each possessed the most notable was Shahrazade's gift for telling stories She loved telling them reading them collecting them and translating them for she could speak several
Shahriyar Meets Shahrazade Her mind was like a treasure trove and she was full of invention too making each story more elaborate than the next One day Shahrazade suggested Let me marry the shah Are you crazy the vizier exclaimed Who in their right mind would choose to marry him knowing what lies in store I have no intention of dying Shahrazade replied Someone must put an end to this madness and I believe I can do it I will not let you endanger your life concluded the vizier For many weeks he would not let his elder daughter raise the subject again In the meantime the city of Ctesiphon was in continuous mourning Young women were getting scarce and the army was becoming ruthless in its search for suitable suitable brides The vizier felt increasing pressure to lead by example He could hear the courtiers whispering during council meetings about how their daughters were being led to the slaughter while the vizier's were spared Finally the vizier decided to let Shahrazade have her way He and his wife wept all day as their beloved daughter was dressed for the wedding Even Shahriyar felt a tinge
