In The Great Khan's Tent Episode 28: The Arabian Nights Part 26

In the Great Khan’s Tent

In this episode, we continue “The Story of Nur-ud-din and Anis al-Jalis” with Night 37.

As mentioned before, we again encounter the three historical characters of Harun al-Rashid, Jafar al-Barmaki, and Mansur. There is a marked difference in how the relationship between Harun al-Rashid and Jafar al-Barmaki is portrayed. Unlike the previous encounters, however, these new threats are now tempered with joviality and humor. This may lead one to believe that these threats were often used as playful banter between the two or at the very least by Harun al-Rashid. The reaction that Jafar has when faced with these threats, however, does not make it seem like he knew they were simply how Harun al-Rashid joked with him. This continues to deepen the mystery of both their portrayal within the One Thousand and One Nights and what exactly is the storyteller attempting to show.

We once again encounter the character of the fisherman, someone who was first encountered when we first began this series. Although the role Karim the fisherman plays is small, the presence of this character including the depiction of his poverty may have been an effort to show that not all characters are from similar social situations and classes.

In the next episode, we will return once again to another episode of the “Tales from Central Asia”.