Aladdin

Story

Aladdin is a lazy young man who lives with his poor mother. One day, a sorcerer sends him to fetch a mysterious oil lamp from a magical cave. When the cave traps Aladdin inside, the sorcerer leaves him to die. But Aladdin manages to escape with the lamp, and accidentally awakens the powerful genie inside…

Why we chose it

Aladdin has become one of the best known of the Arabian Nights stories and the magic lamp with the genie inside is an iconic story object.

Where it came from

Today, Aladdin is included in The Thousand and One Nights. However, it is not actually part of the original Arabic text. The story was added by French translator Antoine Galland in his 1712 translation. The story was told to Galland by Hanna Diyab, a young Syrian who had travelled from Aleppo to Paris on his own journey from rags to riches.

Where it went next

The story of Aladdin has inspired countless theatrical and musical adaptations on stage and television. It has been performed as a pantomime for over 200 years and was made into an animated feature film by Walt Disney in 1992. A live-action remake of the film was released in 2019, and a Broadway musical adaptation has been produced.

Associated stories

As well as Aladdin, Galland added Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor to The Thousand and One Nights. These stories, also told by Diyab, are known as the Arabian Nights’ “orphan tales”.