Everyone remembers fairy tales from childhood; it was especially fascinating to listen to Arabic tales about the Thousand and One Nights, where the character was the well-known Scheherazade.
Origin:
The name is beautiful, even mysterious. Like any other, it has a certain meaning and a corresponding influence on the fate of its bearer.
But for other people, far from the secrets of the East, everything connected with it seems secret and, accordingly, terribly interesting. And in fact it is so, history is very interesting to all people.
The meaning of the name Scheherazade is ambiguous, because on the one hand it means “daughter of the Shah” in Persian, but upon further study it turns out that it also means “born in the city.” The fact is that the very meaning of the word “Shah” in the ancient Persian language is dual, because it means both the ruler of the city and the city itself. Similar to how in Kievan Rus there were policemen or mayors in cities.
If we remember the same notorious fairy tale, then in it is the name of the vizier’s daughter, who was this young lady in the plot, and wonder what the name Scheherazade means, then it was translated as “one who has a noble origin,” that is, a girl of noble blood .
In ancient Persia, even then they attached great importance to what name to give to a born child, because his fate supposedly depended on this. Names also had a class purpose, so a newborn peasant child would never be given a name whose translation was so noble.
It must be said that any name, both male and female, contains a special meaning, which is also called the secret of the name. The science of numerology helps us understand it. To calculate the number of a name, it will be enough to add the serial numbers of the letters together, and then add the resulting digits of the number. You can also use a newer method that uses a number matching table.
In the last version, it turns out that the number of this name will be six. In this case, the secret of the name Scheherazade is a symbol of peace, prosperity, stability, under the auspices of the planet Venus.
If we turn to the same numerology, then the meaning of each number is also individual. So, the same number six signifies hard work and also luck. How can one not remember the fairy tale again, because how many girls before Scheherazade were executed after just one night. And she was able to captivate, intrigue and even make the first man of the state fall in love with her, not to mention avoid death.
And her tales, it must be said, are very interesting, because who, after Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, has not tried to open doors with the help of a magic spell “sim-sim, open”, persistently looking for that very door. Isn't Sinbad the Sailor wonderful?
Most boys, hearing about his travels, imagine themselves in his place, play corresponding games and generally try to imitate him in every possible way. And the great Shah learned all these tales from his bride.
There was a king, his name was Shahriyar. One day it happened that his wife cheated on him... And this is where a sad night that lasted more than 1000 and one night began.
Shahriyar became so angry that he began to take out all his anger on the others. Every night a new wife was brought to him. Innocent, young. After spending the night with the beauty, the king executed her. Years passed. And, probably, the Persian kingdom would have been left without, but a brave maiden was found who decided to be Shahriyar’s next wife.
Scheherazade, according to legend, was not only beautiful and smart, but also very educated, because she came from the family of one of the viziers of Shahriyar.
The trick that gave birth to love
Scheherazade decided to outwit the bloodthirsty king. At night, instead of lovemaking, she began to tell the ruler a fairy tale, and in the morning the fairy tale ended at the most interesting moment.
Shahryar was impatient to find out the continuation of the most interesting story, so he did not execute Scheherazade, but left her life to hear the continuation. The next night, Scheherazade appeared even more beautiful, she slowly began to tell the king the continuation of the story, but by the morning this one ended at the most interesting place.
The vizier's family, who could lose their beautiful daughter at any moment, was horrified, but the wise maiden assured that nothing would happen to her for 1000 and one nights. Why exactly this amount? The life of a female slave in the slave market in those days cost 1000 and one coin; the wise Scheherazade valued her life on the same number of nights.
Is there a lie in the fairy tale?
Scheherazade told the ruler a variety of tales, some of which were so plausible that Shahriyar easily recognized in the heroes his own courtiers, himself and the merchants from the medina, where he was simply forced to go, intrigued by the stories of the beauty.
Scheherazade's stories were so interesting and unusual, so fantastic and fascinating that the king listened to her for a thousand and one nights! Imagine, for almost two years, my wife told Shakhriyar fairy tales at night.
So how did it all end? Do you think that one day she told an uninteresting story, and the king executed her? Not at all! Over many months of meetings with the beauty, the king sincerely fell in love with her, moreover, Scheherazade’s edifying instructive stories made it clear to the sovereign that he should not kill innocent girls just because his wife turned out to be unfaithful to him, because the rest were not to blame for this.
Scheherazade's tales were stories where there was meaning, where they talked about good and evil, about what is true and what is a lie. Maybe Shahriyar’s anger would still have lived in him if he had not met Scheherazade, who with her wisdom, beauty and patience gave the ruler a new love.
شهرزاد Scheherazade (Scheherazade, Shihirazade, Shahrazade; Persian. شهرزاد ) is the main character of the frame of the fairy tale cycle “A Thousand and One Nights”, which begins with “The Tale of King Shahriyar and his brother” and ends with “The Tale of King Shahriyar and Scheherazade”.
An image framed by a collection
One of the first written mentions of the character was recorded at the end of the 10th century in the catalog (index) of Ibn al-Nadim “Kitab al-fihrist”.
Scheherazade is the eldest daughter of the royal vizier, a girl of rare beauty and remarkable intelligence, who volunteered to free the people from the consequences of Shahriyar’s unsuccessful marriage: having survived his wife’s betrayal, the king became convinced of the depravity of women; but since Shahriyar needed women for sex, he took possession of an innocent girl every night, and executed her the next morning.
Having asked to enter the royal bedchamber as another victim wife, Scheherazade used all her eloquence, telling the king fairy tales every night until the morning. At the same time, the sunrise interrupted the story at the most interesting point and Shahriyar gave Scheherazade a reprieve until the next night, wanting to hear the end of the tale. However, the cunning Scheherazade, having finished one tale, immediately began the next, which she again did not have time to tell before sunrise. In this way she told stories for a thousand and one nights, until finally her stock of tales ran dry. However, Shahriyar by that time fell in love with Scheherazade and married her, stopping the mass extermination of women.
Those with the name Scheherazade, as a rule, turn out to be trendsetters for a narrow circle. You belong to a rather thin layer of society, whose representatives, regardless of age and social status, claim that they can “afford not to follow fashion.” That's how it is. You carefully monitor how your body itself looks, take care of it tirelessly, thanks to which you have the opportunity to change your style at least every day depending on your own mood. That is why you give the impression of youth for quite a long time, each time appearing in a new look, which allows you to influence the tastes of others.Compatibility of the name Scheherazade, manifestation in love
Scheherazade, for you, marriage symbolizes the beginning of the ascetic path, and your partner must be prepared for the fact that every day he will receive the “moon from the sky.” At first glance, this is wonderful, but there is a small problem: you definitely need the same “moon” in response, since the adequacy of the reaction, gratitude and admiration are necessary for your peace of mind. The slightest doubt that you are selflessly loved and highly valued demoralizes you, and then your carefully built well-being can collapse overnight.Motivation
Your heart is full of love and compassion for others. The basis of your spiritual aspirations is the desire to protect everyone for whom you can do this from troubles. Even to the detriment of their own interests. To do good and not ask for rewards for it is your choice in any situation.At first glance, this is the life of a saint. But not everyone enjoys constant care and intrusive expressions of participation. Even the closest people can get tired of everyday care. Moreover, you will suffer, because by relieving them of the need to do at least something on their own, you deprive them of the opportunity to develop, turning them into “plankton”.
This means that sooner or later you will probably hear a reproach. And your confidence that self-sacrifice can really bring the results you expected will be dealt a severe blow. Then instead of satisfaction you will get disappointment.
Therefore, the desire to nurture and protect should be limited within reasonable limits. Remember this, and your peace of mind will be preserved.
The heroine-storyteller from the collection of Persian fairy tales “A Thousand and One Nights”. The main character of “The Tale of King Shahryar and His Brother,” a frame story that frames the cycle and connects the disparate stories with a single thread.
History of creation
It is still not known for certain how the collection “1001 Nights” appeared in the form that is known now. The first researchers looked for the roots of this body of tales in India, but modern researchers do not find significant evidence in favor of this theory. It seems that the prototype of the Arabian Nights tales known to us was a collection from Persia called “A Thousand Legends”, or “Khezar Afsane”.
This text was translated into Arabic in the 10th century, and it became known as “A Thousand Nights.” The translation enjoyed enormous popularity in Baghdad, the capital of the eastern caliphate, as evidenced by Arab authors of that time. The fairy tales themselves that were part of the collection have not reached us, but the frame story is known and coincides with the framing story from One Thousand and One Nights.
Various fairy tales and cycles were inserted into this frame story at different times. Some of them existed independently even before inclusion in the collection, in oral form. The demand for manuscripts of “1001 Nights” was great at that time, so booksellers could write down tales directly from the words of professional storytellers, who borrowed information from oral sources.
Biography
Soon the royal brothers met another woman and learned that she had cuckolded her genie husband 570 times - not even hiding, but right in the presence of her husband while he was in his sleep. Each of these betrayals is marked by a ring; the libertine made a necklace out of them and wears them around her neck. This sad experience leads the brothers to the opinion that among women there are no women who are not libertines.
Shahryar returns home and there executes his adulterous wife, and at the same time his concubines. After this, King Shahriyar institutes the following order: every night an innocent girl is brought to him, the ruler takes possession of her, and at dawn he orders her to be executed so that the girl does not have time to deteriorate.
Scheherazade stops this bloody chaos. The girl is begging to become the next suicide concubine of King Shahriyar. Once in the royal bedroom, she tells the ruler fascinating tales and deliberately stops each one at the most interesting place exactly when the sun rises. The intrigued king has to postpone the execution of Scheherazade every morning in order to hear the continuation of the story the next night.
This continues for a thousand and one nights in a row, until Scheherazade comes to the king with three children born to him during this time. By that time, the king’s first son was already walking, the second was crawling, and the third was suckling. Scheherazade asks the king to spare her in the name of the children, but by that time Shahriyar had already cooled down and lost his bloodthirstiness. The king calls Scheherazade God-fearing, chaste and pure and has mercy on the heroine, and at the same time stops exterminating women. So the girl’s intelligence, eloquence and beauty save the lives of hundreds of innocent women.
"1001 nights"
The collection includes three types of fairy tales. The first is heroic tales. These include long chivalric romances and fantasy tales that go back to the oldest Persian collection, “A Thousand Legends,” discussed above. These tales are written in a gloomy and solemn style, and involve nobles, courtiers and royalty. The heroic stories have undergone careful literary processing; traces of folk speech have been removed from them, but there are many poetic quotations from the Arabic classics.
Genie from the fairy tale "A Thousand and One Nights" Adventure tales are short stories whose roots go back to the environment of traders and artisans. The images of sultans and kings are reduced here; these characters already look like ordinary, not exalted human beings. In terms of content, these tales are classified as fabliaux - entertaining and instructive short stories that are created in an urban environment; they are characterized by rough humor. There is a lot of harem life and love stories with cunning plans, the heroes are rich merchants and their lovers.
Illustration for "A Thousand and One Nights" The third type is picaresque tales. Here we are talking about the lives of urban beggars, thieves, fishermen, shoemakers and others. The characters in picaresque tales are tricksters, swindlers and swindlers of both sexes. Here rulers and clergy are ridiculed; there is no royal pathos, as opposed to heroic fairy tales. The style of these texts is close to colloquial speech; there are almost no poetic inserts. The characters in these tales are brave and enterprising.
Film adaptations
The image of Scheherazade also inspired filmmakers. In 1947, the film “The Song of Scheherazade” was released in the United States. In the USSR in the 80s of the last century, based on the tales of “The Arabian Nights”, a trilogy was filmed (“And Another Night of Scheherazade...”, “New Tales of Scheherazade”, “The Last Night of Scheherazade”), where the role of Scheherazade was played by the actress Elena Tonunts.
In 1963, the heroine appeared on French screens in the adventurous drama that bears her name. It plays out the theme of love between the heroine and the Frenchman Renaud de Villecroix, a subject of the Baghdad Caliph, who saves the beauty from death on the way to the Holy Land.
Another famous French film adaptation was released in 1990 and is called “A Thousand and One Nights.” In addition to Scheherazade, the plot includes a genie who came from modern London and helps the heroine using technology invented in the 20th century.
- In the collection “1001 Nights” that has come down to us, 999 nights are actually described, and not a thousand and one, as the title suggests. Two nights were lost due to a census taker's error.
- The composer, inspired by Arabian tales, created a symphonic suite called “Scheherazade”. In 1910, a ballet of the same name was staged based on this music, the scenery and costumes for which were created by the artist Bakst.
- In Soviet times, the Scarlet Sails factory produced a cheap perfume called Shahrazade with a sweet, strong aroma that was reminiscent of Montpensier lollipops. Nowadays, another Scheherazade perfume is sold under the Brocard brand. This is a perfume with a floral oriental aroma.