Sinbad the Sailor

Sinbad the Sailor is a fictional seafarer and the central figure in a series of tales. He is said to have come from Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate, in the 8th and 9th centuries CE. Across seven journeys through seas east of Africa and south of Asia, he experiences incredible adventures in enchanted lands, facing monsters and witnessing supernatural events. This cycle of stories was later incorporated into the collection known as *One Thousand and One Nights*.

The Sinbad tales were a relatively late addition to *One Thousand and One Nights*. They do not appear in the earliest known 14th-century manuscript, and first emerged as a separate cycle in collections from the 18th and 19th centuries. They were included in later manuscripts of the Egyptian branch of the work. The story reflects the era’s trend of Arab and Muslim sailors exploring the world, and its themes echo other works from that period. The Abbasid reign was a time of significant economic and social growth, with traders seeking new routes and partners—a process mirrored in Sinbad’s adventures. Later sources, such as the Abbasid work *Wonders of the Created World*, draw on the experiences of 13th-century Arab mariners who sailed the Indian Ocean.

The Sinbad cycle is set during the rule of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786–809). The tales appeared in the first European translation of the *Nights*, Antoine Galland’s *Les mille et une nuits, contes arabes traduits en français*. An English edition came out in 1711 as *The new Arabian winter nights entertainments*, with numerous editions throughout the 18th century. The earliest separate English publication of the Sinbad tales, held by the British Library, is an adaptation titled *The Adventures of Houran Banow, etc. (Taken from the Arabian Nights, being the third and fourth voyages of Sinbad the Sailor.)*, dating to around 1770. An early US edition, *The seven voyages of Sinbad the sailor. And The story of Aladdin; or, The wonderful lamp*, was printed in Philadelphia in 1794. Many popular editions followed in the early 19th century, including a chapbook by Thomas Tegg. The best-known full translation is perhaps tale 120 in Volume 6 of Sir Richard Burton’s 1885 translation of *The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night*.

Like the *1001 Nights*, the Sinbad story-cycle has a frame story. In the days of Harun al-Rashid, Caliph of Baghdad, a poor porter rests on a bench outside a rich merchant’s gate and complains to God about life’s unfairness. The merchant, hearing this, sends for the porter and finds they share the name Sinbad. The wealthy Sinbad explains that he gained his fortune “by Fortune and Fate” through seven wondrous voyages, which he then recounts.

On his first voyage, Sinbad, having wasted his inheritance, goes to sea to rebuild his wealth. He lands on what seems an island but is actually a giant sleeping whale, with trees rooted on it since its youth. When sailors light a bonfire, the whale dives, the ship leaves without Sinbad, and he is saved by a wooden trough sent by God’s grace. He washes ashore on a wooded island, where he meets one of the king’s grooms. After helping save the king’s mare from a supernatural sea horse, the groom brings him to the king. Sinbad becomes a trusted courtier. Later, his original ship docks, and he reclaims his goods. He gives the king his goods and receives rich presents in return, which he sells for great profit. He returns to Baghdad and resumes a life of ease, giving the porter a hundred gold pieces and inviting him back for more tales.

On the second day of storytelling, Sinbad the sailor tells how he grew restless and set to sea again, “possessed with the thought of traveling about the world of men and seeing their cities and islands.” Abandoned by his shipmates, he finds a roc’s nest and, using his turban, attaches himself to the bird. He is carried to a valley of giant snakes that can swallow elephants, the roc’s natural prey. The valley floor is covered with diamonds, which merchants harvest by throwing meat into the valley; birds carry the meat to their nests, and the men collect the diamonds stuck to it. Sinbad straps meat to his back and is carried back to the nest with a sack of gems. Rescued by the merchants, he returns to Baghdad with a fortune.

On his third voyage, Sinbad sets sail from Basra. He and his companions are cast onto an island where they are captured by a huge, black, man-like creature with eyes...