Adventures of Sayf Ben Dhi Yazan

<p>A charming and agreeable surprise . . . A welcome gift to Western readers. --Kirkus Reviews<br /><br />Editor Jayyusi offers a major example of the Arabic folk epics or romances called siras . . . The siras are full of heroic adventures exotic landscapes love affairs friendships supernatural dangers magical spells and great Arab heroes. . . . --Library Journal<br /><br />This text should find its place alongside the translations of other epic traditions of the world as a text well suited for use in university courses on the Middle East world literature epic and folklore. --Journal of Arabic Literature<br /><br />This colorful panorama recounts the fantastic tales of a sixth-century Arab king and offers unusual perspectives on gender religion race and ethnicity. Composed between the 13th and 16th centuries and presented here in English for the first time.</p>