Acknowledgements
The present volume has its origins in a workshop organized by Christina Vogel and Johannes Thomann in February 2020 in Zurich under the title âNew Perspectives on the âOrphan Storiesâ in the One Thousand and One Nights.â The goal was to bring together researchers working on ḤannÄ DiyÄb and his tales as a way of acknowledging the emergence of studies on DiyÄb as an active âsub-fieldâ within research on the Nights, and to encourage further dialogue and collaboration among scholars working in this area. Many of the papers contained in this volume were originally presented at the Zurich workshop. Rather than simply release proceedings, however, the participants thought that the aims of the workshop would be better served by putting together a sort of handbook, with a view to reinforcing the increasing acknowledgement of, and interest in DiyÄbâs role, showcasing some of the substantial body of work on DiyÄb that now exists, and bringing together resources in a single location for the use of future researchers. For that reason, this volume also contains additional new studies, as well as reprints of some of the most significant published research on DiyÄb to date. The initial section on âResourcesâ further includes the English translations of the recordings of DiyÄbâs oral performances Antoine Galland took down in his diary, an English summary of the tale of âAladdinâ as published by Galland, and short commentaries on the tales.
The project underwent several changes of personnel over its lifetime, both of editors and contributors. The groundwork was laid by Neslihan Demirkol with support from James Weaver. They assembled the first round of contributions, commissioned some additional studies, secured the rights to several of the reprints, and put together the volumeâs basic structure. After Neslihan stepped back in Spring 2023, James Weaver took over editing the volume. He was then joined by Ulrich Marzolph in late Summer 2024. Together, Ulrich and James finalized the contributions for publication, added further reprints, restructured the volume, and dealt with the editorial side of the publication process.
The editors wish to express their thanks to several people for their involvement in the volume. First, there is Neslihan Demirkol, without whose initiative the work may never have begun. Katarina Roberts has our gratitude for translating Christina Vogelâs contribution from the original French. We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their critiques and their suggestions for improvements to the volume. And we are grateful to Abdurraouf Oueslati and Mona Saif at Brill, who have guided the book through the publication process. And, finally, Christina Uy and the collaborators of the Datagrafix GSP GmbH did a great job producing the book.
We also wish to thank the following publishers for the rights to reprint the following pieces: Wayne State University Press for Ruth Bottigheimerâs âEast Meets West: ḤannÄ DiyÄb and The Thousand and One Nights,â Aboubakr Chraïbiâs âGallandâs âAli Babaâ and Other Arabic Versions,â Sylvette Larzulâs âFurther Considerations on Gallandâs Mille et une Nuit: A Study of the Tales Told by ḤannÄ,â and the translations of DiyÄbâs tales prepared by Ulrich Marzolph with Anne Duggan; LâHarmattan for Ulrich Marzolphâs âThe Tale of âAladdinâ in European Oral Tradition;â and Peeters Publishers for Ulrich Marzolphâs âḤannÄ DiyÄbâs Unpublished Tales: The Storyteller as an Artist in His Own Right.â Bernard Heyberger has kindly given his permission to reprint his contribution âA Border-crossing Ottoman Christian at the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century: ḤannÄ DiyÄb of Aleppo and His Account of His Travel to Paris.â