What is Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves?
{{Infobox folk tale |Folk_Tale_Name = Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves |Image_Name = Cassim.jpg |Image_Caption = Cassim, Ali Baba's elder brother, in the cave by [[Maxfield Parrish]] (1909) |AKA = |Mythology = |Region = [[Middle East]] |Original Author = [[Noboru Baba]] |Published_In = ''[[Arabian Nights|The One Thousand and One Nights]]'', translated by [[Antoine Galland]] |Related = |Country={{flag|Iraq}}<ref>{{Cite news|date=July 2022|title=Synopsis of Folkloric Significance with Orientations to Different Iraqi Replicas of Folklores Civilizations, Traditions, and Customs: Tales' Genres are presented as Illustrations|work=Research Gate|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361840727_Synopsis_of_Folkloric_Significance_with_Orientations_to_Different_Iraqi_Replicas_of_Folklores_Civilizations_Traditions_and_Customs_Tales'_Genres_are_presented_as_Illustrations|access-date=27 January 2024}}</ref> }} '''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a [[Middle East|middle eastern]] [[folktale]] in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. It was added to ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]'' in the 18th century. ''One Thousand and One Nights'' is a collection of Middle Eastern [[Folktale|folktales]]. Many different versions of the story have been told till now in various languages, with some differences in title and details. ==Origin== The tale was first stored in the collection during 18th-century by a French [[translator]] named [[Antoine Galland]], who used [[Orientalist|to study the language, culture, history, or customs of countries in Asia]]. He wrote the tale from the [[oral traditions]] of a [[Syria|Syrian]] [https://wiktionary.org/wiki/Maronite Maronite] storyteller [[Hanna Diyab]]. It was not a part of the original collection which was in Arabic version, but was instead added to the collection later on<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=A Summary and Analysis of ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves’|url=https://interestingliterature.com/2021/01/ali