The true story reportedly comes from a Syrian man, Hanna Diyab, who told the tale to the French translator Antoine Galland.
As Disney’s new live-action version of "Aladdin" rolls out, InsideEdition.com is taking a deeper look at the origins of the classic tale.
The true story reportedly comes from a Syrian man, Hanna Diyab, who told the tale to the French translator Antoine Galland. Many believed Galland was the creator, but cultural historian Arafat Razzaque said that isn’t the case.
Although the story of Aladdin appeared for the first time in Galland’s translated version of “One Thousand and One Nights,” also known as “Arabian Nights,” he made clear that he got the story from Diyab.
But many have wondered whether Diyab actually existed, Razzaque said. Recent evidence indicates yes.
“The twist in recent years is that in the 1990s, 1993, a volume, a manuscript came to light that's at the Vatican library and it turns out it is a memoir or autobiography and a travel log written by this mysterious man, Hanna Diyab, who we had been speculating about for over a century,” Razzaque said.
Check out the full interview with Razzaque in the video above.
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