When it was the Forty-fifth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Caliph，after marvelling at his eloquence of tongue and sweetness of speech，said to him，'Draw near to me.'So he drew near and quoth the King，'Tell me thy tale and declare to me thy case.'So Ghanim sat down and related to him what had befallen him in Baghdad，of his sleeping in the tomb and of his opening the chest after the three slaves had departed，and informed him，in short，of everything that had happened to him from commencement to conclusion none of which we will repeat for interest fails in twice told tales. The Caliph was convinced that he was a true man；so he invested him with a dress of honour，and placed him near himself in token of favour，and said to him，'Acquit me of the responsibility I have incurred.''[136] And Ghanim so did，saying，'O our lord the Sultan，of a truth thy slave and all things his two hands own are his master's.'The Caliph was pleased at this and gave orders to set apart a palace for him and assigned to him pay and allowances，rations and donations，which amounted to something immense. So he removed thither with sister and mother；after which the Caliph，hearing that his sister Fitnah was in beauty a very 'fitnah，'[137] a mere seduction，demanded her in marriage of Ghanim who replied，'She is thy handmaid as I am thy slave.'The Caliph thanked him and gave him an hundred thousand diners，then summoned the witnesses and the Kazi，and on one and the same day they wrote out the two contracts of marriage between the Caliph and Fitnah and between Ghanim bin Ayyub and Kut al-Kulub；and the two marriages were consummated on one and the same night. When it was morning，the Caliph gave orders to record the history of what had befallen Ghanim from first to last and to deposit it in the royal muniment rooms，that those who came after him might read it and marvel at the dealings of Destiny and put their trust in Him who created the night and the day. Yet，O auspicious King，this story to which thou hast deigned give ear is on no wise more wondrous than the Tale Of King Omar Bin Al-Nu'uman And His Sons Sharrkan And Zau Al-Makan，And What Befel Them of Things Seld-Seen and Peregrine.[138]
The King asked her，'And what was their story？'and she answered：
It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that there was in the City of Safety，Baghdad，before the Caliphate of Abd al-Malik bin Marwan，[139] a King，Omar bin al-Nu'uman highs，who was of the mighty giants and had subjected the Chosroes of Persia and the Kaysars of Eastern Rome；for none could warm himself at his fire；[140] nor could any avail to meet him in the field of foray and fray；and，when he was angered，there came forth from his nostrils sparks of flame.He had made himself King over all quarters，and Allah had subjected to him all His creatures；his word went forth to all great cities and his hosts had harried the farthest lands.East and West had come under his command with whatsoever regions lay interspersed between them，Hind and Sind and Sin，[141] the Holy Land，Al-Hijaz，the rich mountains of Al-Yaman and the archipelagos of India and China.Moreover，he reigned supreme over the north country and Diyar Bakr，or Mesopotamia，and over Sudan，the Eastern Negro land and the Islands of the Ocean，and all the far famed rivers of the earth，Sayhun and Jayhun，[142] Nile and Euphrates.He sent envoys and ambassadors to capitals the most remote，to provide him with true report；and they would bring back tidings of justice and peace，with assurance of loyalty and obedience and of prayers in the pulpits for King Omar bin al-Nu'uman；for he was，O Ruler of the Age，a right noble King；and there came to him presents of rarities and toll and tribute from all lands of his governing.
This mighty monarch had a son yclept Sharrkan，[143] who was likest of all men to his father and who proved himself one of the prodigies of his time for subduing the brave and bringing his contemporaries to bane and ban.For this his father loved him with love so great none could be greater，and made him heir to the kingdom after himself.This Prince grew up till he reached man's estate and was twenty years old，and Allah subjected His servants to him，by reason of his great might and prowess in battle.Now his father，King Omar，had four wives legally married，but Allah had vouchsafed him no son by them，save Sharrkan，whom he had begotten upon one of them，and the rest were barren.Moreover he had three hundred and sixty concubines，after the number of days in the Coptic year，who were of all nations；and he had furnished for each and every a private chamber within his own palace.For he had built twelve pavilions，after the number of the months，each containing thirty private chambers，which thus numbered three hundred and three score，wherein he lodged his handmaids：and he appointed according to law for each one her night，when he lay with her and came not again to her for a full year；[144] and on this wise he abode for a length of time.Meanwhile his son Sharrkan was making himself renowned in all quarters of the world and his father was proud of him and his might waxed and grew mightier；so that he passed all bounds and bore himself masterfully and took by storm castles and cities.Presently，by decree of the Decreer，a handmaid among the handmaids of Omar bin Nu'uman became pregnant；and，her pregnancy being announced to the Harim，the King was informed thereof；whereupon he rejoiced with exceeding joy and said，'Haply it will be a son，and so all my offspring will be males！'Then he documented the date of her conception and entreated her with all manner of kindness.But when the tidings came to Sharrkan，he was troubled and the matter seemed to him a sore one and a grievous；and he said，'Verily one cometh who shall dispute with me the sovereignty：'so quoth he to himself，'If this concubine bear a male child I will kill it：
