The earliest mentions of the "Nights" refer to it as an Arabic translation from a Persian book, "Hezār Afsān" (aka "Afsaneh" or "Afsana"), meaning 'The Thousand Stories'. In the 10th century Ibn al-Nadim compiled a catalogue of books (the "Fihrist") in Baghdad. He noted that the Sassanid kings of Iran enjoyed "evening tales and fables". Al-Nadim then writes about the Persian "Hezār Afsān", explaining the frame story it employs: a bloodthirsty king kills off a succession of wives after their wedding night. Eventually one has the intelligence to save herself by telling him a story every evening, leaving each tale unfinished until the next night so that the king will delay her execution.