Published in English for the first time, and the only Arabic epic named for a woman,The Tale of Princess Fatimarecounts the thrilling adventures of a legendary medieval warrior universally known throughout the Middle East and long overdue to join world literature's pantheon of female heroines.A Penguin ClassicThe Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Womanis the longest extant Arabic epic, and the only one named for a woman—the sword-slinging Princess Fatima, a fearsome warrior known alternately as "she-wolf," "woman of high resolve," and "calamity of the soul," who defeated countless male warriors in stealth attacks on horseback. The epic retells a part of the history of Arabic culture, beginning in the Umayyad period (seventh century) and ending with the Arab-Byzantine wars (twelfth century). The action begins in the Arabian Peninsula, and then moves north to the Arab-Byzantine border (present-day Syria-Turkey border), following the adventures of Dhat...