The Lady of the Harem

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The glittering province of Khorasan groans under the heavy taxes and cruelties imposed by its tyrannical sultan; only Hassan, the kind-hearted confectioner, lives tranquilly. He joins Rafi, who arrives in the city in search of his beloved, Pervaneh, who has been taken by the sultan. In the slave market, Rafi gets enough money to buy her freedom, but she is abducted and taken to the palace by one of the sultan's men. Later, believing her dead, Rafi swears vengeance and organizes a band to terrorize the tyrant's officials. In disguise, the sultan attends a meeting of Rafi's cohorts and lures him to the palace by a message supposedly sent by Pervaneh; there the sultan stages a bacchanalian orgy to celebrate their death by torture. Hassan leads Rafi's men in a surprise attack on the palace in which the sultan is killed and his soldiers are routed. The lovers are united, and Hassan ascends the throne.