Vathek is the eponymous protagonist of William Thomas Beckford's 1786 novel Vathek, an Arabian Tale, a formative work in the genre of Gothic fiction.
Vathek is a heavily, heavily fictionalized version of the real 9th century Abbasid caliph Al-Wathiq ibn Mutasim. The real Al-Wathiq was known as a great patron of scholars and artists who had a thirst for knowledge. The Vathek of the novel has a similar desire for knowledge, building his palace of Alkoremi to be a haven for all branches of learning, with a tower that reached to the heavens. This thirst for knowledge proved his downfall. After a mysterious merchant named Giaour persuades him to renounce the teachings of Allah, Vathek begins a moral downward spiral that eventually leads to his damnation.
Some notes on the LH's appearance: In the novel Vathek is said to have the "evil eye" to break people to his will. In real life, Al-Wathiq's left eye was paralyzed. The idea for the peacock pattern on Vathek's clothes is taken from Yazidi, a religion considered by mainstream Islam to be a form of Satanism. Yazidis revere Melek Taus, "the peacock angel", who stood up to God's will and serves as leader of the archangels.
Vathek is a heavily, heavily fictionalized version of the real 9th century Abbasid caliph Al-Wathiq ibn Mutasim. The real Al-Wathiq was known as a great patron of scholars and artists who had a thirst for knowledge. The Vathek of the novel has a similar desire for knowledge, building his palace of Alkoremi to be a haven for all branches of learning, with a tower that reached to the heavens. This thirst for knowledge proved his downfall. After a mysterious merchant named Giaour persuades him to renounce the teachings of Allah, Vathek begins a moral downward spiral that eventually leads to his damnation.
Some notes on the LH's appearance: In the novel Vathek is said to have the "evil eye" to break people to his will. In real life, Al-Wathiq's left eye was paralyzed. The idea for the peacock pattern on Vathek's clothes is taken from Yazidi, a religion considered by mainstream Islam to be a form of Satanism. Yazidis revere Melek Taus, "the peacock angel", who stood up to God's will and serves as leader of the archangels.
