In Jami's Haft Awrang, this tale dramatizes the conflict between overpowering desire and the restraining power of reason (عقل). Although the Caliph is sovereign over east and west, he is deeply drawn to a newly-arrived slave girl in his harem. When a confidant urges him to satisfy his longing, he refuses: to bow before her coquetry at the knee of helplessness and need, he reasons, would betray the dignity of his rule and reduce a commander of the world to the equal of a mere servant. The tale figures the ideal of the sovereign self mastering passion, teaching that enslavement to base desire is incompatible with genuine sovereignty and self-command.