The Jataka stories are a significant body of works about the previous lives of Gautama Buddha.

In the 6th century, some of the stories were translated to Persian at the command of the Zoroastrian king Khosrau I. This translation was later retranslated to Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Some people believe that they formed the basis for Aesop's Fables, Sindbad the Sailor and The Arabian Nights.

See also: Buddhism, Timeline of Buddhism.