The Tragedy of Zara by Voltaire. Short summary

5 seconds

Orosman’s concubine Zaira, a Christian by birth, finds her lost father and brother. The torment of choosing between her love for the sultan and her fathers’ faith leads to her death.

1 minute

Zaira, a Frenchwoman raised by Muslims since childhood, falls in love with her master, the Sultan. Fatima reminds her friend that a French knight has promised to ransom them. She confesses that Sultan Orosman wishes to marry her. Knight Nerestan, who has come to ransom the hostages, surrenders all but the bride and the Christian leader Lusignan.

Zaira persuades the bridegroom to release the old man. It transpires that she and Nerestan are Lusignan´s missing children. The father reproaches his daughter for treason. The brother persuades her to be baptised. She agrees, but vacillates between her love and her faith. Zaira asks Orosman to postpone the wedding, without explaining the reasons. The guards intercept a letter from the Frenchman, in which he arranges a meeting with his sister.

The Sultan, racked with jealousy, murders the girl. Nerestan, seized, explains everything to Orosman. Shocked, the jealous Sultan orders the release of all the Christian prisoners and gives them ships. He releases the Frenchman and stabs himself with a dagger beside the body of his beloved.