Layla an Majnun, also known as The Madman of Layla - in Arabic مجنون ليلى (Majnun-Layla) or قيس وليلى (Qays and Layla), in Persian: ليلى ومجنون (Leyli and Madjnun) and Leyla ile Mecnun (Layla and Majnun) in Turkish - is a classical Middle Eastern love story. It is based on the real story of a young man called Qays ibn al-Mulawwah (Arabic : قيس بن الملوح ) from the northern Arabian Peninsula, in the Umayyad era during the 7th century. There were two Arabic versions of the story at the time. In one version, he spent his youth together with his cousin, Layla, tending their flocks. In the other version, upon seeing Layla he fell passionately in love with her. In both versions, however, he went mad when her father prevented him from marrying her; for that reason he came to be called Majnun Layla, which means "Driven mad by Layla". To him were attributed a variety of incredibly passionate romantic Arabic poems, considered among the foremost examples of the Udhari school.