Jaffar

Jaffar is a character who has appeared in multiple stories.

He is based off a real life person **Ja'far ibn Yahya Barmaki**, **Jafar al-Barmaki** (Persian: جعفر بن یحیی برمکی‎, Arabic: جعفر بن يحيى‎, ja`far bin yaḥyā) who lived from 767 to 803(since he was executed in real life this was still a short life). He was a Persian vizier of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. The fictional Jaffar may have been born at the same time but lived an unknown amount of time longer as he was able to attempt to usurp control again with Harun's grandson.

He sponsored the academy which was translating Greek works (including Aristotle) into Arabic, and convinced the Caliph to open the first paper mill in Baghdad (Chinese prisoners from the Battle of Talas in 751 had taught the Caliphate papermaking). He was beheaded in 803, allegedly for an affair with the Caliph's sister Abbasa — but probably because the Caliph feared that his family, the Barmakids, were becoming too influential. (His family was executed along with him, supporting the latter theory).

In the *Arabian Nights*, he's a minor figure, generally a hero, but Sunni tradition, which thinks very highly of Harun al-Rashid, assumed that Ja'far must have been guilty of *something* if the great Caliph had him killed.

Because of this idea he has become an evil sorcerer in modern stories.

## **Biography**

Jaffaribn Yahya was born into Persia's undercover unit, the assassins Sham Lash, and at one point became its leader. The Date of his birth is unknown. At the age of six, he was forced into killing both of the two people he believed to be his parents. As he hovered over his dying mother, his mother told him that his real father was the Sultan of Agrabah. She gave him a ring that belonged to the sultan as proof. Jaffar approached the Sultan and revealed the ring. The Sultan already had a son but admired Jaffar's courage, allowing him to remain as a servant. Jaffar was abused by the Sultan's son Mirza, and the Sultan eventually attempted to kill him by drowning him. He was thought dead but actually passed out and was thrown out.

Jaffar was adopted by an abusive blacksmith. During this time he met the sorceress Amara, who crowned herself the Serpent God, who he convinced to teach him dark magic so that he could obtain revenge. Jaffar joined Amara's goal of obtaining three Genies but then betrayed her, turning her into his staff. Jaffar confronted the Sultan, killing his son Mirza, only sparing the Sultan but promising that the Sultan will one day call him his son. Jaffar then met a merchant who made very little income but had all his needs accounted for such as a garden for food and two camels. Jaffar suspected the man wished for these things. The man sent his Genie, Cyrus, away before Jaffar could steal him. Jaffar then shifted his attention to working for the Emperor of Persia, as his Grand Vizier. In 518 B.C.E., he attempted to force a Princess to marry him by imprisoning her love, the Persian Prince Dastan, but Dastan was able to seemingly kill him. Jaffar was able to magically revive himself but was once more defeated and evidently killed. Through magical means he would revive centuries later. There are reports that suggest Jaffar may have been transported to another universe and came to reside on the continent of Elibe but it is unknown when this would take place. What is known is that Jaffar changed due to his time in this world, becoming a nicer person while becoming an assassin, disappearing when he was transported to his own world. When he returned from this world he had not aged somehow, possibly through time travel or by his death and resurrection.

Disguising himself as a young man, Jaffar became an Assassin in the service of the Persian Emperor, when his troupe was ordered to track down Sinbad, but would disobey his orders and attempt to kill him, seeing him as a threat to his schemes. His assassination attempt failed and Jaffar instead feigned loyalty to Sinbad. Jaffar's darker personality began to return gradually. He helped Sinbad become King but began to whisper in his ear, calling him "Sin". Still Sinbad trusted Jaffar enough that he would entrust him with the care of the Kingdom of Sindria in India while he travelled. This turned out to be misguided as Jaffar took over and then extended his forces to conquering the city of Basra(dethroning it from Basran, the Sultan of Agrabah, who had also taken it). Sinbad returned and was forced to battle Jaffar, even being hurling into a pit of snakes, which Sinbad escaped by tying together into a rope. Jaffar summoned evil forces to aid him, which included an army of undead warriors, and Soukra the sorceress. To defeat Jaffar's more powerful magic, Sinbad learned he needed to obtain the gems of the city which Jaffar scattered once he realized they were too powerful for him to destroy, one of which landed on the Island of Themyscira, and another on the isle of the dead. Sinbad also fought and defeated the Lord of Darkness, which he defeated. Returning, Sinbad defeated Jaffar and imprisoned him. Jaffar escaped and in an act of revenge, snaked into serving as Grand Vizier of the Caliph of Agrabah, goading him into a war with Basra. During the war, Jaffar personally fought and killed Basran, the leader of Basra, who pulled a medallion from Jaffar's neck. Basra's son Harun, would identify Jaffar as the killer. Jaffar would kill the Vizier, before being seemingly killed when crushed by a pillar. Harun would gain the title of Al-Rhashid(the righteous) and marry the Princess Khairuzan. Jaffar was able to fake his death to weasel into power as the Grand Vizier once more. Still somewhat warry of him, Harun al-Rashid gave him a difficult task in the hope he would fail it, solving a recent murder in three days, that of a woman found cut into pieces and stuffed in a chest in the river. Jaffar failed but before he could be executed until a man confessed. The murdered woman was the wife of the man. He believed she had cheated on him when a slave boasted about being given one of three golden apples belonging to the man's wife. The Man returned to his home in Basra and found an apple was indeed missing. He murdered his wife only to learn the slave had stolen the apple. Jaffar was given the task of capturing the slave in three days. He failed yet again only to discover the golden apple on one of hi own slaves, Rayhan. To save his slave, Jaffar charmed the Caliph with a story, which he knew the Sultan loves.

Harun Al-Rashid dismissed Jaffar after reading a random book in his Library, the House of Wisdom, he was so saddened that he dismissed Jaffar, who went on a journey to Damascus with a man named Attaf. After returning to Agrabah, Jaffar read the same book and discovered it was a magic book that depicted the events he just went through, meaning that the book caused the events which it depicted. Reading the book also helped exonerate Attaf of a crime he was accused of.

Jaffar would die once more when he encountered Aladdin, who he hired to obtain a Magical Lamp. Aladdin used the Genie in the lamp to become a Prince and marry the Caliph's daughter Jasmine. Jaffar's scheme was thwarted when he wished to become an all powerful Genie, which thanks to Solomon's binding spells, meant he was able to be sealed in the lamp. Jaffar's Genie form would be summoned by Abis Mal, but would once more defeated and his lamp destroyed. His soul would return to Hades, who had restored him in the past. The two joined forced but were defeated by Hercules and Aladdin. Sultan Harun Al Rashid would magical transport most of the magical elements of Agrabah to another universe, leaving a handful of people behind.

Jaffar would be revived much later, during the reign of Ahmad, Harun al Rashid's grandson and Jasmine and Aladdin's son. Jaffar convinced Ahmad to wander the streets disguised as a poor man as done by his grandfather and daughter before him. This was actually part of his plan and he threw Ahmad into a dungeon, where Ahmad met Abu. Abu was actually, unknown to Ahmad, his young brother, named after Aladdin's faithful monkey companion and thought lost after the vanishing of many of Agrabah's people to another plane. After escaping with Abu, he and Ahmad travel to Basra, where Ahmad falls in love with its Princess, who bares no relation to him. Jaffar also desired the princess and delighted the Sultan of Basra with mechanical toys and his skills as a sorcerer. The princess is promised to Jaffar but she fell in love with Ahmad and ran away. Jaffar blinded Ahmad and turned Abu into a monkey, telling them the spell could only be broken if he held the princess in his arms. Jaffar captured the Princess when his servant Halima lured her onto a ship and she is told of the spell, complying to restore Ahmad's site and human form. Jaffar conjured a storm that shipwrecked the crew and took the princess back to Basra. The Sultan refused to marry her and Jaffar killed him, taking her back to Agrabah.

Abu meanwhile had awoken on a beat and found a bottle containing a Genie. Abu wished Ahmad to Agrabah, causing him to appear in Jaffar's palace where he was quickly captured. Abu sparked a revolution against Jaffar. Abu was accidentally transported to a magical land known as the land of Legend, freeing its inhabitants and granted a magical crossbow and arrow, which he used against Jaffar, seemingly killing him.

Jaffar once more escaped death, this time resuming his search for the Genie cyrus, he would allign with the Wonderland's Red Queen to discover this purpose and later on oppose Aladdin in his role as the Savior in Everrealm. Jaffar in pursuing Aladdin was trapped in a repeat of Aladdin's story, where he would be defeated by the traveller Sora.

Dingo adapted the story of Aladdin and with it: Jaffar. This led to the creation of a Toon version of Jaffar. His most notable event was aiding a group of Villains in taking over the House of Mouse. A magical clone of Jaffar came to reside in Dingo parks, his powers were somewhat limited, preventing him from harming others. He and the villains have taken over a few times but it's never lasted.

On Earth 3, Jaffar is instead a man of science and a kind one, immortal due to alchemy. He is a hated Grand Vizier despite genuinely attempting to help the people. He and his wife Scheherezade were asked to be brought before the Sultan, who forcefully took Scheherezade as his wife, where she died giving birth to a daughter, Jasmine. Jaffar tried to act like a father to Jasmine and warned her about boys like Aladdin. He was also trying to prevent a war with the neighboring Kingdom of Pik-Zar after Jasmine sent her tiger to attack the visiting prince Achmed, who was angry at being treated like a "One off gag" and threatened to invade Agrabah. Aladdin was eventually revealed to be a fiend and Jaffar realized Jasmine was his daughter due to the Sultan being sterile. Jaffar obtained the Genie and the lamp but his ability to think rationally actually lessened his wishes, for instance rather than wishing away the invading army, he wished for a hurricane that he believed could do just that. He then reluctantly wished to become a Genie and helped Jasmine but could not stay with her and was sent away. In the lamp he discovered he could perceive all of time and space, explaining how the Genie could make so many pop culture references. He also saw Aladdin's fate and Jasmine becoming a successful ruler. He was reunited with a magical spirit of Scheherezade, presumably spawned from his memories of her while in the lamp. He asked her how their story ended and she responded that it didn't. It is believed the two remained in the lamp in happiness.

**References**

Magi: Labyrinth of Magic-part of early life and time as an assassin with Sinbad

Once upon a Time in Wonderland-Cyrus, first encounter with the Sultan. Basically how he learns magic.

Sinbad-From one of the Sinbad films in which Jaffar is the antagonist.

Elibe-land from Fire Emblem. Alludes to the assassin character named Jaffar.

The Three Golden Apples-Story from which the theft of the Apples and the murder mystery with Jaffar is from.

The Tale of Attaf-features an adventurer version of Jaffar

Aladdin-All the bits mentioned in the Aladdin bio.

The Thief of Baghdad-Jaffar's battle with Ahmad and Abu.