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Char Aznable has declared Sultan of Lower Agrabah (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is to be renamed to Sultan of Lower Agrabah for the following reason(s): No conflicting articles Please discuss it on the talk page for this article. "I told you I am not Casval, I am Char Aznable."  ✓
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The Sultan of Lower Agrabah, also known as the Old Prisoner, is a character from the 2013 TV series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Though in the present he is presented as a friend and ally of Cyrus and the protagonists, in his past he was the cold, callous, cruel, selfish, sociopathic, prideful, arrogant, merciless, murderous, ruthless, and tyrannical Sultan of Lower Agrabah who rejected and even attempted to murder his illegitimate son, who would end up becoming the main antagonist of the series as a result. Thus, making him indirectly responsible for everything thats happened.
Additionally, despite seeming to have learned the error of his ways and learning the value of mercy and empathy, he stubbornly refused to apologize to Jafar for the horrible way he treated him and continued to refuse to call Jafar his son, even when he believed that was the only thing Jafar wanted while he was committing untold atrocities to retrieve the three genies.
Background[]
Pre-Story[]
Sometime in the past, the Sultan, whether he already ascended the throne as ruler of Lower Agrabah or not, meets a healer named Ulima and develops feelings for her. They are together for a time, but their relationship eventually ends (likely because he is a royal while she is a peasant), though Ulima retains possession of one of his rings.
A few years later, he has a legitimate son named Mirza, who is the only person who he genuinely cares about and shows warmth too. It is unknown what became of his wife (Miza's mother) afterwards as she is not seen or heard of in the series. It is also unknown if he met Ulima before or after he was already married to his wife.
The sociopathic Sultan ruled Lower Agrabah with a iron fist. Presumably, he mercilessly abused his subjects and ruthlessly executed those who even slightly displeased him while maintaining his rule through fear. His orders were carried out without question by his servants and guards.
Bad Blood (Flashbacks)[]
Ten years after his and Ulima's relationship ends, a ten year old boy named Jafar is accused of stealing from one of his guards and is brought into his throne room. The boy does not deny these claims and the Sultan declares that he will cut of Jafars hand as punishment. However, when Jafar raises his hand, he is shocked to see the ring that he gifted to Ulima. He asks Jafar where he got it and Jafar tells him it was from his mother, causing him to realize that Jafar is his and Ulima's illegitimate son. The Sultan then asks Jafar how his mother is, to which Jafar informs him that she is dead. The Sultan apologizes to Jafar for his mothers passing, but quickly gets over his own sadness once he realizes that Jafar purposely stole the knife in order to meet him in hopes that he would recognize him as his son and take him in. Jafar confirms this and tells him that Ulima told him to go to him, having been promised by her that the Sultan would accept him. However the Sultan proves to be very callous and self-centered, carelessly dismissing both Jafar and Ulima's last wish, coldly and bluntly saying that he already has a son in his heir Mirza (in addition to just plain not wanting another son, he had an immense sense of pride and also did not want to admit or deal with the dishonor he would receive if the public found out he has a "bastard boy"). Jafar pleads that he doesn't need to be a prince, only a son, but the Sultan continues to reject him anyways. However, out of admiration for Jafars courage, he allows him to stay as a serving boy. Jafar thanks him and calls him father, causing the Sultan to become angered and tell Jafar not to use that word, sternly telling him that they are not father and son and Jafar is merely an orphan boy who has managed to gain his favor. Jafar tells him he understands that rule and the Sultan warns him to remember it before silently instructing the guard to take Jafar to his new room.
Sometime later, the Sultan listens to the officials complain about a supply blockade with northern provinces, with Mirza sitting in his lap and Jafar serving them drinks. The Sultan refuses to assist them and turns to ask Mirza to explain why it is so. Mirza states that it is against policy, though he doesn't know which one when questioned by an official. Jafar demonstrates superior knowledge of it being the farm policy, though the Sultan quickly covers for his son's humiliation by saying that in Lower Agrabah even servants are educated, but scolds Jafar for his lack of discretion. Jafar apologizes and nearly calls him "Father" (he says "Fa-" before catching himself) before leaving.
Not wanting to risk Jafar revealing their blood connection again, the Sultan decides to murder the boy.
He walks in on Mirza slapping Jafar in his quarters for outshining him (presumably having headed there to kill Jafar). Mirza expects to be scolded by his father for abusing the staff and apologizes, but the Sultan instead encourages him to hit Jafar again. He tells Mirza that if he is to be Sultan, he must make people fear him as he believes that is where all true power comes from. As he encourages Mirza to abuse Jafar (coldly ignoring Jafars emotional and physical distress), he warmly dots on Mirza for doing what he believes will make him a worthy Sultan.
Shortly after this, where Jafar has headed to the washroom to clean his face, the Sultan decides to drown him there while instructing two guards to wait outside for when he calls them in to dispose of Jafars body. As soon as Jafar sees him in the mirror, he tries to make amends for his earlier mistake by calling him "Your Majesty" and apologizing for his carelessness and promising it wont happen again, though the Sultan is unswayed by this and carries through his decision to murder Jafar, smugly telling him "I know". To cover his intentions and make Jafar lower his guard, he pretends to apologize for encouraging Mirza to hit him earlier while attempting to justify it by saying parents must do difficult things to make sure their children are raised properly (once again showing his immense pride by refusing to even acknowledge Jafar as a child of his too, blood or otherwise, in private while pretending to apologize. While also showing off his warped mindset of what it means to be a ruler). Jafar accepts this and admits his own faults, to which the Sultan further baits him by saying he is glad that Jafar understands discretion to avoid incidents like this int he future. He gives Jafar a warm smile and tells him to dry his face. As soon as Jafar turns around, he grabs Jafar by the back of the neck and plunges his head into the water basin. The cruel and ruthless Sultan then coldly holds down the boy as he struggles to breathe, being suffocated by the water basin, until he stops moving. The Sultan then places Jafars (seemingly) dead body on the ground and yells for the guards to come in. He orders them to throw Jafars body out with "the rest of the refuse (garbage)" before walking away. And thus Jafars body is disposed of at Lower Agrabah's garbage dump.
Years later, when the Sultan is fifty, a man wielding incredible magic power bursts into his throne room and easily dispatches of his guards. The Sultan is unfazed, even as the man tells him he has waited so long to see him again. The Sultan initially doesn't recognize him, until he tells him "why don't you look me in the face and tell me", the same thing that Jafar told him when they first met. The Sultan, now realizing that the man is a grown Jafar, is bewildered and shocked that he is still alive after he seemingly killed him. Jafar tells the Sultan that his hate kept him alive, again referring to him as "Father". Still prideful as ever, the Sultan once again asserts that Jafar isn't his son. When Mirza walks into the room, Jafar holds a knife to the Sultans neck, but the Sultan still has faith that Mirza can save him. Jafar then challenges Mirza to a fight, hand-to-hand, for their fathers life, however Mirza proves to be a coward and walks away rather than risk getting hurt, which disappoints the Sultan. Jafar then uses his magic to kill Mirza, to which the Sultan expresses horror and screams at Jafar for killing his son. Jafar then yells back that while Mirza wouldn't even fight for him, Jafar would have died for him, but he "refused to say the words". The Sultan, confused and saddened, asks Jafar what words he wants, to which Jafar tells him to call him his son. Regaining his pride and anger, the Sultan spitefully tells Jafar that he is just a bastard boy. Jafar tells him to just say the words, and he will spare him unending pain, but the Sultan swears he will never give him what he wants. But Jafar tells him he will, someday.
Imprisonment[]
Jafar imprisons the former Sultan and subjects him to torture every day for ten years, such as forcing him to roll giant stones up a hill. During this time, he reflects on his past actions and realizes that he should have been more merciful. Through his hatred for Jafar remains persistent and he refuses to acknowledge his own faults in the way Jafar turned out. Even deluding himself into believing that his former self would have been willing to give Jafar his love if he had tried to earn it (where as it was clearly shown that he never had any intention of giving Jafar his love and only got angry when Jafar DID try to impress him), and insisting that his only mistake with Jafar was not successfully killing him to spare the world the horrors he is unleashing. Though his pride breaks enough that he no longer rebuffs Jafar calling him Father (though he still refuses to call Jafar his son).
Tough the Old Prisoner knows that his torture will end if he calls Jafar his son, he continues to refuse to do so. During his imprisonment, he becomes aware of the atrocities that Jafar is committing in his goal to seize the three genie bottles which will give him the ability to break the laws of magic and make the Old Prisoner love him (which is the only thing the Old Prisoner believes his wants the magic for). However, even knowing this, the Old Prisoner arrogantly refused to believe he would ever give Jafar his love and pridefully continue to deny calling him his son. Thus (as far as he knows) allowing Jafar to continue his atrocious actions because of his pride.
He eventually gets a fellow prisoner in Cyrus, one of the genies of the bottles, whom he befriends. Though he refrains from telling Cyrus about his past and his relationship with Jafar, presumably knowing that his new friend would hate him if he knew the truth about him.
Once Upon A Time in Wonderland[]
The Sultan, now an Old Prisoner
One day, as Cyrus wakes with a start, he expresses concern for his well-being. He notices Cyrus' recent arm burns from attempting to reach outside the enclosure, which is an impossible feat since the silver in the cage only causes bodily harm. Though the man tries to distract him with a makeshift chess game, Cyrus is disinterested; drawing a laugh from the latter who wonders if he has something better to do. He watches Cyrus write something on magic paper, fold it into a crane and set it free outside the cage to fly away as a message delivery to his beloved Alice. To the man's dismay, Jafar storms in and yanks Cyrus' cage down enough to begin using physical harm to interrogate him about a bottle. Cyrus is released only when the Red Queen herself strolls in to have an exchange with Jafar.
The old prisoner watches as Cyrus is taunted by Jafar and the Red Queen, the two of which have found a message from Alice flying through the lair. They believe it is only a matter of time before Alice makes her first wish, despite Cyrus believing that she will not. The old prisoner is later present when Jafar and the Red Queen research creatures to send after Alice, eventually settling on a Bandersnatch when assuming from a frightened look on Cyrus' face that Alice may not be able to defeat it without sacrificing a wish. This turns out to be untrue, however, and an enraged Jafar slams his staff, causing a shock-wave is sent throughout Wonderland. This rocks both Cyrus and the old prisoner's cages, the latter of which asks Cyrus what that was. Cyrus reveals that it means his plan worked, having set up Jafar and the Red Queen to fail.
Later, the old prisoner watches Cyrus beg a guard for the remnants of a bone in the hopes of getting even a morsel of meat off of it. After seeing the guard throws him the bone, he expresses pity at Cyrus getting hungry to the point of groveling for scraps. Yet, Cyrus turns around to show it wasn't the food he wanted, but the bone, which turns out to be a wishbone. Cyrus breaks the two ends apart and begins sharping both bones. However, he is discovered by a guard, and the older man warily looks on as one half of the bone is picked up by the henchman and dropped down into the bottomless pit of the lair. Shortly after, Jafar comes to visit Cyrus and gloat about Alice using her first wish and eventually the other two will come to pass as well. The old prisoner meets Jafar's glance, who in turn gives him an expectant nod. Luckily, Cyrus still has the other bone and begins telling the old prisoner about the myth of wishbones. He explains that genies created the lore so people would be misled into thinking they didn't need bottles to be granted wishes. By breaking a wishbone, whoever possesses the larger half can make a wish, or so people believe. In actuality, a wishbone wants the same thing as what others desire; to be joined with their other half. Cyrus demonstrates by placing the bone through a gap at the bottom of his cage, and to the old prisoner's amazement, the other lost half rises from below to reconnect with it. As they stick together, Cyrus uses the whole wishbone to cut a way out of the cage.
The old prisoner is subjected to heavy labor of carrying large boulders from the bottom of a staircase to the very top. After he is finished, the guards throw him back into his cage. As he catches his breath, the prisoner tells Cyrus what he was made to do, though the act of moving the boulders has no real purpose. Like Cyrus, he has something Jafar desires but refuses to say what it is. Cyrus continues to carve out of his cage as the old prisoner explains to him that the hallway leads to some stairs that only go downwards. He says there are few guards inside, but this can mean Jafar has more of them set up outside of the lair. Cyrus thinks they can use the darkness at nightfall to their advantage for escaping. The prisoner is more worried about having witnessed others before him attempt to leave, but none have ever made it out. However, he believes Cyrus has enough determination to free himself from the circumstances. At Cyrus' mention of a loved one or family, the prisoner briefly reminisces about having a life once, but it's lost now. This is all the more reason that Cyrus wants to free him, too, so he can begin a new life. Cyrus kicks out the cutout bottom of his cage and swings the enclosure until he is at a near enough distance to make a jump for the platform. He barely makes it just as a guard is approaching to check up on them. The prisoner tries to distract the guard, but the man notices right away that Cyrus is gone from the cage. From behind, Cyrus catches the guard by surprise and pushes him into the bottomless pit. Then, he is thrown a set of keys from Cyrus to open his own cage door. After catching it, the prisoner drops the keys and urges Cyrus to go on without him as he will only slow things down. Cyrus worries what will happen if he leaves him behind, but the prisoner reassures Cyrus that Jafar won't kill him and bids his friend farewell.
Left behind, he sees the Red Queen come into the lair looking for Jafar. Upon noticing Cyrus is gone, she causes him bodily harm to force out an answer. He refuses to betray Cyrus and only says the genie is guided by true love, which is the most powerful weapon.
After Jafar learns Cyrus escaped, he confronts the old prisoner over the issue. The prisoner attests that Cyrus will soon reunite with Alice while Jafar loses. Though he himself is trapped in a physical cage, the prisoner believes Jafar is the actual one who is imprisoned. Later, Jafar hauls in another captive, Edwin, who the prisoner learns is actually Alice's father. Edwin's stay is extremely short as Jafar comes to take him away to use as leverage against Alice. Much later, the prisoner refuses to talk unless Jafar lets him out of the cage, which the sorcerer allows. Face-to-face, the ex-Sultan once again refuses to ever give what Jafar desires. Jafar smugly asserts that when he finally breaks the laws of magic, the prisoner's cooperation will no longer be necessary. Scathingly, the prisoner expresses regrets in not previously suffocating Jafar for a longer period of time so he'd be dead. However, he takes away the one thing that matters to Jafar—himself—and purposely tries to commit suicide by dropping down into the lair's bottomless pit. His attempt fails as Jafar's carpet catches and brings him back up into his cage.
Once Jafar takes over the Red Queen's former palace and vows to reign as the new ruler, the old prisoner, while still imprisoned in a cage, is witness to it in the throne room. Even though Jafar smugly declares that the throne is now his, the prisoner states that it's only so if the man who sits upon it is worthy enough, and what he's sitting on is nothing but a large chair. When asked if he himself was ever deserving of having a throne once, the prisoner boldly attests that he certainly was; more so than Jafar is. He expresses no qualms about trying to kill Jafar in the past, and bitterly remarks, "If only I had succeeded, the world would be a far better place." The prisoner's words strike such a nerve that Jafar immediately calls for a guard to remove him from the throne room.
Jafar begins preparation to cast the spell that breaks the laws of magic, causing the dungeon containing the old prisoner to shake. He asks what is going on, and the Red Queen, who is now imprisoned with him, reveals that it is magic. The old prisoner states he has never seen magic do that, but the Red Queen replies that he would be surprised by the things that magic can do. The old prisoner and the Red Queen later share a conversation, the latter insisting that the old prisoner must hate Jafar for keeping him locked up. However, the old prisoner believes that Jafar is just as much his prisoner as he is Jafar's, stating that they build their own prisons. Alice and Cyrus soon come to their rescue, and the old prisoner and Cyrus share a brief reunion, but this is put on hold when the Jabberwocky arrives to interrogate the Red Queen on why the spell is not working. The old prisoner is later present when the Knave's heart is returned to him, and Jafar kills the Red Queen.
As Jafar openly baits Knave about his deceased lover, the old prisoner angrily shouts at him to stop torturing the man and show some mercy. Admittedly, he regrets the error of his own ways, but is still waiting for Jafar to do the same. Jafar entices Knave into helping him retrieve his stolen serpent staff, which is now in Cyrus' possession. Though the prisoner begs him not to listen, Knave ultimately agrees because the staff, if used to change the laws of magic, can also revive the Red Queen from death. Later on, Alice and Knave infiltrate the castle through the underground tunnel. While Knave is chased away by guards, Alice frees the prisoner. They leave the dungeon, facing more guards, where Alice fights their way through. Suddenly, she wavers in pain; sensing something is wrong with Cyrus. She rushes off to find him as the prisoner stays behind.
Once the laws of magic are broken, he attempts to stop Jafar from killing Amara; insisting that there has been enough death and the way to show true power is to be merciful. Spitefully, Jafar inquires about the "mercy" the old prisoner dealt upon him when all he wanted was his father's love. The prisoner reasons that love wasn't something he could just give to him and had to be earned. Tired of excuses, Jafar swiftly uses magic to turn the prisoner's disdain for him into familial adoration, making him become a doting father who showers his son with praise and love. Jafar, in near tears, is pleased by this sudden outpour of affection but admits he desires something else from his father. Touchingly, the prisoner promises to provide whatever he wants. Jafar's mask of vulnerability drops, and in the next instant, icily states that he wishes for his father to know what it feels like to be killed by a loved one. The prisoner's look of confusion quickly turns to shock as an overflow of water gushes out of his mouth. He sinks onto his knees, desperately calling Jafar's name, until finally choking to death.
Following his death, the former Sultan would have either gone to the Underworld due to having unfinished business, or possibly Mount Olympus if he did not feel he had any left. After Cyrus and Alice defeat Jafar, the former Sultans soul was likely freed of the spell Jafar cast on him.