Agrabah is the central location of the 1992Disney animated feature film Aladdin. It is a glimmering, bustling Arabian desert kingdom, currently under the rule of a kind-hearted Sultan and his daughter, Princess Jasmine.
Agrabah is located near the Jordan River (as the narrator tells during the first few minutes of the film). However, the narrator also described it as being in a place where the "caravan camels roam," which is less frequent near the River Jordan, and is more frequent in North African countries, such as Morocco and Algeria. The city was founded by a man named Hamed, an ancestor of the Sultan and Jasmine. The Sultan is assisted by his council, which consists of various diplomats that aid the sovereign in governing the city. One notable councilman was Jafar, who served as the Sultan's Royal Vizier for some years.
Agrabah is described as "a city of mystery, of enchantment", and as such, has had numerous encounters with the fantastical throughout its existence. Some of which include sorcerers, genies, and flying carpets.
Agrabah is a melting pot of social classes; the wealthy tend to live closer to the Sultan's palace, while the poor live closer to Agrabah's entry wall. Agrabah's less wealthy citizens are commonly known as "street rats" (fem. "street mouse") and are marginalized as a group. The city also has an infamous underworld, with one area, in particular, is known as the "Thieves Quarters". The city is protected by the Royal Guard, headed by Razoul.
Agrabah is based on classical Baghdad. However, it more broadly represents a wider classical Islamicate culture, which encompassed the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and parts of the Indian subcontinent during this period, including Islamic empires such as the Abbasid Caliphate, Ottoman Empire, Safavid Persia, and Mughal India. Agrabah's architecture (including its palace and marketplace) was inspired by Islamic architecture, which encompasses elements of Arabic, Persian and Indo-Islamic architecture. The city's royal palace appears to be directly inspired by the Indian city of Agra's Taj Mahal, which was a product of Indo-Islamic Mughal architecture.
According to the Aladdin animated TV series, Agrabah is one of seven neighboring sovereign nation-states known as the Seven Deserts. Each one occupies a section of the desert that, collectively, forms a large circle shaped by the borders of each nation."The Citadel" Throughout the series, the other six are stated to be Quirkistan, Getzistan, Upanistan, Ghanistan, and the real-world nations of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Outside of their jurisdiction lie other desert kingdoms, such as the Land of the Black Sand, the subterranean kingdom of the Al Muddy, and the ancient city of Mesmaria. Beyond the Seven Deserts lie even more far off lands, such as the Frozen North, the barbarian kingdom of Odiferous, a tropical rain forest, and the home nation of both Mechanicles and Hercules, Greece.
Places of Interest[]
The City[]
The Sultan's Palace: The home of the Sultan and Jasmine. Following his marriage to the princess, Aladdin and his friends took up residence in the palace. At night, the palace is illuminated.
The Royal Academy: A small but roomy one-room school where Sharma and Jasmine teach.
Bazaar: The marketplace where Aladdin and his sidekick Abu were usually found when scrapping for food and ducking from guards before they became royal. Now it is a popular destination for Aladdin, Jasmine, and the others to browse and sight-see.
Aladdin's home: A run-down hovel where Aladdin spent most of his young life, with his monkey Abu. It is located far from the palace, but its elevated placement provides a stunning view of the city.
Thieves Quarters: A seedy part of the city, where crooks and rogues gather to fraternize.
The Skull and Dagger: A tavern and the primary meeting spot for all thieves in Agrabah. Only thieves are allowed to step foot inside.
The Desert[]
Agrabahnian Desert: A large landscape located outside Agrabah's gates. It is widely known as the Seven Deserts and holds many of the mysteries Agrabah is famous for along with various other neighboring kingdoms.
Cave of Wonders: A large and mysterious cave in the shape of a tiger found in the middle of the desert. The cave holds many treasures and magical items, most notably the Genie's Lamp and the Magic Carpet.
Amin Abahdway: A village just outside Agrabah's capital that was once plagued by Mechanicles.
Abis Mal's Hideout: An abandoned underground temple that is the hideaway and home of Abis Mal, Haroud Hazi Bin, and their followers.
Forbidden Valley: A dense jungle of deadly vines that once existed outside of Agrabah that was actually a sleeping plant elemental. It was however destroyed by Aladdin and Prince Uncouthma.
Shadowed Ruins: The ruins of a long abandoned town just outside Agrabah's city walls that was once ruled by a greedy Roc.
Trivia[]
The technical name for a country ruled by a Sultan is a Sultanate. Algeria and Morocco previously had Sultans, with Morocco's current kingdom even being known as a Sultanate until 1957. Historically, however, Sultanates have not been known to based near the River Jordan. However, of any Sultanate, former Egyptian Sultanates have controlled land closest to it.
The city's name appears to be a composite one, much like how its general aesthetic is a composite of cities in India and the Middle East in general with the Sultan's palace even resembling the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. The Indian city of Agra also has a neighboring city called Bah, which is one possible origin for the second half of the name of Disney's city. However, another more likely origin for the second half of the name is the land of Arabah. Arabah, also known as Araba or Aravah, is a loosely defined geographic area in the Negev Desert, south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east, and which is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. The old meaning of Arabah, which was in use up to around the early 20th century, covered almost the entire length of what today is called the Jordan Rift Valley, running in a north–south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee and the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea at Aqaba–Eilat. This included the Jordan River Valley between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea itself, and what today is commonly called the Arava Valley. The contemporary use of the term is restricted to this southern section alone. Given the land of Agrabah is said to be near the Jordan River, the idea that the name Agrabah is a mix of the Indian Agra and Middle Eastern Arabah seems plausible.
In both the 1992 and 2019 films, Agrabah is described as a place "where the caravan camels roam." Caravan camels, which are merely herds of camels roaming areas in groups while serving for economic traders, have not been known to roam near the River Jordan, but have been frequently seen in the the Sahara Desert-based Northern Africa countries where Tuareg, Shuwa and Hassaniyya peoples reside, such as the former Sultanate countries of Algeria and Morocco. The trans-Asia Silk Road caravan camel trade route, which was international and not limited to a single place, is perhaps the closest to the River Jordan where caravan camels have roamed.
The original Arabic folk tale of Aladdin was originally set in an Islamic city in China (most likely the Turpan Khanate in the Xinjiang region).
As revealed in "Do the Rat Thing", the Sultan rarely leaves the palace.
In the Aladdin animated TV series, it is stated multiple times that denonym for Agrabah is "Agrabanian". In ABC's Once Upon a Time TV series, however, the term "Agrabahn" is used instead.
In the original movie and derived productions, Agrabah is in the middle of the desert. In the live-action adaptation, its location is moved to the coast, but was partially filmed in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan. However, Ayyubid and Malmuk Sultans of Egypt, which were the Sultans that had control of land nearest to the River Jordan, did not control territory in Jordan, but Syria.
In the 2019 remake—when Jasmine asks Aladdin to show her where Ababwa is located since she can't find it in any of her maps—a few other kingdoms near Agrabah can be seen, such as:
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Agrabah on Walt Disney Animation Studios Wiki
Agrabah on Aladdin Wiki
Agrabah on The Disney Afternoon Wiki
Agrabah on Kingdom Hearts Wiki
