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I'm exploring the unknown lands... the desert from this realm to Agrabah.

Prince Eric to Ariel src

Agrabah is a Fairy Tale Land realm[2] featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the second episode of the spin-off series.

Agrabah is based on the Chinese city from the "Aladdin" fairytale, and the location of the same name from the Disney film, Aladdin.

History

Before First Curse

Agrabah has several provinces, with only two of them with known rulers. In one province, a Sultan rules a kingdom, with his son Mirza as his heir. The Sultan's illegitimate son with a commoner, Jafar, attempts to be officially recognized by his father, only to be employed in the palace as a serving boy. One day, the Sultan holds an audience with some visiting officials, during which Mirza is humiliated after Jafar demonstrates more knowledge than him about a regulation policy. The Sultan later drowns Jafar and has his body disposed on the city outskirts, but unknown to him, Jafar is revived by some kind of magic. ("Bad Blood," "Street Rats")

In a part of Agrabah, a sorceress named Amara becomes greatly feared by people who meet her, and Jafar eventually becomes her apprentice in order to get revenge on the Sultan. Years after accumulating powerful magic, Jafar storms his way into the palace, where he kills Mirza and imprisons the Sultan after his father continues to refuse to recognize him as his son. It is not known, after the Sultan's imprisonment, who became the next ruler in the kingdom. ("The Serpent," "Bad Blood")

At the capital of Agrabah, another Sultan rules this province, with his only daughter Princess Jasmine. Jafar becomes the Sultan's adviser and incapacitates the man by placing him under a spell. When the sorcerer begins delivering harsh punishments to people for minor crimes, Jasmine decides to seek help from Aladdin in order to free her father and restore order to the people. Aladdin succeeds by becoming the Savior and breaking Jafar's hold on the Sultan before driving him from the capital. After Aladdin leaves to pursue Jafar at the eastern provinces, Jasmine stays behind to work on improving the kingdom. Later on, Agrabah comes under siege from a great threat, but Jasmine is unable to find Aladdin to help her. She goes to a neighboring kingdom for aid, but on her journey back to Agrabah, she is caught in a sandstorm and finds Agrabah is completely gone. ("Street Rats," "Dark Waters")

Locations

For detailed location information, please see the Agrabah Locations category or the list of minor Agrabah locations.

Provinces

Agrabah is divided into at least twelve provinces,[3] each ruled from a respective city by a sultan.[4] Known provinces of Agrabah are:

Additionally, there are some other locations:

Notes:

  • Bolded Names are canon location names. Such names have been given in-show.
  • The name that appears first within a couple denotes who inherited the province.
  • "Formerly ruled by" denotes that the previous ruler was either overthrown or removed from power by force.

Inhabitants

Trivia

On-Screen Notes

Production Notes

Props Notes


Sandstorms whipped around Snow White as she
trekked through the endless deserts of Agrabah. Things
were looking dire. The oasis she imagined had turned
out to be nothing but a mirage, a cruel trick of sunlight
and fatigue, and she was in desperate need of some water.
If only her camel hadn't run off! She could have been
back in the city bu now and sough shelter from this
dreadful storm. Snow looked at the ground to see
her footprints had disappeared. Now she knew not in
which direction she had come or which direction she was
going. Which way was forward and which way was
back? It was quite impossible to tell. Snow sunk to the
ground in defeat when a golden scarab landed on her
hand. She gazed at it, eyebrows furrowed in confusion,
when the scarab flitted off. Snow took after it --perhaps if
she followed, the desert creature would lead her to a
source of water. Snow wrapped the scarf around her to
protect herself as best as she could from the elements as she
followed the little bug darting though the air. When
suddenly, the ground began to shake around her! The
sand beneath Snow's feet began to rise in mounds,
threatening to bury her alive as Snow backed away on
terror. She watched as the mounds of sands began to take


shape -- forming the head of a giant tiger! Snow
gasped. Was this the legendary Cave of Wonders?
Suddenly, the Tiger spoke to her with a deep, rumbling,
intimidating voice. "Who disturbs my slumber?" the
Tiger roared down at Snow. Snow faced him uncertain-
ly. "It is I, Snow White. And it is not treasure that I
seek, merely shelter from this storm." The Tiger con-
sidered her for a moment. "I will allow you to pass.
But touch nothing within or you will never see the open
sky again." Snow shuddered ath the thought. It seemed
a dangerous proposition to walk into the jaws of this
Tiger, but what choice did she have? Perhaps if she
could wait out the storm, the skies would be clear again
tomorrow and she would be able to find her way out of
this desert. Snow took a deep breath and thanked the
Tiger for its hospitality. And with that, she walked into
his jaws and into the gaping darkness.
but his own heart [sic]


  • The story is based on Disney's Aladdin, where the Disney version of the Cave of Wonders is a hidden cavern filled with riches. It is protected by a sand guardian taking the form of a massive tiger's head, which kills anyone besides the chosen individual who attempts to enter. The location of the cave is revealed by using a magical golden scarab beetle.

Real-Life Connections

  • The political structure of Agrabah appears to be similar to the real-life United Arab Emirates. Both are single political entities that are divided into states and provinces, each with their own ruler, that are subject to an overarching ruler from the largest or strongest state or province.
    • Additionally, both locations are situated on or near large bodies of water. Indeed, according to Ariel, the Capital of Agrabah is not far from the Agrabahn Gulf, while the United Arab Emirates is located on the shores of the Persian Gulf.

Appearances

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.

References


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