Agrabah

This article focuses on the first iteration of Agrabah. For the second iteration, see New Agrabah.

Agrabah
Fairy Tale Land Realm
General Information
Status:	Merged into the United Realms
Character Affiliations
Estimated population:	Several millions of people
Inhabitants:	Inhabitants: See "Inhabitants"
Visitors:	Visitors: Ariel Hook Prince Eric
Show Information
First mention:	"Fruit of the Poisonous Tree"
First appearance:	"Trust Me"
Latest appearance:	"Leaving Storybrooke"
Relevant Pages

“

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 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 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, each ruled from a respective city by a sultan. Known provinces of Agrabah are:

• Capital of Agrabah (ruled by Jasmine's father)
• Lower Agrabah (homeland of Jafar, formerly ruled by the Sultan, dethroned by Jafar)
• The Diplomat's province ("Bad Blood")
• Emir's province ("The Savior")
• Unnamed province (northern neighbor of the Sultan and the Diplomat's countries) ("Bad Blood")

Additionally, there are some other locations:

• Eastern Provinces ("Street Rats")

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

Agrabahn Vipers Aladdin Akil † Amara † (formerly) Bartender Blacksmith Burly Man Cyrus (formerly) Diplomat Emir †

Farzeen Shahmed † Genie of Agrabah (formerly) Gerard † Healer Jafar Jasmine Mirza † Oracle † (formerly) Palace Guard Prince Achmed

Rafi Red Bird (formerly) Street Vendor Sultan † Sultan Taj Thug 1 Thug 2 Ulima †

Trivia

• On-Screen Notes
• Production Notes
• Set Notes
• Other Notes

On-Screen Notes

• According to Jafar, only a few men can afford a camel in Agrabah. ("Trust Me")
• According to Eric, Agrabah is across the desert from his kingdom in the Enchanted Forest. ("Ariel")
• According to Ariel, the Capital of Agrabah is not far from the Agrabahn Gulf. ("A Wondrous Place")

Production Notes

• The establishing shot of Agrabah from "The Serpent" is stock footage from "Trust Me".

Props Notes

• According to a prison book prop page from "Leaving Storybrooke", auctioned off online in November 2019, the unhappy ending Wish Rumplestiltskin had planned for Mary Margaret involved Snow White being trapped in the middle of the Agrabah desert (some of the text appears on-screen; the text that cannot be seen (or is indecipherable) on-screen is set in fuchsia):

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 spke 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

Once Upon a Time: Season One
"Pilot":	"The Thing You Love Most":	"Snow Falls":	"The Price of Gold":	"That Still Small Voice":	"The Shepherd":	"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter":	"Desperate Souls":	"True North":	"7:15 A.M.":	"Fruit of the Poisonous Tree":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Mentioned
"Skin Deep":	"What Happened to Frederick":	"Dreamy":	"Red-Handed":	"Heart of Darkness":	"Hat Trick":	"The Stable Boy":	"The Return":	"The Stranger":	"An Apple Red as Blood":	"A Land Without Magic":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Season Three
"The Heart of the Truest Believer":	"Lost Girl":	"Quite a Common Fairy":	"Nasty Habits":	"Good Form":	"Ariel":	"Dark Hollow":	"Think Lovely Thoughts":	"Save Henry":	"The New Neverland":	"Going Home":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Mentioned	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"New York City Serenade":	"Witch Hunt":	"The Tower":	"Quiet Minds":	"It's Not Easy Being Green":	"The Jolly Roger":	"Bleeding Through":	"A Curious Thing":	"Kansas":	"Snow Drifts":	"There's No Place Like Home":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Season Six
"The Savior":	"A Bitter Draught":	"The Other Shoe":	"Strange Case":	"Street Rats":	"Dark Waters":	"Heartless":	"I'll Be Your Mirror":	"Changelings":	"Wish You Were Here":	"Tougher Than the Rest":
Appears	Absent	Absent	Mentioned	Appears	Mentioned	Absent	Mentioned	Mentioned	Mentioned	Absent
"Murder Most Foul":	"Ill-Boding Patterns":	"Page 23":	"A Wondrous Place":	"Mother's Little Helper":	"Awake":	"Where Bluebirds Fly":	"The Black Fairy":	"The Song in Your Heart":	"The Final Battle Part 1":	"The Final Battle Part 2":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Mentioned	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Mentioned	Appears

Once Upon a Time: Season Seven
"Hyperion Heights":	"A Pirate's Life":	"The Garden of Forking Paths":	"Beauty":	"Greenbacks":	"Wake Up Call":	"Eloise Gardener":	"Pretty in Blue":	"One Little Tear":	"The Eighth Witch":	"Secret Garden":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"A Taste of the Heights":	"Knightfall":	"The Girl in the Tower":	"Sisterhood":	"Breadcrumbs":	"Chosen":	"The Guardian":	"Flower Child":	"Is This Henry Mills?":	"Homecoming":	"Leaving Storybrooke":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
"Down the Rabbit Hole":	"Trust Me":	"Forget Me Not":	"The Serpent":	"Heart of Stone":	"Who's Alice":	"Bad Blood":
Mentioned	Appears	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Appears
"Home":	"Nothing to Fear":	"Dirty Little Secrets":	"Heart of the Matter":	"To Catch a Thief":	"And They Lived...":
Absent	Archive	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Specials
"Magic is Coming":	"The Price of Magic":	"Journey to Neverland":	"Wicked is Coming":	"Storybrooke Has Frozen Over":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Secrets of Storybrooke":	"Dark Swan Rises":	"Evil Reigns Once More":	"The Final Battle Begins":
Absent	Absent	Archive	Archive

Other Appearances

STORYBOOKS Agrabah appears in Marty Margaret's prison book in "Leaving Storybrooke". OTHER APPEARANCES Agrabah is mentioned on Henry's bulletin board in "Flower Child".

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.

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