The Billion Dollar Vizier of Baghdad

Culture is commercial. It can be conceived, created, and consumed by millions - its truth, occasionally pushed aside in exchange for the possibility merchandising or sequels. One of those success stories comes right out out of the heart of Abbasid Baghdad - the era of Harun Al Rashid, the golden age of Islam, a period marked by an explosion of scientific achievement. The name Jafar ibn Yahya Barmaki is a name that is not necessarily one of the most well known, left to textbooks centred on history, but actually he has played centre stage on film and television, been a lead character in computer games, is the archetypal vizier, and is available as a halloween costume or lego minifigure. Of course I am talking about Jafar, made famous through the story of 'Aladdin.

Jafar ibn Yahya was born into the Barmakid family which had become a major faction with the early Abbasid court. His grandfather Khalid rose to be vizier, the chief minister, under Caliph's Al Saffah and Al Mansour, particularly due to the knowledge and experience of feudal economics. Jafar's father, Yahya, was entrusted with the education of Harun Al Rashid, setting up the friendship between the future caliph and his vizier.

Under Harun Al-Rashid's caliphate, Jafar became incredibly influential in the administration of the entire caliphate, wielding authority and competency. It is said that Jafar persuaded Al Rashid on opening the first paper mill in Baghdad, following the recent acquisition of paper-making knowledge in the aftermath of the battle of Talas against the Tang dynasty of China. This revelation would directly contribute to centuries of learning and documentation, and under his patronage, experts in scientific fields were brought from across the Caliphate to Baghdad.

The downfall of the Barmakid family came with the execution of Jafar in 803 CE. It was said that Caliph Harun Al Rashid enjoyed the company of Jafar as well as his sister Abbasa, but due to gender segregations, it was difficult. To get around these boundaries, Harun instructed Jafar and Abbasa to marry, on the condition that they produce no heir. When Abbassa became pregnant, Harun ordered the execution of Jafar for breaking the agreement. Al Sai, writing several centuries later, and a librarian at Mustansariya Medressa, gives a more incestuous version of the story that led to the execution of the influential vizier. Other sources indicate that the Caliph feared that the growing power of the Barmakid family inside the Abbasid court, and wider Baghdad, put him in danger - they were known for construction projects in Baghdad, and had a sizeable military force. The truth is that we will never truly know why Jafar was killed which in turn provides us with multiple stories to draw inspiration from - and we know that scandal, intrigue, and gossip will always sell more than stories of philanthropy.

Jumping a millenium into the future, Jafar is still remembered albeit in his villainous form, made into a pop culture icon thanks largely in part to Walt Disney's 1992 cartoon, 'Aladdin.' Drawing on the story from 1001 Nights, the villain is named Jafar - though in the original text he does not

bear this name, our Jafar appears as the protagonist in 'The Three Apples' and 'The Tale of Attaf.' This portrayal of Jafar as the maniacal vizier determined to usurp the throne plays on already established stereotypes of the historical person. Whilst there is no definite name of this character as Jafar ibn Yahya, there is a clear similarity. The popularity of the movie gave way to two sequels, one dedicated to "The Return of Jafar'' and another in which the character did not feature (similarly he did not feature in the TV series version). With the power of the Disney corporation behind the character, Jafar could be seen on everything from schoolbags and pencil cases to clothing and video games. The commodification of these characters only continued to fuel the profit of the Aladdin franchise, with Jafar being a central point. The strength of his character in the storyline and his popularity with audiences is a clear indication that characters from Abbasid history have the potential to generate huge amounts of income - albeit framed in a non historically accurate context.

In 2019, a live action remake directed by Guy Ritchie also revived the story for a new generation, and was another box office hit, and swelled the profits being generated from the franchise through the box office and merchandising. It did however raise discussion points about the orientalist approach of the first films, alongside other key controversies around digitally enhanced skin tones and a lack of cultural sensitivities (we will be exploring this in the coming months).

The film industry is not the only sector to use the character of Jafar. Ignoring the film tie-in video game, Aladdin, the vizier returns in the 1989 version of 'Prince of Persia' and its sequel 'Prince of Persia: The Shadow and The Flame." Centred on a Persian kingdom, the conspiring vizier role is occupied once again by Jafar attempts to seize the throne by marrying the princess (sounds

familiar again, we know!) Later versions of the game have a similar character but do not explicitly list the vizier as Jafar. Once again, this franchise proved to be incredibly popular leading to multiple sequels over 30 years, a Disney film (and accompanying merchandising of course!). The evil vizier is a character that people simply love! This romantic connection, through Machiavellian power moves, may take its inspiration from the stories regarding the sister of Harun Al Rashid, Abbasa - again proving that commercially viable storytelling plays on the scandalous rumours rather than the positive impact. It also highlights the potential for storytelling across platforms and that consumers are willing to invest time and money into storylines that entertain.

Jafar is also present in the Japanese Manga and Anime Series 'Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic' which draw heavily on the stories of the 1001 Nights, reimagined in an alternate world of magic and kingdoms. In these storylines, Jafar serves Sindbad, the King of Sindria, and his loyalty is highly noted after years of service - a stark contrast to the character portrayed in films and video games, relating to some of the historical figure's more positive attributes. The manga's popularity saw 25 million copies in circulation by the time it finished production in 2017 in Japan, but would later be translated to reach new international markets. The anime series commissioned 50 episodes and was later dubbed into English as its popularity grew. This new version of traditional stories proves that the characters remain popular and have the versatility to adapt to different profiles, yet ultimately prove to be financially successful through spin-offs, merchandise, and various platforms.

The above examples are not the only versions of Jafar that exist - hundreds of different versions exist around the world, but it is clear how storytelling has the power to entertain, sell stories, and create products. Currently Jafar ibn Yahya's story has been created by those outside Iraq. He has become a character that sells, but with that comes the undermining of his legacy, and continues a negative stereotype of the period that ignores the huge achievements that occurred in 8th Century Baghdad, made by possible by the generosity of the real Jafar.

Through strengthened education, innovative storytelling, and community engagement, culture in the hands of local producers will empower them with their perspective. The diverse creative skills of young Iraqis will be able to tell their stories, reimagined for a modern age as the skill sets exist, it is now the responsibility of stakeholders to ensure that their voices are heard, connected to regional and international creative forums, in turn preserving traditional tales through market relevant products.

At Creative Iraq we will be announcing a new exciting partnership very soon to support story building for creatives centred on Abbasid life (hopefully part of a wider series) in Baghdad so stay tuned. We believe that providing resources that are locally centred will allow youth to build on characters and inspiration from the past to build their own ideas, businesses and narratives, without having to rely on the world's interpretation of an orientalist idea.