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"We make our own destiny, Princess."
—Dastan[1]

Dastan is the protagonist of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Dastan is also the adopted son of Sharaman, and the adopted brother of Garsiv and Tus, Dastan spent most of his childhood living on the streets Nasaf, before a single act of heroism earned him a place in Sharaman's home as prince in line to the throne.

When Dastan is framed for the death of Sharaman by his adopted uncle, Nizam, Dastan joins forces with the princess of Alamut, Tamina; in order to clear his name and prevent his uncle from altering history itself with the Sandglass of Time.

Biography[]

Young Dastan Chronicles[]

Chronicle of Young Dastan[]

Walls of Babylon[]

Search for Cyra[]

Meeting Sharaman[]

One day, when the Sharaman visited the market square, he saw the young Dastan risking his life to save his childhood friend and fellow urchin, Bis, from the guards, he saw the "Spirit of a Noble King" inside him and so he decided to adopt him as a son, making him next in line to the throne so that the two other Princes would not fight for the crown.[1]

Before The Sandstorm[]

When Persian forces were sent to help Yemen defend itself from Arab attacks, Dastan sailed with his brothers to war. But his ship was caught in a storm and was destroyed. Dastan and Bis managed to survive and washed ashore on a nearby island. While surviving on the island, they saw a bird fall, and decided to cook it. An angry man came and claimed he had killed the bird. Dastan offered a deal to fight one-on-one to share it or if the man would be victorious he would get the whole bird. While fighting Bis yelled out Dastan's name, which distracted the man and Dastan used the chance to win the fight. The man was one of their own soldiers from the same ship called Roham. Roham told them a story of his adventures on this island and how Zahak had killed several of the survivors. Dastan devised a plan to get into palace using the guard armor, and fake prisoners. Once they were brought before Zahak, the men sprung into action. Dastan confronted Zahak himself, and cut off the two demon snakes' heads. While they were regrowing, Dastan stabbed Zahak with the sword and killed him. The people saw Dastan as a hero and begged him to stay. Vizier even offered his own daughters for marriage to him. But Dastan refused and only wanted a ship to continue the travel to Yemen. Once he reached Yemen, the battle was over, and he was ridiculed by his brothers for being so late and for loosing a ship.[2]

The Sands of Time[]

Victory and murder[]

Dastan and his brothers, under the advisement of their uncle, Nizam, set out to the Persian borders near the sacred city of Alamut. It was said that Alamut has been selling weapons to the Persian enemies in "Koschkan". Dastan leads a strike force into the city to open the main gates, giving the Persian soldiers the victory. Shortly thereafter, Dastan encounters a man on horseback and defeats him, discovering the Dagger of Time in the process. Alamut's princess, Tamina, is captured and agrees to marry Tus in order to achieve peace after noticing the dagger in Dastan's possession. Their father, Sharaman, got angry with them, saying that their "adventure" would not sit well with their allies.[1]

Sharaman reproaches Tus for attacking the city and suggests that Dastan, instead of Tus, should marry Tamina. At the victory banquet, Dastan unknowingly presents a poisoned robe, given to him by Tus, to his father, who dies shortly after donning it. Dastan is blamed for the king's murder and flees Alamut with Tamina. Together they venture into the wilderness.[1]

Clearing his name[]

In their first camp, Tamina attempts to kill the prince and recover the dagger. During their fight Dastan hits the dagger out of Tamina's hand, and when he grabs it from the sand, accidentally presses the jewel button on the hilt that activates its rewinding power. Dastan is transported back to just before Tamina tries to kill him. Shocked at what has just transpired, Dastan hesitates, allowing Tamina to slash him across the chest with his sword. Collapsing to the ground, Dastan pulls the dagger from his belt and activates it again, to Tamina's obvious horror. Again he is taken back to just before the princess tries to kill him.[1]

Dastan realizes that the dagger can turn back time, and that only the one who holds it is aware of this. After this the two continue on into the desert. During their journey, the duo meets a shady ostrich racing-organizer and tax-averse entrepreneur, Sheikh Amar, and his knife-throwing friend, Seso. Dastan offers Tamina up as a slave in return for supplies; however, Amar betrays him because he recognizes him as the murderer of the king, for whom there is an "obscene" reward being offered.[1]

Dastan and Tamina escape and return to Persia for Sharaman's funeral. Dastan attempts to convince Nizam that he did not kill his father. Dastan discovers that Tamina has taken the Dagger; however, he then notices Nizam's hands are burned by the same poison put on the robe that killed his father. Nizam claims that his hands got burnt by his trying to pull the robe off his brother at the time, but Dastan does not remember Nizam ever touching it, realizing that Nizam must have been the one who poisoned the robe. Garsiv and the city guards appear and attack Dastan and he is forced to escape.[1]

Dastan catches up with Tamina and explains that Nizam was behind the murder. Once Tamina finally explains everything about the Dagger, Dastan realizes why Nizam wants the Dagger of Time: to use it with the massive Sandglass to go back in time and undo saving Sharaman from a lion so he could become king. He fabricated the false allegations that Alamut had been dealing weapons to Persia's enemies so that he would have the opportunity to search the city for the Sandglass.[1]

But opening the sandglass will trigger an apocalyptic sandstorm that would end the world. Meanwhile, Nizam tries to convince Garsiv and Tus that Dastan is trying to overthrow them and should be killed immediately; when this fails, he hires the Hassansins to slay Dastan. Dastan and Tamina are again captured by Sheikh Amar and Seso, seeking to rebuild his ruined business by turning them in for the enormous bounty.[1]

But that night, when everyone is asleep, the Hassansin leader, Zolm Many of the group die, but Dastan uses the Dagger and manages to kill all the snakes and save everyone. The next day, the pair, accompanied by Sheikh and Seso, travels to a secret sanctuary in the mountains near India, where it's possible to seal away the Dagger. However, they run into Garsiv's men.[1]

Dastan manages to persuade his brother that he is innocent, only for Garsiv to be fatally wounded by a Hassansin. The Hassansins attack, killing most of the group, while Dastan and Tamina sneak away to the secret cave where they can hide the Dagger. Tamina says she is ready to give up her life to protect the Dagger, but Dastan stops her and tells her that he is not ready for her to die. They are found and attacked and Zolm manages to snatch the Dagger of Time from Tamina. However, Dastan is saved from the last Hassansin by Garsiv, who then dies of his wounds.[1]

The group returns to Alamut to reveal the truth about Nizam and the Dagger to Tus. They learn that the dagger is being guarded by Setam, the Hassansin who killed Garsiv. Seso volunteers for the task of defeating Setam and recovering the dagger. He defeats Setam in a duel but is himself mortally wounded. He manages to fling the dagger to Dastan before he succumbs to his wounds. Dastan confronts Tus and explains the dagger's mechanics to him and then stabs the dagger into his heart, killing himself; Tus brings Dastan back to life by rewinding time and realizes his brother has been innocent all along. Soon after, however, Nizam arrives and kills Tus, leaving his Hassansin guard, Ghazab, to kill Dastan.[1]

The dagger is once again in Nizam's hands, but Dastan manages to defeat Ghazab with Tamina's help. Nizam goes to the Sandglass caves beneath Alamut, as Dastan and Tamina take a more secret route: an underground tunnel. After a short battle with Zolm, Tamina grabs one of Zolm's snakes and stabs its fangs into Zolm's eyes, fatally wounding him and sending him plummeting to his death in a chasm. Dastan and Tamina kiss for the first time.[1]

They then reach Nizam before he can pierce the Sandglass with the Dagger, but he knocks Tamina and Dastan over the edge. Dastan grabs hold of Tamina; knowing that he cannot stop Nizam and also save her, Tamina tells Dastan to let her go because it is his destiny to save them, but Dastan refuses to let her go.[1]

Tamina professes her love for Dastan, wishing they could have been together, and lets go, plummeting to her death and sacrificing herself to stop Nizam. Heartbroken, Dastan watches her fall. Driven to fight on, Dastan manages to pull himself up. Nizam stabs the Sandglass with the Dagger, but Dastan grabs hold and opens the Dagger, rather than activating it, causing the Sands of Time to flow through freely, rather than destroying the world. Time reverses to when Dastan first obtained the Dagger, now fully aware of all that has occurred.[1]

Dastan stops the siege of Alamut, revealing Nizam's treachery; Nizam attacks Dastan, but is killed by Tus. After apologizing for the ransacking of her city, Tus suggests that perhaps Tamina and Dastan should wed as a sign of good will. The prince returns the dagger of time to her, which changes Tamina's view of persians. Later on, the two take a walk together, Dastan and Tamina have a polite conversation, in which Dastan hints at his knowledge of the dagger's powers and tells Tamina that he looks forward to the day when they know each other better.[1]

Trivia[]

  • The name "Dastan" is said to mean "the Trickster", a name Jordan Mechner originally found in the Shāhnāmé and which he found very appropriate for the character.[3]
    • In Persian mythology, Dastān (دستان) is Zāl's nickname, is given to him by Simurgh.[3] Zāl is father of Rostām, a legendary hero in Persian mythology and one of the main protagonists of Shāhnāmeh.
  • The costumes of Dastan are based from the armors of the Prince from the different games such as:
    • The armor he wore during the invasion of Alamut resembles that of the armor in Warrior Within.
    • The costume he was wearing when he was brawling with a thug mimics that from The Two Thrones.
    • The costume he was wearing in the desert when he was pursuing Tamina mirrors the costume of the Prince from the 2008 game Prince of Persia.
  • Before Jake Gyllenhaal was chosen for the role, both Zac Efron and Orlando Bloom were rumored for the part.
  • Dastan ranked #16 on Complex Magazine's top 25 whitewashed characters.[4]

See Also[]

References[]

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