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This article is about the character in The Sands of Time. You may be looking for Nizam from the film, or the god in Rival Swords..
Biography
Characteristics

"Trust not a man who has betrayed his master, nor take him into your own service, lest he betray you too."
—The Prince[1]

The Vizier is the antagonist of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Two Thrones. The dying adviser of the Maharajah of India, the Vizier sought to gain immortality using the Sands of Time and betrayed the Maharajah to Shahraman of Babylon. He was unsuccessful in his efforts and died following the restoration of the timeline by the Prince. Seven years following the events of The Sands of Time, the Vizier's death is undone by another alteration of the timeline and he seeks out the Dagger of Time once again. Invading Babylon, he uses the Dagger to transform and rename himself Zurvan, an immortal driven to conquer Babylon using the Sands of Time.

Official Description[]

"A traitor in the Maharajah’s service, the Vizier tricks the Prince into opening the forbidden Hourglass, unleashing the Sands of Time upon an unsuspecting world. Now the Vizier wants the Dagger of Time to fulfill his ultimate, diabolical plan."
—Instructional manual[3]

Biography[]

Early Life[]

The Vizier was the Maharajah's chief adviser, who succumbed to consumption. While searching for a cure to his illness, the Vizier found information about the Island of Time, which supposedly contained the secret to immortality. The Vizier persuaded his master to go and they found the Dagger of Time, as well as the Hourglass containing the Sands of Time and a staff he kept as his own.[1]

Battles of Prince of Persia[]

Vizier's Love[]

At some point, the Vizier fell in love with Sindra, Saurva's sister. He became so infatuated with her that he forced Saurva to steal the Box of a Thousand Restraints, for then unknown reasons. He threatened to kill Saurva's wife if he failed to do so. When Saurva returned with the Box, after killing many Indian soldiers in the process, The Vizier killed his wife and imprisoned Saurva, along with all the Daevas, in the Box when Sindra refused him.[4]

The Sands of Time[]

Betraying the Maharajah[]

Sultan sharaman vizier

The Vizier spins a convincing tale, appealing to the Prince's Pride

With the Hourglass and Dagger of Time locked away in the Maharajah's treasure vaults, the Vizier plotted to steal it. He formed a secret alliance with King Shahraman of Persia, ruler of Babylon. The Vizier betrayed his master in return for his pick of treasure from the vaults.[1]

However, the Vizier was disappointed, as the Dagger was taken by Shahraman's youngest son, the Prince, and the Hourglass was to be given as a gift to the Sultan of Azad.[1]

Biding his time, The Vizier waited until the victorious Persians arrived in Azad. Capitalizing on the Sultan's ignorance, he claimed a "marvel" that lurked within the Hourglass. Playing on the arrogance of the Prince, the Vizier convinced him to use the Dagger to open the Hourglass, and the Sands of Time were unleashed, infecting all but the Vizier, the Prince, and the captive Princess Farah.[1]

When he demanded the Prince give him the Dagger of Time, the Prince escaped and formed an alliance with Farah to fix his mistake. The Vizier relocated himself and the Hourglass of Time to the very top of the Tower of Dawn. He appeared able to control the Sand Creatures at his whim, using them as guards and his personal army to protect the Hourglass.[1]

The First Death[]

The Prince and Farah fled with the Dagger and fought through the legions of Sand Creatures in the hope of returning the Sands to the Hourglass. In their first attempt, the Vizier capitalized on the Prince's indecision toward Farah and used the Sands to separate the two from the Dagger in a whirlwind. However, the Prince was able to recapture the Dagger before falling to the lower level of the tower.

The second attempt to recapture the Sands saw Farah fall to her death from the tower, the Prince unable to save her. The Vizier attempted to lure the Prince to his side with the offer of eternal life, as he believed saving Farah was unimportant to him. The Prince refused his offer of eternal life and triggered the Grand Rewind, undoing the events that had happened prior to the Vizier's betrayal of the Maharajah.[1] Before the attack, the Prince visited Farah, who was unaware of the battles they fought together, and he warned her of the Vizier's betrayal and of what would happen if she did not heed his warning.[1]

The Vizier chose then to enter her room, and fought the Prince under the pretense of protecting Farah from this "intruder". As his fight with the Prince dragged on, the Vizier dropped his facade and admitted his plan to betray the Maharajah, as well as the reason he desired immortality. As the fight came to a close the Vizier still taunted the Prince and revealed his new plan: to kill the Prince and Farah and pit the Maharajah and Shahraman against each other. The Prince killed the Vizier, who, with his last breath, mourned his lost chance to become immortal, and returned the Dagger of Time to Farah.[1]

The Two Thrones[]

New Timeline[]

When the Prince went to the Island of Time, he was able to prevent the death of Kaileena by his or the Dahaka's hand, preventing the creation of the sands. Because of this, the events that occurred in Azad never came to pass and the Vizier was never killed by the Prince.[2]

The Vizier and the Maharajah visited the Island and found nothing but an empty Hourglass, the Dagger and Staff of Time, alongside books that told them the tale of the Empress of Time. The Vizier returned to India seeking other treasures.[2]

Soon after their trip to the Island of Time, the Dagger of Time called to the Vizier, drawing him to Babylon. The Maharajah refused to go and the Vizier murdered him. The Vizier formed an alliance with the Scythians, a nomadic community who resented the kingdoms in Persia and India, and capitalized on their disenfranchisement. The Scythians occupied the Maharaja's kingdom and captured his people, his daughter Farah, included.[2]

The Vizier presumably traveled to the Lost Temples of Zurvan, gaining the knowledge of how to control the Sands of Time from the temples.[5]

Invading Babylon[]

Further exploiting the anger of the Scythians, the Vizier led their army into Babylon and overthrew King Shahraman, who was driven into the catacombs of his kingdom and killed. The Vizier's army made short work of the rebelling forces in Babylon, civilian or otherwise.

Upon the Prince and Kaileena's return from the Island of Time, their ship was attacked in the harbour and they were separated. Kaileena, washed ashore before the Prince and was captured by Scythian swordsmen.[2]

Becoming Zurvan[]

The Vizier about to kill Kaileena

The Vizier taunts the Prince as he prepares to kill Kaileena

"A promise of power, fulfilled! I will be immortal!"
—Vizier before his transformation[2]

Kaileena was brought to the Vizier, who tied her to a column in the palace courtyard. When the Prince arrived to save Kaileena, the Vizier killed her, unleashing the Sands of Time once more.[2]

As the Sands of Time began to infect the Vizier's Generals and the Prince, the Vizier stabbed himself with the Dagger of Time and imbued himself with the essence of the Sands. The Vizier's dying body was transformed into a more youthful and inhuman visage, sprouting wings and his body encased in a shell. The Vizier's transformation granted him both youth, immortality and the power of the Sands of Time.[2]

A Short Rule[]

Following his transformation, the Vizier moved systematically through the city of Babylon and established Sand Gates he could use to transport instantly to and from one location of the city to another. Connected to the Scythian army, now Sand Creatures, he controlled them and established guards around the Sand Gates to protect it from rebellion or the Prince.

His Generals, the Twin Warriors and Mahasti occupied sectors of Babylon and subjected its occupants to slavery and death, while Klompa (who become a large and mindless creature), was relocated to the arena.

The Vizier himself began to slay the remainder of his foes and sought out the Prince. The Prince, one step behind the Vizier, moved through the city in an attempt to kill him to avenge Kaileena and his city. Eventually, Vizier captured a previously enslaved Farah and banished the Prince to the depths of the city's underground, where his father was killed.

Above ground, the Vizier imprisoned Farah and planned to transform her into his immortal queen. The Prince returned to the surface and fought Zurvan with the Dagger of Time. The Vizier used his powers of flight and telekinesis to stop the Prince, who gradually began to maim him with the Dagger. The Vizier was defeated by the Prince and stabbed by the Dagger of Time, reducing him to sand, freeing Kaileena's spirit.[2]

Trivia[]

  • The Vizier's name is misspelled "Vizir" in the credits of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
  • Zurvan is the name of the primordial god of time of the ancient Persians, he is also a neutral god since his twin sons are the personification of good and evil. His sons are namely Ormazd and Ahriman which are the name of the deities found in the 2008 Prince of Persia.

References[]


en:Vizier

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