Ja'far ibn Yahya Barmaki, Jafar al-Barmaki also called Aba-Fadl, was a Persianvizier of the Abbasid caliphHarun al-Rashid, succeeding his father in that position. He was a member of the influential Barmakid family, formerly Buddhist leaders of the Nava Vihara monastery. Along with the rest of the Barmakids, he was executed in 803 at the orders of Harun al-Rashid. It is said that his execution was for allegedly having had an affair with Harun's sister Abbasa, although historical sources remain unclear. He had a reputation as a patron of the sciences, and did much to introduce Indian science into Baghdad. He was credited with convincing the caliph to open a paper mill in Baghdad, the secret of papermaking having been obtained from Tang Chinese prisoners at the Battle of Talas in 751.
In fiction
Ja'far also appears along with Harun al-Rashid in several Arabian Nights tales, often acting as a protagonist. In "The Three Apples" for example, Ja'far is like a detective who must solve a murder mystery and find the culprit behind the murder, whereas in "The Tale of Attaf", Ja'far is more of an adventurer. In Glenn Pierce's novel The Tyrant of Bagdad, Ja'far's story is told through a fictional account of Charlemagne's ambassador's travel to meet with Harun al-Rashid. However, more recent media inspired by the Arabian Nights has portrayed Ja'far as both a villain and a sorcerer:
In 1989 the video gamePrince of Persia featured a scheming magician named Jaffar who seized power from the Sultan and tried to force the Princess to marry him. In the later Prince of Persia games, an unnamed 'Vizier' is the main villain and is based on the Jaffar character from the original game.
In 1992 the Disney filmAladdin featured an evil vizier and sorcerer called Jafar, who is a combination of an vizier and an evil magician from the original Aladdin tale.
In the French cartoon seriesIznogoud by René Goscinny and Jean Tabary, he is portrayed as an incompetent usurper who never gets to usurp the throne of good Caliph Haroun al Poussah.
In the Japanese manga of , Ja'far is a young general working under Sinbad, the king of Sindria.
