Difference between revisions of "Abd al-Hazir"

Revision as of 19:21, 11 February 2011

Abd al-Hazir is a lore enthusiast and adventurer, scribing about a lot of his experiences in the world of Sanctuary. He is used as a tool for Blizzard to describe Diablo lore on the official Diablo III webpage.

Background

Not many specifics are known about Abd al-Hazir, but he seems to originate from Caldeum, a city he very much likes. Nothing is known of his family, but he has a variety of traveling friends, and contacts within the mage clans of Kehjistan, so he's likely from a well to do background.

This is an introductory line from the famous Writings of Abd al-Hazir:

"Abd al-Hazir is a renowned gentleman, historian, and scholar. He has recently taken up the unprecedented task of investigating, researching, and compiling information about the unique locales and denizens of our world."

On his travels, he has among other things travelled the Tardein wastes (desert close to Caldeum) and met Franklin Burroughs, the Dune Thresher-hunter, he has travelled deep into the Kehjistan jungles meeting the ancient Witch Doctors, he has travelled West to Khanduras, seeing New Tristram and all kinds of horror, he has travelled north to the Barbarian homelands, finding Arreat Crater where the proud Mount Arreat once stood.

His last report to the editorial team in Caldeum was done a few months ago, after discovering Dark Cultists in Khanduras.

Works

Among his works he counts the Xiansai Chronicles and the Writings of Abd al-Hazir.

Diablo III

It is unknown if he will become a NPC in Diablo III or not. His disappearance seems very connected to the cultists, so either we meet up with him and save his hide, or at least perhaps finding his remains in some sacrificial shrine.

Meta-Info and Speculation

In August 2010 Bashiok revealed that most of Abd al-Hazir's updates have been written by Lead World Designer Leonard Boyarsky.

I believe Leonard has written the majority of the updates, but I know our creative development team has chipped in. Mike Chu wrote the Archivist entry. Potentially others.

The Name

In Arabic, the most common translation of "Abd" translates literally as "Worshiper of God" or "Worshiper," and "al-Hazir" means "The Warner." His name thus roughly translates to Worshiper of The Warner. It is unknown whether the Eastern countries of Sanctuary use Arabic or a similar language, but we may find a greater use of Arabic names and connotations in the game.

"Abd" can also be translated differently depending on circumstance and where in the Arabic (real) world it's used. It can also be used to describe a "slave" or a "servant". This would imply he is the "Servant of The Warner".

The Warner could be a prophet or a deity of some sort in Diablo 3. There is evidence that Adb's parents were religious, though he is not. It could also refer to Abd's role in foreshadowing the dark times ahead, a prevalent theme in many of his writings.

Literary Inspiration

Blizzard has often included homages to H. P. Lovecraft in their game worlds and fiction, and Abd al-Hazir seems fairly obviously inspired by/based on the "mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred Lovecraft credited with writing the fictional Necronomicon around which much of the world lore in his writing orbited.

There is also Ahmad ibn Fadlan, who is a real person who travelled and described events of the world. Fair to say that there are plenty of inspiration for our dear Abd.

References

Almost everything known about Abd comes from his own writing:

• Writings of Abd al-Hazir
• Official D3 site
• Bashiok on Act 3 and Timeline Inconsistencies
• Abdul Alhazred on Wikipedia