Azir/Trivia

General

 * is the first champion that at the start of a match can only put a point in one of his abilities, (since the other two abilities need this one in order to work).
 * He is also the second champion to have non-ultimate abilities which cannot be ranked up at level 1, the first one being.
 * Azir bears resemblance to, the falcon-headed sun god and emperor of the Egyptian pantheon. He shares this theme with and , who reference the Egyptian gods Anubis and Sobek respectively.
 * Azir could also resemble Horus, a falcon-headed man of the Egyptians' gods who was the god of vengeance, the sun, war, protection, and kingship. Horus was a symbol of kingship through Egypt.
 * Also, Azir's Sun Disk may reference Aten, a deified disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology.
 * The Aten was depicted as a sphere with rays of light radiating out of it, ending each ray with a hand.
 * The Aten was the god of a monotheistic religion that was made the state religion of Egypt by the pharaoh Akhenaten. The change in religion was short lived, as Akhenaten's son, Tutankhamun, reverted the state back to a polytheistic religion.
 * His dance is a reference to song "Remember The Time", as shown here.
 * If sandsoldiers are around, they will also dance together with Azir.
 * While recalling, although Azir will not dance (continuing his recall animation) when "/dance" is typed, his sand soldiers will perform his dance animation instead if they are around.

Development

 * His name originates from the word (Arabic: وزير‎). An official title, meaning minister in several West and South Asian languages. Its equivalent in English is.
 * The style comes from the Arabic word wezr (وِزر), which means "burden". Thus, a wazir is literally someone who helps carry a burden, by helping the head of the state get the job done.
 * Also, a vezér is a Hungarian high-ranking official or leader; may originate from the verb "vezet" (‘to lead’).
 * Also, Azir's name in Urdu would be transliterated as "Asir", which means "Chosen".
 * Another possible connection to Egyptian mythology, the god we know as Osiris was originally written as "3sir" or "wsir" (often transliterated as "asir" or "uasir")
 * Azir was worked on for three years, right after an Ahri patch, but was pushed back due to the fact that his kit needed to be reworked.
 * Azir was originally intended to be released on September 10, 2014 with patch 4.16, but was delayed until September 16 because of a number of bugs that needed to be corrected.
 * Azir was disabled a few hours after his release due to additional bugs that dramatically affected the game. He was then re-enabled on September 17 after these glitches were fixed.
 * Azir was previously codenamed as "" and hinted as the "Sand Mage", who was expected to be cancelled.
 * Initially, he had more of a focus on sand magic, but Riot shifted to more of a command/emperor focus after realizing that was the theme/story they really wanted to capture with Azir."
 * There was a leak from Reddit in 14-05-2013 showing the early concept of Azir. It was expected to be fake, until Azir's champion reveal.
 * One of the earliest kits that Colt "Ezreal" Hallam worked on had an ultimate called "sand hands". Two giant hands of sand would rise from the ground and after a delay move together, pushing everyone in between together and squishing them in. He also was a Sand Golem, Man with Sand cloak, Sand bender lady, Evil Sand Wraith and more, until he got his current look.

Lore

 * was a benevolent leader. A dictator, but a kind one, and he was interested in his people's well-being and prosperity. Though, he got a little ahead of himself, hence the over-enthusiastic Ascension ritual, but even that was done with good intentions. He wanted Shurima to grow and influence the entire world.
 * Azir's motivation to bring the golden light of Shurima to other nations neither was nor ever would be for conquest; he truly believes that Shurima was the height of civilization, and could only continue to grow more wonderful.
 * believes that the other city-states would benefit from Shurima's culture and way of life. He wished for them to join his empire and understand to his ideals. However, he would have a difficult endeavor because so much has changed since he has been away, especially in the case of Zaun since it is the complete opposite of what Shurima was.
 * Azir's main motivation is to restore Shurima as it once was.
 * Back in his time, Azir was popular with everyone.
 * On Azir's gauntlets, he has ribbon-like tassels to emphasize his regality and resemble embroidered robes. They also represent feathers, solidifying the birdlike appearance.
 * When he was young, was taught ancient knowledge from, and combat from.

Quotes

 * Many of Azir's sayings, lore, and aesthetics are references to the science fiction Dune franchise, specifically emperors Muad'dib and his tyrant son Leto II. They are both associated with deserts and have a vision of greatness for humanity that they pursue relentlessly, with sayings that indicate its inevitability. Like Dune's "Golden Path", Azir suggests that without himself to guide, humanity has no future and will perish.
 * In relation to Dune, his look bears close resemblance to the Atreides Insignia.
 * quote, "What is a baron to an emperor?" is a reference to song, "No Church in The Wild".
 * More likely still a reference to the Dune franchise, the baron being Baron Harkonnen whom Paul Atreides (AKA Muad'Dib) defeated right before becoming emperor.
 * quote, "See what I see." might be a reference to.
 * Azir's quote, "Shuriman sands flow ever in our favour." is a reference to.
 * Azir shares a quote with : "Trust in my vision."
 * Azir shares a similar quote with, he says "Ancient power courses through me." where as Xerath says "The Energy courses through me."

Skins

 * The Capital of Shurima can be seen in the background of his splash art. It is probably the instance after he emerged out of the Tomb of the Emperors, which was referenced in his lore, Arisen.
 * The Capital of Shurima can be seen in the background of his splash art. It is probably the instance after he emerged out of the Tomb of the Emperors, which was referenced in his lore, Arisen.


 * This skin is most likely a reference to the Egyptian gods of the series, also in his splash art,  can been seen to come out from a Portal of some sorts.
 *  recall animation looks like the Transportation rings from the series.
 * His look also bears resemblance to from the  series.
 * He shares this theme with and.
 * He shares this theme with and.


 * He resembles Sauron from the The Lord of the Rings series.

Relations

 * He and are enemies due to Xerath betraying him in his attempt to become into an Ascended being.  trusted him and was blind to his traitory.
 * He mostly blames Xerath for the fall of Shurima, but he won't admit that his ambition may have led him astray to begin with.
 * Due to exploration of the Shurima Desert and robbing an amulet from a pyramid there, it is likely Azir is not entirely fond of him.
 * Azir dislikes the grave robbing that commits but does not resent her as he revives Sivir after her betrayal at the hands of.
 * Sivir is in fact a descendant of Azir as revealed in the Rise of the Ascended video.
 * Azir expresses a dislike of, likely because he is an Ascended warrior who's been twisted beyond insanity due to voluntarily imprisoning himself in a tomb to stop Xerath. , on the other hand, was not sealed in the tomb (therefore being sane) and is therefore the only remaining ascended being that can aid Azir.
 * Azir deeply respects Nasus though the latter views him as arrogant because he saw what happened to Shurima as a result of Azir's hubris.
 * Azir doesn't seem to be made aware of existence yet.