Azulon

"fire"

- You dare suggest I betray Iroh? My first born? Directly after the demise of his only beloved son? I think Iroh has suffered enough. But you, your punishment has scarcely begun!

Fire Lord Azulon was the ruler of the Fire Nation from 20 ASC - 95 ASC. He was the son of Fire Lord Sozin, and the Fire Lord before Ozai. He was husband to Fire Lady Ilah, father to Iroh and Ozai, and grandfather to Prince Lu Ten, Prince Zuko, and Princess Azula.

Azulon's reign was marked by an increased efficiency in the Fire Nation war machine and massive territorial conquests; his leadership in several Earth Kingdom campaigns won him great fame as a general. He was also responsible for the destruction of the Southern Water Tribe, which was nearly annihilated under his orders. Although seen as uncaring and cruel, even towards his own people, he was remembered as one of the Fire Nation's strongest and most effective leaders.

History
Azulon was the ruler of the Fire Nation for 75 years until he mysteriously died five years before the start of the series at the age of 95. Born shortly after the beginning of the war, Azulon was a frightening man who demanded perfection. He ran the Fire Nation with an iron fist, much like his father in his later reign. Following his father's death, Azulon took charge of the Fire Nation at the age of 20 and continued his father's quest for world domination. Eventually, he married a woman named Ilah, and together, they produced two children: Iroh (his mother's namesake) and Ozai. Like every Fire Lord, Azulon was a master Firebender - in his time, he was considered one of the best in the world and no one would dare cross him. Ozai noted that Azulon had been a Firebending child prodigy, like his granddaughter Azula, who was given his name. Despite his strong leadership, Azulon cared very little for the people of his nation and was more interested in world domination, a quality he passed down to Ozai and inherited from Sozin.

Azulon won many victories against the Earth Kingdom, increasing Fire Nation territory and leading to greater colonization of the continent. Under his reign, he continued to push the Earth Kingdom forces east towards the capital of Ba Sing Se. Under the leadership of his son Iroh, by the time of his death, his army had reached Ba Sing Se itself, starting the infamous 600-day Siege of Ba Sing Se; some of his greater military successes included the conquest of the Hu Xin Provinces in the western Earth Kingdom and the Battle of Garsai.

Azulon was also responsible for the almost complete destruction of the Southern Water Tribe. Starting around 40 ASC, he began ordering attacks on the tribe's main city and villages in an attempt to destroy the tribe, which was seen as a threat to the Fire Nation's domination. The Southern Raiders were created to carry out these attacks. Their main objective was to capture the tribe's Waterbenders, who were seen as the greatest threat to Fire Nation dominance. Azulon imprisoned the Waterbenders in large internment camps in the Fire Nation. Of those imprisoned, only Hama was known to have survived. These raids were a terrible success; by the time of his death, Katara was the last remaining Waterbender in the Southern Tribe, and the southern Waterbending style was effectively extinct.

Early in his reign, he commissioned the Great Gates of Azulon to protect the entrance to the Fire Nation Capital.

Death
Five years prior to the release of Avatar Aang, shortly after the death of Iroh's son, Lu Ten, Ozai demanded that Iroh be passed over for the throne and incited his father's fury. Ozai declared Iroh was a quitter and unworthy for letting death get in his way of winning Ba Sing Se. He also declared that the bloodline would not continue with the death of Lu Ten. However, Azulon was outraged at the very thought of betraying his firstborn, Iroh, as well as his younger son's ambition, and promised to punish Ozai terribly. Azula, who spied on the conversation, claimed that Ozai was ordered to kill his firstborn son, Zuko, so that he would know his brother's pain.



Ozai had every intention of carrying out the execution. However, Ozai's wife, Ursa, discovered the plan and plotted with Ozai so that he would become Fire Lord while Zuko would be allowed to live. Ursa committed "vicious, treasonous things that night", according to Ozai, and presumably was the one who was responsible for Azulon's death that night. Ursa was then banished from the Fire Nation, meaning that it was very likely that she was still alive. It is unknown how Ursa, or anyone else for that matter, presumably killed him, considering he was the most powerful Firebender of his time, although it can be speculated that he might have been killed during his sleep or by poison.

Relatives

 * Sozin (father)
 * Ilah (wife)
 * Iroh (elder son)
 * Lu Ten (eldest grandson)
 * Ozai (younger son)
 * Zuko (older grandson)
 * Azula (younger granddaughter)
 * Ursa (daughter-in-law)
 * Roku (grandfather-in-law)

Trivia

 * Azulon was known to have been Fire Lord for the longest time during the War, for about 75 years as opposed to his father, Sozin, who ruled for 20 years during the war, and his son, Ozai, who ruled for 5–6 years during the war. He was also the second-longest known reigning Fire Lord, after his father.
 * Azulon had ruled the Fire Nation for 75 years. But the fire sage crowning Fire Lord Ozai during Azulon's funeral mentions that Azulon had reigned for 23 years.
 * Azulon was the only known Fire Lord not to have met an Avatar or Airbender. He was also the only known Fire Lord not to have lived during the arrival of Sozin's Comet or to have derived power from the comet.
 * In his official portrait, Azulon stood on top of a turtle, an animal that lives both on land and in water, to signify his military successes over both the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes. He also held up two fireballs, reflecting his legendary power in Firebending.
 * Azulon was never seen speaking to Iroh, despite the close bond the two reportedly shared.
 * Princess Azula was named after Azulon.