Aslan is the lion who rules Narnia in C.S. Lewis’s stories.
He is the central figure of The Chronicles of Narnia and appears throughout the seven-book series. Aslan is portrayed as Narnia’s creator, king, and protector. His presence is associated with courage, restoration, justice, and the renewal of the natural world.
Aslan’s name comes from the Turkish word for “lion.” Lewis gave him a majestic and authoritative role, and the character is widely understood as carrying Christian symbolism, particularly in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Lewis nevertheless created Aslan as a character within a fantasy world rather than presenting him as a direct retelling of a biblical figure.
Readers sometimes confuse Aslan with Prince Caspian, a human ruler, or with Mr. Tumnus, a faun. Aslan is distinct from both: he stands above Narnia’s human and nonhuman rulers as its ultimate sovereign. His appearances connect otherwise separate adventures and provide the series with a continuing moral and cosmic framework.