Why Conan?

If you want to escape from the day in-day out stress,... and willing to swing a mighty broadsword or axe to hack down enemies....to eat your big, grilled cow haunch by hand together with ancient wine...to plunder ships carrying gold as a fearless pirate....to ride with your wild henchmen in search of half-forgotten treasures buried amongst ancient ruins no doubt guarded by minions of devils from the darkest pits....to protect your kingdom from wizards who actively practiced their magics and called up monstrosities from outside of the known world, that could only be defeated by cold steel, silver or fire toghether with mighty muscles and cleverness to control it....then you are at the right place!

I hope this page helps newcomers to breathe in a little bit of Conan's World, and give further information about Conan who knew him before. If you can't find Howard's original 12 books, you can go ahead with comic book form which are also fascinating, especially the ones by the Roy Thomas-John Buscema-Ernie Chan trio.

Ancient Myths

Robert E Howard used ancient myths as a basis for his fantastic stories for generations; from the Celtic to Norse, Egyptian to Turkish, and from near/far-east cultures in order to create a bridge between a world of mystery, sorcery and damons, and the current real world.

It can be argued that myths have had a tremendous impact on the development and form of human culture. The ancient stories depict and illustrate how men and women should act and think given certain situations. Our notions of heroes and villians are formed and maintained by myths. Our ideas of success and what is right are held in the stories we tell. Joseph Campbell, in his book "The Hero With a Thousand Faces", proposes that myth holds the key to understanding the deepest and most profound essence of human society and existance.

Where the Names come from

Howard's geographical names come mainly from the more accessible bodies of myth: Classical (e.g., Stygia ), Norse (Asgard), or biblical (Kush); and from the kind of geographical lore to be had from an atlas. Besides the names of obvious derivation, there are many whose origin is more complex, showing wide reading by Howard.

Anybody who made a practice of reading Adventure Magazine during the 1920s wilI recognize, in Howard's Hyborian stories, the influence of the historical adventure stories by Harold Lamb and Talbot Mundy, published in this magazine at this time. Lamb's tales were usually set in an Asiatic locale, dealing with such events as the Crusades, the Mongol and Turkish conquests, and the rise of the Russian state. Howard's stories of Conan and the kozaki are closely derived from Lamb's yarns of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Cossacks.

Click here to see the MAP of The Hyborian Age Of Conan.

Special Note for Turan : It was the kingdom set up west of the Vilayet Sea by Hyrkanian invaders. The Old Persian name for Turkestan. In Firdausi's Shah Nameh, the main repository of ancient Persian legend, Feridun (Old Persian, Traetaona) divided the world among his three sons, giving Rum (Europe) to Silim, Turan to Tur, and Iran to Irij. Much of the Shah Narneh is taken up with the efforts of King Afrasiyab (Frangrasiyan ) of Turan to conquer Iran, and his successive defeats by the Persian hero Rustam under various Iranian kings.

Chronology of Conan

Gods of Conan's Era

In the Hyborian Age there were many many Gods ; good and evil, strong and weak, ... Not forgetting that Conan's God was CROM - a god who breathes the strength to strive and slay into a man at birth. "What else shall men ask of the gods?" - click GODS for more intersting information.