Zamora

is a country of the Hyborian Age.

Geography
Zamora lies to the border of the western Hyborian world, with Corinthia on its western borders and alien Turan in the east. It also shared borders with Brythunia to the north and Koth to the south.

Cities
Howard named three cities of Zamora in his Conan stories: Shadizar, Arenjun, and Yezud.

Arenjun is the capital city of Zamora. Conan first arrives here in his quest to find the most vile cesspit of cities, in order to study the ways of civilization. The Zamorans he encounters here are mostly from the Maul, a section of the city where thieves and rogues gather.

L. Sprague de Camp, in his re-written Conan story The Hall of the Dead from an unfinished draft by Howard, introduced a fourth Zamorian city: Larsha. For many years, Larsha (which is in the southeast of the country) was synonymous with the City of Thieves, but Dale Rippke, using evidence from The Tower of the Elephant, argues convincingly that Howard's City of Thieves resides near the western border of Zamora where the Road of Kings enters Corinthia; all the way across the country from Arenjun.

History and politics
The history of Zamora traces its beginnings in the Thurian Age. After the devastation of the Cataclysm, non-Valusian remnants of the Seven Empires were known as the Zhemri in the Southeast of Thuria.

Around 2000 years after the Cataclysms, their descendants had been mixed with some unknown tribes. This new blood gave them impetus and begun to revive some faint shadow of their ancient culture. They formed the kingdom of Zamora southeast of the ancient Hyborian kingdom of Hyperborea.

It seems that for a couple of centuries much of the fate of Zamora was dominated by the evil sorcerer Yara. Even the King of Zamora reportedly kept himself drunk all the time because of his fear of him.

During the rise of Aquilonia, Zamora entered an alliance (along with Brythunia and Koth) led by Nemedia, aiming to crush the greedy Aquilonia. However this alliance coincided with a Hyrkanian invasion: riders from Turan swept over Zamora. Aquilonia reconquered Zamora and put soldiers to anticipate more invasions, and also keep the Zamorians subjected. This made no difference to the Zamorians, as Aquilonian or Hyrkanian master was the same for them. The borders of Zamora saw 3 more invasion attempts.

When the Picts invaded Aquilonia, legions stationed in Zamora were recalled to fight the invaders. This was what the Hyrkanians waited for. After a few thrusts, Zamora fell easy prey and its largest city became the capital of the Hyrkanian king. Fleeing Zingarans were settled in Zamora as subjects.

When the Hyrkanian empire was crashed by the Nordic drift, they took along Zingarans and Zamorians to the east with them and they were settled together forming a mixed race. Millennia later they would become the gypsies.

During the time of Conan, Zamora is ruled by King Hadranor.

Population and culture
Robert E. Howard used the adjective Zamorian instead of Zamoran for anything related to Zamora.

Zamorians are dark-skinned, being from a race more ancient than the Hyborians. Zamorian women had been captured by Hyperborea as slaves, contributing to their mixed blood of the Hyperboreans. Zamorians have been intermarried with eastern Brythunians.

The strange and mysterious Zamorians have a reputation for deviousness and thievery. Although Zamora has a rich culture and centres of higher learning, it is the dark alleys and seedy taverns that give it its reputation.

It is possible that they are based on Indians or Moors. They seem more akin to darker South Asians than Africans and have a clearly Indo culture. What is known is that they are strangely out of place in the West and possible a migrant of Eastern ultimate origins. They may also be an older people that simply predates the emergence of Hyborian and other migrations into the high West. Zamorans might be the last of a truly ancient race or an early offshoot of Stygian-like people.

Stories set in
Conan and the Spider God


 * "The Tower of the Elephant"
 * "The Hall of the Dead"
 * "The Bloodstained God"