Index of Hyborian Nations

The following nations or kingdoms has been mentioned in the stories of Conan.

List of Nations[]

Kingdom, region, or ethnic group	Description	Possible analogue(s)
Acheron		A fallen kingdom corresponding to the Roman Empire. Its territory covered Aquilonia, Nemedia, and Argos. In Greek mythology, Acheron was one of the four rivers of Hades (cf. "Stygia"). Acheron was a priest-controlled monarchy ruled by priest-kings, who performed human sacrifice with their own hands.
Afghulistan		Afghanistan. Afghulistan (sometimes "Ghulistan") is the common name for the habitat of different tribes in the Himelian Mountains. The name itself is a mixture of the historical names of Gulistan and Afghanistan.
Alkmeenon		Delphi. Its name derives from the Alcmaeonidae, who funded construction the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, from which the oracle operated. Also, Alcmene is the mother of Hercules. After death, she traveled into Hades and married Rhadamanthys, a chief judge of the underworld.
Amazonia		Mentioned in Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age essay, the kingdom of the Amazons refers to various legends of Greek Amazons, or more specifically of the Dahomey Amazons. In classical legend, Amazonia is a nation of warrior women in Asia Minor and North Africa. The legend may be based upon the Sarmatians, a nomadic Iranian tribe of the Kuban, whose women were required to slay an enemy before they could marry.
Aquilonia		Influenced by medieval Western Europe and elements of Colonial North America. The name is borrowed from Aquilonia, a city of Southern Italy, between modern Venosa and Benevento. It is also an ancient name for Quimper and resembles that of Aquitaine, a French region ruled by England for a long portion of the Middle Ages. The name is derived from Latin aquilo(n–), "north wind". Aquila also means "eagle" in Latin.
Argos		Various seafaring traders of the Mediterranean, with islands such as Crete, Sardinia, and Sicily being examples. The name comes from the Argo, ship of the Argonauts; or perhaps from the city of Argos, Peloponnesos, reputedly the oldest city in Greece, situated at the head of the Gulf of Argolis near modern Nafplion. Also, hints of Italy in regards to the indigenous population's appearance, names, and culture. In Hyborian Age cartography, Argos takes on the shape of a "shoe" in its border boundaries as compared to Italy appearing as a "boot". The coastal city of Messantia/Massantia derives its name from Messina, a city in northeastern Sicily.
Asgard (Aesgaard in comics)		Dark Age Scandinavia. Asgard is the home of the Æsir in Norse mythology. Howard states how the Baltic Sea would, following the cataclysm, divide his fictional Asgard into the modern Norway, Sweden, and Denmark according to The Hyborian Age essay.
Atlantis		Atlantis is a small island-continent in the ocean west of Thuria, and east of the Pictish Islands. It is the home of the Atlanteans, enemies of the Picts and of the civilized Seven Empires of Thuria. They established colonies on Thuria. It is hardly a coincidence that "Commoria" in the days of Kull so resemble "Cimmeria" in Conan's days. The Atlanteans did declare war against the mountain-city in "The Altar and the Scorpion". Perhaps arch-priest Thuron is of Atlantean descent. It was the home of Kull. Priests of Xultha were sent from Na-hor to Atlantis.
Barachan Islands		The Caribbean Islands. Possibly after the Islas Borrachas ("Drunken Isles"). The pirate town of Tortage takes its name from Tortuga.
Border Kingdoms		Geographically located over the modern Baltic Sea coast of Germany. A lawless region full of brigades and semi-barbaric peoples. Conan once traveled through the Border Kingdoms on his way to Nemedia. The low countries, Baltic, and the borderlands of Scotland and England could be similar examples.
Bossonian Marches		Wales, with an overlay of colonial North America. Possibly from Bossiney, a former parliamentary borough in Cornwall, South West England, which included Tintagel Castle, connected with the Matter of Britain.
Brythunia		The continental homelands of the Angles and Saxons who invaded Great Britain, which is the origin of the name, though it's implied the Brythunians of the Hyborian age are a different group who could be related to early slavs. Semantically, the name Brythunia is from the Welsh Brython (Briton), derived from the same root as the Latin Brito (Britannia), although Howard stated that the name was kept by the Æsir and Nemedians who settled there, further implying that the Brythunians are not Germanic or Celtic. The land is depicted geographically over modern Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.
Cimmeria		Howard states in The Hyborian Age that "the Gaels, ancestors of the Irish and Highland Scots, descended from pure-blooded Cimmerian clans." He correlates Cimmeria with the Cymric people, Cimbri, Gimirrai, Scythians, Cimmerians, and the Crimea. Geographically located over modern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. The name is derived from the Greek legends of a northern people, who lived in perpetual mist and darkness near the Land of the Dead. The Cimmerians are named by Howard as the ancestors of the Proto-Indo-Europeans.
Conajohara (Aquilonia)		The name may have been based on Canajoharie.
Corinthia		Ancient Greece, specifically Macedon, based on its geography. From Corinth (Korinthos), a rich city in Classical Greece. Possibly suggested to Howard by the Epistles to the Corinthians, or by the region of Carinthia. It's a mountainous country located east of Koth.
Darfar		Howard derived this name from the region of Darfur, Sudan, in North-Central Africa. Darfur is an Arabic language name meaning "abode (dar) of the Fur", the dominant people of the area. The original Darfur is now the westernmost part of the Republic of Sudan.
Gunderland		Possibly from Gunderland of Hesbaye, a count in the Merovingian court, or from Gelderland a province in the Netherlands or from Gunther (Gundicar), King of Burgundy and Gunderic, King of the Vandals.
Hyperborea		Finland, Russia, and the Baltic countries (Hyperborea). Is a land in the "outermost north" according to Greek historian Herodotus. Howard describes his Hyperborea as the first Hyborian kingdom, "which had its beginning in a crude fortress of boulders heaped to repel tribal attack". Possible Scythian influences
Hyrkania		The Eurasian Steppe, specifically the Turco-Mongol peoples, whom Howard names as their descendants in his Hyborian age essay. Hyrkania, in classical geography, was a region southeast of the Caspian Sea or Hyrkanian Sea corresponding to the Iranian provinces of Golestan, Mazandaran, and Gilan. The name is Greek for the Old Persian Varkana, one of the Achaemenid Empire satrapies, and survives in the name of the river Gorgan. The original meaning may have been "wolf land". In Iranian legend, Hyrkania is remarkable for its wizards, demons, wolves, spirits, witches, and vampires.
Iranistan		An eastern land corresponding with modern Iran. Historically, the name of the country is derived from Iran + the Persian suffix -istan, -estan 'country'.
Kambuja/Kambulja		The original name of Cambodia, also known as Kampuchea.
Keshan		The name comes from the "Kesh", the Egyptian name for Nubia.
Khauran		The name perhaps derives from the Hauran region of Syria, though its position would place it near Macedonia, with Cretan influences. Apparently, Salome in the New Testament is a descendant of this royal house.
Khitai		China. The name is derived from the Khitan Empire (Chinese 遼朝 Liáo cháo or the Liao Dynasty) and the people who ruled northern and northeastern China. The name is derived from the Khitan language for The Khitan Empire, Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur; in modern Mandarin Chinese, 契丹國, or Qìdān guó. In the Hyborian Age, Khitai is an ancient empire which is always at war with Kambuja to the south. In ancient times, Khitai was subjugated by an empire of conquerors from a mysterious continent in the Eastern Ocean. After the cataclysm, this empire made slaves of the Lemurians who fled the destruction. With time, these Lemurian slaves, and perhaps the gentile Khitanians, were able to rise up and overthrow their masters. The remnants of this white-skinned master race fled westwards, conquering the kingdom of the Serpent Men and founding Stygia. The people of Khitai are yellow-skinned and of medium height. Khitai is ruled by a God-Emperor whose decisions are greatly influenced by the Scarlet Circle, a clan of some of the most powerful mages in all of Hyboria. Khitan laws flow from the overlord of a city-state. The culture of Khitai is similar to that of Ancient China. The most prominent feature of Khitai is its Great Wall (similar to the Great Wall of China), which protects it from foreign invasions in the north. The cities of Khitai are Ruo-Chen, Shu-Chen, Shaulum, and the capital, Paikang, which contains the Jade Citadel, from where the God-Emperor rules over all of Khitai.
Khoraja		Constantinople and Sicily. Its position places it as the crossroads between the Hyborian kingdoms and the Shemites. The name itself was inspired by the references of Sax Rohmer to the fictional city of Khorassa in the novel The Mask of Fu Manchu.
Kosala		From the ancient Indo-Aryan kingdom of Kosala, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Oudh.
Kozaki		Semi-barbaric steppe-dwelling raiders analogous with the Cossacks.
Koth		From the ancient Italic peoples. The Kothian capital of Khorshemish corresponds with Carchemish, capital of a Neo-Hittite kingdom. Perhaps from The Sign of Koth in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H. P. Lovecraft. Howard also used the same name in his interplanetary novel Almuric.
Kush		From the kingdom of Kush, Nubia.
Meru		Tibet. In Hindu mythology, Meru is the sacred mountain upon which the gods dwell. NOTE: Meru is not one of Howard's original Hyborian Age countries, and was created by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter for "The City of Skulls".
Nemedia		A cross between the Holy Roman Empire and Byzantium. Nemedia is the rival of Aquilonia, and depends on Aesir mercenaries for their defence (as the Byzantine Empire hired Vikings as the Varangian Guard). The name comes from Nemed, leader of colonists from Scythia to Ireland in Irish mythology.
Ophir		The Etruscans, an ancient people also stereotyped for their wealth and decadence. Howard saw it as situated somewhere in Italy, namely in the North, as opposed to the more southern Koth.
Pelishtim		Philistines (P'lishtim in Hebrew). The Pelishti city of Asgalun derives its name from Ashkelon. The Pelisti god Pteor or Baal-Pteor derives his name from the Moabite Baal-Peor.
Pictish Wilderness		Pre-Columbian America, with an overlay of North America during the European colonization of the Americas, possibly even colonial-era New York. Howard bestows names from the Iroquoi language on many of his Hyborian-Age Picts (but not the quasi-historical Picts featuring Bran Mak Morn).
Poitain		A combination of Poitou and Aquitaine, two regions in southwestern France. From the 10th to the mid-12th century, the counts of Poitou were also the dukes of Aquitaine.
Punt		The Land of Punt on the Horn of Africa. A place in which the Ancient Egyptians traded with, probably Somalia.
Shem		Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and Arabia. In the Bible, Shem is Noah's eldest son, the ancestor of the Hebrews, Arabs, and Assyrians; hence, the modern "Semite" and Semitic languages (via Greek Sem), used properly to designate the family of languages spoken by these peoples.
Stygia		Ancient Egypt. The name comes from the Styx, a river of the Greek underworld in Greek mythology. In earlier times, the territory of Stygia included Shem, Ophir, Corinthia, and part of Koth. Stygia is ruled by a theocracy of sorcerer-kings. The people are brown-skinned. They worship the serpent god Set. Stygia's terrain is a mix of mountains, deserts, and marshes. The River Styx flows through Stygia into the sea; the map provided makes clear that the Styx is the Nile, but since the Mediterranean did not yet exist, it had a very long additional westward bend, following what is now the coast of North Africa, until finally emptying into the Atlantic. The commoners of Stygia may still, in spirit, be the original human slaves or slave races of the Serpent Men, who ruled this kingdom centuries before. The white skinned elite may still worship "The great dark nameless one" (Skelos?).
Turan		Persian name for Turkestan. A Turkish land, possibly referring to the Turko-Persian dynasties of the Timurid Empire, or the Great Seljuq Sultanate. The name derives from Turan, the areas of Eurasia occupied by speakers of Ural–Altaic languages. The names of the various Turanian cities (e.g. Aghrapur, Sultanapur, Shahpur) are often in Persian language. King Yezdigerd is named after Yazdegerd III, ruler of the Sassanid Empire. The city of Khawarizm takes its name from Khwarezm, and Khorusun from Khorasan.
Uttara Kuru		From the medieval Uttara Kuru Kingdom in the north and central reaches of Pakistan. NOTE: Uttara Kuru is not one of Howard's original Hyborian Age countries, it appear in Conan the Avenger by Björn Nyberg.
Vanaheim		Dark Age Scandinavia. Vanaheim is the home of the Vanir in Norse mythology. The red-haired vanir will finally oust the evil aristocracy of Stygia and found pharaonic Egypt. They are red-haired as a reference to pharaohs like Ramses and his father Seti, who had red hair.
Vendhya		India (the Vindhya Range is a range of hills in central India). The name means "rent" or "ragged", i.e. having many passes. This very ancient kingdom worships the god Asura. His cult has spread westwards and is present, albeit often persecuted, in the Hyborian lands. In Aquilonia, the cult finds a protector in King Conan.
Wadai (tribe)		The Wadai Empire in present-day Chad.
Wazuli (tribe)		The Waziri tribe in northwest Pakistan.
Yamatai		Japan. Probably inspired by the historical name of Yamatai. The land of Yamatai is described as "a cluster of islands east of Khitai", ruled by the "Witch Queen of Yamatai" in The Savage Sword of Conan story, herself possibly inspired by the historical shaman-queen Himiko. NOTE: Yamatai is not one of Howard's original Hyborian Age countries, but appeared in a Savage Sword of Conan comic adaptation.
Zamora		The Romani people. The name comes from the city of Zamora, Zamora province, Castile and León, Spain, alluding to the Gitanos of Spain (see Zingara for discussion); or possibly it's based on the word "Roma". There may also be some reference to southern Italy, as Zamorans dance the tarantella in honor of their Spider-Gods (variously known as Omm and Zath). Also hints of Ancient Israel and Palestine.
Zembabwei		The Munhumutapa Empire. The name comes from Great Zimbabwe, a ruined fortified town in south-eastern Zimbabwe, after which the modern Republic of Zimbabwe takes its name. It was first built around the 11th century and used as the capital of the Munhumutapa Empire.
Zingara		The Iberian Peninsula as a whole, with overt influences from Spain. Zingara is also Italian for "Gypsy woman"; this may mean that Howard mixed up the source names of Zingara and Zamora, with Zingara originally meant to apply to the Roma kingdom, and Zamora to the Spanish kingdom.
Zuagir (tribe)		The name is perhaps derived from a combination of Tuareg and Uyghur. Main influence is the Bedouins.
Other geographic features
Amir Jehun Pass		Takes its name from a combination of the Amu Darya river and the Gihon river (Jayhoun in Arabic), which has been identified by some with the Amu Darya. Perhaps corresponds to the Broghol Pass, which is near the headwaters of the Amu Darya in Wakhan.
The Himelian Mountains		Take their name from the Himalayas, but correspond more closely with the Hindu Kush or Karakoram ranges.
The Karpash Mountains		The Carpathian Mountains.
The Poitanian Mountains		The Pyrenees, which are just south of the Aquitaine region of France.
The River Styx		The River Styx runs northward through Stygia, following the course of the historical Nile River. Then it turns and runs westward through Shem, following the historical Mediterranean Sea, finally emptying into the Western Ocean. Styx, in classical mythology, is the River of the Dead and this symbolism is used in The Hour of the Dragon.
The River Alimane		Alamana river, (present Spercheios) in Greece. It may also be a reference to the Alemanni.
Vilayet Sea		Geographically, the Caspian Sea. The name comes from vilayet, the term for administrative regions in the Ottoman Empire.
Zhaibar Pass		The Khyber Pass which has been the traditional borderline between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Zaporoska River		The Dnieper river and/or the Don and/or the Volga. The river's name was probably influenced by Zaporizhian Sich, a settlement of the Ukrainian Cossacks in Zaporizhzhia (region). It was situated on the Dnieper river, below the Dnieper rapids (porohy, poroz.a), hence the name, translated as "territory beyond the rapids".