real world comparisons

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I gather that the Hyborean world map fits over the Real world map. I am having some difficulty visualising the people of different locations. Could someone provide some comparisons with the real and fantasy cultures e.gHyrkanian = Mongal ?
Also is or was there a Roman-like culture?
Hope this makes sense. My book has not arrived yet and also I wanted some examples to get my players interested as we are all new to the world and I have yet to finish the chronicles of conan vol1.

p.s When my book arrives I will probably use Iron Chefs campaign, so a big thanks to Iron Chef for his contributions.
 
gav said:
I gather that the Hyborean world map fits over the Real world map. I am having some difficulty visualising the people of different locations. Could someone provide some comparisons with the real and fantasy cultures e.gHyrkanian = Mongal ?
Also is or was there a Roman-like culture?
Hope this makes sense. My book has not arrived yet and also I wanted some examples to get my players interested as we are all new to the world and I have yet to finish the chronicles of conan vol1.

p.s When my book arrives I will probably use Iron Chefs campaign, so a big thanks to Iron Chef for his contributions.

Thanks! Which campaign will you use: Aquilonia or Zamboula?

Here are some examples of real world equivalents to Hyborian Age kingdoms:

Aquilonia: France
Argos: Greece
Corinthia: Greece
Ghulistan: Afghanistan
Hyperborea: Finland
Iranistan: Iran
Khitai: China
Kush: Africa
Nordheim (Vanaheim/Asgard): (Norway and Sweden)
Stygia: Egypt
Vendhya: India
Zamora: Ukraine
Zingara: Spain
 
Thanks very much for your response. I will be using the shadows over Zamboula campaign
Cheers for now
G
 
Nice equivalents list Iron_Chef, what about some of the others?

E.g.:

Ophir
Nemedia - Germany?
Brythunia - Poland?
Koth - Turkey?
Khauran - Georgia/Armenia/Azerbaijan?
Khoraja
Shem - Libya?
Kush - Nigeria?
Darfar - Congo?
Keshan - Kenya?
Punt - Sudan/Uganda?
Zembabwei - Zimbabwe
Turan - Iran/Saudi Arabia?
Kosala
Meru - Nepal?
Kambuja - Korea?
Hyrkania - Kazakhstan/Mongolia?
Kusan
Pathenia

Any equivalent to Italy? Austria? Hungary? Czech Republic/Slovakia?
 
I think Turan = Turkey, the Turks started as horse nomads and built a big empire much as Turan does. Shem equates to the Fertile Crescent, Babylon/Sumeria et al.
 
Argos seems more like Italy than Greece. Corinthia is more like Greece. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Ophir seems a bit like Switzerland, maybe.
 
Not all of them can be easily equated, especially if you rely on the modern map overlay. Many changes have occured between then and now; read the essay The Hyborian Age. Case in point, Nemedia overlays Germany, but there is nothing else specifically Germanic about it...
 
Here are the equivalents I have always used, which are very close to IronChef's in some respect:

Aquilonia: Latinized France.

Argos: Heroic (Homeric) Greece.

Corinthia: Classical (City-State) Greece.

Ghulistan: Afghanistan.

Hyperborea: Finland (as inspired by the Kalevala).

Iranistan: Iran, pre-Islamic Persia with a dash of Arab culture.

Khitai: China of the Warring States period (Three Kingdoms).

Kush: An Egyptianized version of various kingdoms of the Sahel and forestlands (sub-Saharan western Africa).

Nordheim (Vanaheim/Asgard): Norway and Sweden, with the applicable mythic additions of the Vanir and Aesir.

Stygia: Egypt, classical pre-Islamic of course.

Vendhya: India, pre-Buddhist.

Zamora: A mix of the Balkans, rather than the Ukraine, specifically the Romanians and Southern Slavs.

Zingara: Spain, pre-1492.

Ophir: Northern Italian city-states (Lombardy) during the time of the mid to late Holy Roman Empire.

Nemedia: Latinized Germany of the time of the Holy Roman Empire (though rather more united than that would seem).

Brythunia: Some non-Howard Conan authors have portrayed it as Poland, others as Wales. I have my Brythunians being similar to the "modern" Bossonians and Ligureans, and thus somewhat of a Welsh/Saxon mix. My Brythunians, like the Bossonians, are a mix of the pre-Acheronian native population with the Hyborians, whereas the Aquilonians, Nemedians, and Ophireans are a mix of Acheronian/pre-Acheronian/Hyborian.

Koth: I see Koth as a mix of the Byzantine Empire, combined with the Hellenic Kingdoms and City-States of the post-Alexander period (Selucids, Ptolemies, etc.), with a very heavy admixture of Canaanite and Phoenician/Punic culture.

Khauran and Khoraja: As Koth, with heavy Canaanite influence.

Shem: The meadowlands of the west are Canaanite, the central cities are Babylonian/Sumerian, and the deserts of the east are Arabic.

Darfar: Various Nigerian tribes with a heavy pulp influence.

Keshan: Ancient Meroe (i.e., "Black Egypt").

Punt: As Keshan, with Abassynian influence.

Zembabwei: Zimbabwe of myth and legend.

Turan: Turkey of the Ottomans.

Kosala: Much like Vendhya, above, only with odd non-historical elements.

Meru: Nepal and Tibet.

Kambuja: Various cultures of Indochina, including Vietnamese, Khmer, Siam, and so forth.

Hyrkania: Mongolia.

Kusan: Western Chinese mountain kingdoms (the kind that were extinguished by Genghis Khan).

Pathenia: Siberia.
 
James, pretty much on the spot. Maybe a useful perspective is to see the Hyborian cultures as the mythical or heroic world or golden age of the real-world cultures that we equate to them. Thus Aquilonia might be France of The Song Of Roland etc. REH tended to insert Latin names willy-nilly into cultures that really didn't need them...
 
Yup, with the creation of the Hyborian Age world Howard basically wanted a version of ancient/medieval Europe/Africa/Asia that he could play with at will. He had already done tons of historical adventures, but he was naturally constrained by history with regard to what he could do. Try as he might, he could never have put a 12th century Scotsman on the throne of France... (^_^)
 
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