( Queen of the Black Coast, Hawks over Shem, Jewels of Gwahlur, Lord of the Black River) Bêlit's people were once "kings in Asgalun". The royal palace was in a walled inner city. Asgalun was the capital of the region of Pelishtia, a degenerate metropolis that was "a contrast of splendor and decay". Asgalun: Or Askalon, the most important coastal city of Shem, situated on the Asgalun River.Asgakin: A city-state of Shem famed for its copper craftsmen.Aphaki: A people, originally from Shem (Aphaka?), who migrated southwestward and established the city of Tombalku in the Southern Desert of Kush.( Hawks over Shem, Witch Shall Be Born, Return of Conan, Conan and the Grim Grey God) ( Hawks over Shem, Witch Shall Be Born, Black Tears, Conan and the Emerald Lotus) Akkharia: One of the southernmost city-states of Shem.It was a center of trading and steel making. Akbitana: Also spelled Akbatana, a desert city of Shem situated south of Khoraja.To the northeast of the city lies a magnificent cedar forest. It is the junction of caravan roads leading to Asgalun in the west and Eruk in the north. It is a surprisingly upright and compact city of white domes, surrounded by a thick battlemented wall. Abbaddrah: A Shemitish city-state that lies in the eastern meadowlands along the banks of the River Styx east of Luxor.Not long after this, Shem's dreams of glory were destroyed by invading Hyrkanians, who held sway over the land until the advance of the glaciers and the birth of the Mediterranean Sea drowned the once proud nation under fathoms of saltwater. It conquered neighboring Koth and tried unsuccessfully to invade Stygia. Later, when Aquilonia had to withdraw to protect itself against the Picts, Shem began to feel its oats. The Aquilonian Empire that arose after the reign of Conan dominated Shem. However, some Argossean galleys traded mirrors, silk cloaks, gilded helmets and swords for Shemite copper and gold. The Shemites of Conan's time had little truck with the cheapjack coasting galleys of Argos and Zingara. They probably arose in response to early Kothian invasions. They also produced an important warrior-clan, the Asshuri, who saw service as mercenaries in many parts of the Hyborian world. The vigor and intelligence of the Shemites led them to prosper in other commercial areas such as textile production and small manufactures. There were also reserves of copper and gold. ![]() The land was also suited to specialized agriculture - such as the growing of wine-grapes and other fruits - as well as to the growing of grain. ![]() The people were primarily pastoralists, raising cattle in the lush meadows and sheep in the marginal areas. ![]() The gods of the Shemites were Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Derketo, Adonis, and Bel. The genes of Hybori and Stygians combined with those of west-drifting Shemites to produce a fierce, hybrid people who established the city-states of western Shem after casting off the yoke of Koth. If Stygia had prospered mightily in the trans-Nilotic area, it would have fought harder to keep it when the invading Kothians came down from the North. It may be presumed that the Old Stygian Empire did little with its subject lands north of the Styx other than graze herds and undertake agriculture on a small scale. We have presumed a subsequent westward movement of vigorous Shemite peoples, who intermarried with the Stygians of the coastal meadowlands. Nomadic savages of the eastern borders of Shem-Stygia, called the Sons of Shem, slowly attained a higher level of culture through contact with the Stygians. There was constant warfare between the meadow cities and those of the desert.Īnciently the lands of Shem were part of the Old Stygian Empire. The land became more and more arid as one traveled the caravan routes eastward but busy trade-centers continued to abound. Western Shem was a fertile meadowland with cities and city-states in the hills. Howard: "Queen of the Black Coast"Ī southern kingdom bounded on the west by the Western Ocean, on the east by the Eastern Desert, on the south by Stygia, and on the north by Argos, Koth and Khoraja. The Shemite soul finds a bright drunkenness in riches and material splendor, and the sight of this treasure might have shaken the soul of a sated emperor of Shushan." - Robert E. "Bêlit's eyes were like a woman's in a trance.
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