I’ve recently returned to the game and I love it like I did years ago. I’m brushing up on some things as I plan to do some roleplay. My character is from Aquilonia and I was going to say he could see the sea from his window (based on maps of Aquilonia) but then I saw, on the Conan website, Aquilonia described as landlocked. So, which is it? Does it have a coast or no? Is there a consensus?
From everything I know Aquilonia is landlocked. The maps of Hyboria clearly show it being surrounded by other countries. There ist the pictish wilderness in the west that has a coast line but as far as I know, Aquilonian expeditions only go as far as thunder river right at the border of the countries (if you want to call the wilderness an actual country). There are several rivers that lead to the open sea though those go through other countries, the Khorotas being the main trade way with other nations probably as it leads directly into the heart of the country as well as to its capital Tarantia.
Argos is not landlocked and has a coast line, it’s right below Aquilonia and culturally probably very similar (for example: southern Italy and Greece, meaning the influence of the old Greek colonies).
Oh, excellent, thank you so much. I am going to look into my character perhaps being from Argos. I feel like I need to take a class to get things right. Again, appreciate your reply. And…one more question, if I may: if you had a tall castle on the western edge of Aquilonia, could you see the sea from a window or balcony?
Very unlikely, I’m afraid. As Force says, there’s an entire country to the west of Aquilonia. (Plus, to be on the western border of Aquilonia, you’d need to be in the Bossonian Marches, which is a semi-independent province that acts as a military bulwark against possible incursions by the Picts.)
A couple of resources to help you -
this is a map sketched by Robert E Howard himself (that forms the basis of most of the reputable maps of the Hyborian Age) - you can see he also marked in the approximate positions of later Europe beneath the borders of his Hyborian Age. (Stygia is to the south of Shem - which stretches over most of the Mediterranean, to the borders of Argos in the west - south of Stygia are the ‘African’ kingdoms of Darfar, Keshan, The Black Kingdoms, Punt, Zembabwei etc. East of Turan and the Vilayet Sea lie Vendhya (roughly India), Khitai (roughly China) and the vast Hyrkanian Steppes (roughly Mongolia, but broadly a term for all the lands between the Vilayet and Khitai).
To learn more about the history of the Hyborian Age, where its peoples came from etc (and the later development between then and the dawn of known history (as understood in the 1930s)) - I can highly recommend REH’s excellent ‘Hyborian Age’ essay, in which he laid out many of the details of this phase of his world. The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Hyborian Age, by Robert E. Howard.
I hope that helps.
The pictish wilderness is pretty much like a thick jungle, with steep hills and rivers going through it. In Age of Conan it reminds me of the jungles of South America. I doubt you would be able to see that far from Aquilonia, even from the tallest tower, it’s just too far away and too much in the way between (elevations, trees and probably atmosphere as well considering you would be trying to look through thick rainforest with clouds and fog and so on).
I find it a bit weird that Argos (especially with its name) would have that position in Europe, I would have definitely put it where Greece is (also the building dlc for CE suggests this).
But maybe continental shifting and so on was considered in this as well? I havent fully read that text by Howard.
Another weirdness I see with Cimmeria. Cimmeria especially is depicted almost like Germania, deep forests, grey skies, rain, semi nomadic people. This just screams iron age Germania, especially when considering that one quote by Tacitus after they crushing defeat at the Teutoburger Wald.
Ah well, it’s fantasy, maybe one shouldn’t read too much real world history and facts into it.
Three ideas:
- Just make him or her Argossean. That’s a somewhat similar culture (with a very similar and quite compatible building set in CE, I may add).
- There are inland seas and rivers. Maybe the character could see one of those from the window?
- Aquilonia appears to be a pretty powerful country. As CE plays before Conan takes over there, it’s in trouble. But still, a developed country like that may have colonies or outposts near the sea. Maybe the character lived in one of those? Might also be a reason why the character landed in the Exiled Lands: A rival to Aquilonia razed that colony to the ground, which is conveniantly why don’t read anything about it in the lore.
Aquilonia is the most powerful of the Hyborian nations, even before Conan became king. Unfortunately, there’s really nowhere for such a colony to be - those are other ‘civilised’ nations all around, and none of them would stand for a colony being established in their lands, even if it meant going to war with Aquilonia (especially since they could be fairly confident that Nemedia (the second strongest Hyborian nation) at least would probably back them if it offered a chance to bloody Aquilonia’s nose).
Advancing northwards into Cimmeria would be pretty much suicidal - the last time something like that was tried was when Conan was a youth and it resulted in the Cimmerian tribes gathering together to raid southwards and destroy Venarium. (Funnily enough, the story was probably inspired by the incident at Teutoberg that Force referred to earlier.) Aquilonia would not want to risk triggering that again. Likewise, going westward into the Pictish Highlands would be a bad idea. Fort Tuscelan (on the map Eustacia posted) is as far west as Aquilonia got, and it is a fairly primitive border fort - most of the towns in the Bossonian Marches are relatively primitive and more focused on defense than nice views.
If the sea view is essential, I’d recommend Argos rather than Aquilonia. Otherwise, a river or lake would likely be the only plausible options.
As for inland seas, the only significant one is The Vilayet in the east, and that’s a lot further away from Aquilonia than the western ocean.
In The Hour of the Dragon, Conan flees Tarantia (Aquilonia) by boat, traveling to Argos via a large river that flows to the sea. But Aquilonia itself has no coastline.
Depends a bit on how one understands the “nations” of the Hyborian age. As it is supposed to be an imaginary early iron age (written by a guy with a somewhat loose understanding of history), I’d say that a lot of land is not settled, but just wilderness. There’d be no borders in the modern sense - they’re just lines on the map, if at all, and not densely guarded.
In my view - personal opinion - nothing is likely to stop an Aquilonian expedition to walk straight through Argos and build a settlement on the coast. As soon as the king of Argos learns of that, he might take offense and raze the settlement. But even then, this may take some time and even fail.
Vikings had a short-lived settlement in present-day Canada. Rome had forts in Germania. Even in semi-modern times, Russia held a fortification in (disputed) Chinese territory for quite some time (Siege of Albazin - Wikipedia). Near where I live, there was a independent settlement within the border of another country, separated by swamps and other natural obstacles, which developed its own language and culture, as apparently nobody to bothered to expel these swamp dwellers.
The Aqulonians could very well have a short-lived settlement or outpost in Zingara, Argos or even the Pictish Wilderness - in my view. All head canon.
Being an Argossean or even just living in Argos is the easier option.
Hah, I always thought these were quite similar!
I also find that what Tacitus wrote about Germania fits perfectly to Howard’s poem about Cimmeria (which was used in the announcement trailer for the CE Frozen North update) and also coincides with what I experience most of the year in this country lol
Those are both quite different from the suggested situation, however. Lief Erickson’s expedition to the Americas pre-dated any global power even beginning to claim the territory, the only conflict he ran into was attacks by the ‘Skraelinger’ (little people…). Likewise, Roman forts in Germania would be more like Aquilonia setting up a fort in Cimmeria (already covered why they wouldn’t try that again) or the Pictish Wilderness - which is essentially what Fort Tuscelan is, and that’s already established as the furthest west they got.
Cimmeria is in early Iron Age - Aquilonia and the other Hyborian nations are considerably more advanced (Zingara even features armour from around the 15th century - as you say REH’s grasp on historical accuracy was not always reliable…)
The Siege of Albazin is more comparable to what you are talking about - but that was, as you say, disputed territory. When the Hyborian nations disputed territory they tended to end up at war. The nearest thing to what you are talking about that I can come up with in the canon would be The Black Stranger/The Treasure of Tranicos (two versions of one story), where a single ship of Zingarans (and Conan) wind up temporarily establishing a micro-colony on the coast of the Pictish Wilderness. But that really doesn’t fit with the sort of thing that Eustacia appeared to be asking about (and doesn’t last long - maybe weeks…)
The desire not to trigger a war would be the most likely thing to stop it. These aren’t mere city states - these are nations hundreds of years old. The borders might not be manned and fortified along their lengths (though in some areas they certainly are - Bossonia, Gunderland and The Border Kingdom all act as bulwarks defending Aquilonia and Nemedia from Picts and Cimmerians - precisely because those are the uncivilised areas you are thinking of.), and there is open countryside, but there are also fuedal type institutions in place and powerful rulers with armies.
I sincerely disagree. But you are free to do as you wish in your head canon. My aim was to provide canon answers, because that forms a basis for most RPers preferences for the game. If canon is not required then it is also perfectly reasonable to suggest that Aquilonia has a coastline, or anything else that is desired to make a personal story work. There is certainly nothing that requires anyone should be limited to only REH’s canon. But if they want to stay within it, then the limits are there.
100%
There is nothing stopping the OP from still being Aquilonian,
Just the exception being having found (or built) his home/fortress/castle/estate along Argos Shores.
I think this is the route I’m taking. I appreciate everyone’s thoughts, facts, and feedback. I’ve learned a LOT!
For what it’s worth I like your thinking. And I thought I’d ask a poxy LLM that’s close to going bust what it thinks - it seems to agree (and the logic is sound in this case).
Question: in Robert E Howard’s Hyborian Age, is it feasible that an Aquilonian colony could be established near the coast in Argos?
Answer:
Yes—feasible in-world, especially if you treat “Aquilonian colony” as “Aquilonian-backed or Aquilonian-led settlements of mixed origin,” and if you give it a believable political and economic reason to exist.
Why it’s plausible
- Coastal settlement fits Aquilonia’s known pattern: In the Hyborian Age setting, Aquilonia is a strong, expansion-minded kingdom in the north-western cultural sphere. Coastal footholds (ports, fishing towns, trade depots, fortified harbors) are exactly the kind of infrastructure any maritime-facing empire would use to control shipping and collect revenue.
- Argos as a staging ground: Argos is positioned as a major Mediterranean-style zone (the “civilized coast” feel). That’s the kind of place where a foreign power could plausibly maintain a settlement as a trading post, a naval yard, or a garrison-town rather than as an immediate attempt at deep annexation.
- The Hyborian Age often allows patchwork colonization: Howard frequently implies a world of mixed peoples, mercenaries, merchant adventurers, and semi-autonomous towns. So the colony doesn’t have to be a pure “move the whole Aquilonian nation there” scenario—it can be a chartered port under Aquilonian protection.
What has to be true for it to work
- Secure the sea lanes: Any colony near the coast lives or dies by transport. The Aquilonians would need naval patrols and friendly (or intimidated) local/coastal powers to keep supply lines open.
- Local legitimacy (or at least tolerance): You’d need a mechanism like:
- a treaty/tribute arrangement,
- a marriage-alliance via a local strongman/dynasty,
- a “we protect your trade” bargain,
- or a merchant enclave that later gets militarized.
- A defensible harbor town model: If it’s just a random outpost, it will be raided or cut off. A better fit is a walled harbor-city with a dock, warehouses, and a small professional garrison—something that can survive seasonal turmoil.
A likely “best fit” setup (quick blueprint)
- Aquilonian merchants establish a fortified trading wharf.
- A later charter expands it into a port-city with a naval/mercantile command.
- The settlement remains nominally local or protected, but Aquilonia controls customs, arms supply, and major shipping decisions.
So, if your question is “could an Aquilonian settlement realistically exist there without breaking the tone of Howard’s world,” the answer is that it can, as long as you ground it in trade + security and keep it to the scale of a fortified port/colony rather than an immediate conquest.
If you tell me what kind of colony you mean (merchant post, military garrison, colonists from the north, religious community, etc.), I can tune the scenario to be maximally consistent with the Hyborian Age power dynamics.
As you can see, Aquilonia is indeed landlocked.
As @DanQuixote There is really no possibility for Aquilonia to have any colonies on the coastline. However, that does not mean that your character could not be of Aquilonian decent living in another nation, say Zingara or Argos. Perhaps a minor noble who is on the outs with King Numedides (since Conan hasn’t killed him yet to take the crown) and is seeking refuge elsewhere in fear of retribution from the tyrannical reign of Numedides. Or you ran off with someone from one of those nations you fell in love with and that is why you are currently living there hence why you can see the sea from your current home, even though you are originally from Aquilonia. Just because you were born in one nation does not mean you have to stay there (and since you end up in the exiled lands you clearly won’t ).
Hong Kong, Macao, the Panama Canal, Moldauhafen (Moldauhafen - Wikipedia), Sevastopol/Crimea (Kharkiv Pact - Wikipedia), 750 US military bases in foreign countries, …
REH didn’t write about Aquilonian colonies or outposts. Which is not surprising, as he wrote stories about a dude bashing heads in and abducting, uhm, saving women from other head bashing dudes, not a geopolitical treatise. Doesn’t say that they’d be impossible.
It depends, of course, on one’s understanding of “canon”. But I dare to say: Lighten up, people. It’s a fantasy world, not some holy book. Saying something against the latter is totally worth burning people for, of course, but adding something to a hundred year old fantasy world…
Well, there are no Exiled Lands on REH’s map, and none of our characters appears in REH’s stories. It’s all heresy against the Canon, hallowed be thy name!
Real world history has hundreds, if not thousands of examples for colonies within another country’s borders*. It’d be totally plausible in the Hyborian age, too. It’s not canon, but apparently, we all agree that additions to the canon are okay if done somewhat plausible.
*One might even say that all colonies existed on foreign soil, I know. cough
Except, and here is the key point you keep ignoring, what you are suggesting is more like if France decided to set up a colony in the south of Spain. It would lead to outright war. Colonies have often been established on the territory of weaker powers, not so often on the territory of powers that are essentially matching in power and would trigger war on a huge scale. (As mentioned earlier, the key reason Aquilonia doesn’t just invade Zingara, Argos or Ophir is because that would immediately trigger retaliation from Nemedia and probably Koth, creating ‘Europe-wide’ war - somewhat like happened in the early 20th century, just with more primitive weapons…)
Because they are in the Dreamlands. They have no physical location within the known map, because they are not supposed to be on the map. (Siptah has a precise location off the coast of Stygia, because it is a precise location within the map.) The Giant Kings’ capital was, most likely, originally located somewhere within the area covered by Stygia or Acheron, but they severed it from the physical world back well before the rise of any of the Hyborian nations.
Not what anyone has been saying at any point. But nice strawman for you to dismiss.
One last time - anyone is free to make up whatever story they want. But when RPers ask a question about the world background they typically want to know what the canon is, because that is the common ground for their gameplay. If they are playing in a looser context, just using the trappings of the Hyborian Age, they can comfortably ignore whatever details they want to ignore (but then they would be less likely to ask the question in the first place). Likewise, there is no problem with anyone giving their head-canon responses, so long as that is clearly marked as such. Saying that in your view Aquilonia could potentially set up a colony in Argos is fine - saying that in canon Aquilonia could set up a colony in Argos is not so fine, because in canon it would almost certainly trigger widespread war.
A better solution, if someone wants to stay within canon, is the one that has been suggested multiple times of either being an Aquilonian that lives in Argos (or Zingara), or just being Argossean or Zingaran. (Or just not having a sea view, but a river or lake instead.) If one does not want to stay in canon then absolutely anything is fine, depending on what would be acceptable to the other RPers being RPed with.
That is, of course, speculation. That has never actually been proven nor has Funcom even confirmed this.
The Giant Kings occupied what would be considered Stygia, and likely some of the surrounding area. Then the Khari arrived and defeated them (though some of the nobility likely stayed behind and mixed with the nobility of the Khari which would explain why the Stygian nobility look rather different than the typical Stygian, and my Conan confuses Akivash who pre-dates the Hyborian Age for being of the Stygian Nobility when there were not even any Stygians at that time [but the “pre-human civilization” they overthrew did in fact exist in the Thurian Age).
It is in all likelihood that the remnants of the Giant-Kings moved north and mixed with those they conquered there to create Acheron. And yes, this is all before the Hyborian left Hyperboria and began pressing southwards (and were at first enslaved by Acheron before so many of them kept moving south that they overwhelmed and destroyed Acheron).
Actually he did. Twice. You might want to bush up on them but well… lets just say… they did NOT end well for the Aquilonians. You can read Beyond the Black River yourself to see just how spectacularly that one went. Then there was the expansion and colonies set up into Cimmeria, and the battle at the fort known as Venarium. The Cimmerians devistated the Aquilionian military so dramatically, and a 12 year old Conan took part in this battle mind you, that Aquilionia pulled out of Cimmeria fully and never attempted another incursion again. So yeah, their history of colonizing foreign lands is.. less than successful.
Now you are attempting to suggest that they are doing this, successfully, in nations with standing militaries and armored knights? 
I dare say a modicum of reason is in order when you view such things yes? Real world history did not have modern nations colonizing equally modern nations. The strong nations colonized the technologically weak nations who could not defend themselves against their superior military power. So your attempt to use “real world” actually proves both @DanQuixote and myself, while disproving yourself.