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Zingaran
"His armor and garments were rich and ornate after the fashion of a Zingaran grandee."
- Robert E. Howard: "The Pool of the Black One"
Zingara was founded by people who were an admixture of Zingg Valley folk (possibly of Shemite origin),
invading Picts, and Hyborian tribes. Most historians place the Zingarans among the Hyborian peoples.
The Zingarans were apparently agricultural, maritime, and pastoral, ruled by petty princelings only
nominally subservient to the capital of Kordava.
Bordered by the Shemites to the east and south, and the powerful Pictish tribes to the north, the
Zingarans continued their expansion by building ships and sailing the Western Ocean. Zingara's chief
adversary and rival is Argos. The Zingarans blame Argos for the current rash of pirate activity, and see
the Argosseans as "cutting in" on their shipping.
Zingara has few allies. Their haughty manner and domination of the sea have made them few friends,
although their privateer captains have made all the coastal nations respectful. Zingaran pride and
independence has made it a very fractious nation. Internal problems, dissensions, and even civil wars
have long prevented Zingara from eliminating her enemies and once more ruling the Western Ocean.
In theory, the law comes from the king, much as in Aquilonia. In practice, powerful merchants and pirates
rule, sometimes in radical pirate communities. The Zingarans are halfhearted Mitra worshippers. Their
devotion is not as strong as in Aquilonia, but their isolation has made it difficult for other faiths to gain a
foothold. Along with physical imports, the gods of many other nations sail into port with Zingaran ships.
Zarono, the Zingaran Buccaneer
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