The Los Valley o Iskande
Rol S oo man
ABSTRACT
The belie ha alos G eek legacy could be disco e ed in emo e egions o Cen al Asia has long been popula
in Wes e n cul u e. This pape del es in o he ad en u e ale The Los Valley o Iskande by Ame ican pulp
ic ion au ho Robe E. Howa d (1906–1936). The s o y un olds in A ghanis an du ing he peak o he G ea
Game, and in ol es aconcealed alley whe e he descendan s o Alexande ’sa my ha e endu ed ac oss
cen u ies wi h hei ancien cul u e and e hnic pu i y in ac .
Icon ex ualize The Los Valley o Iskande as an exempla y li e a y e lec ion o he Eu opean (and
Ame ican) p eoccupa ion wi h he p esence o Alexande and he G eeks in Bak ia and India, highligh ing
he acial s e eo ypes Howa d employs o jux apose he ancien G eeks o he su ounding ‘ba ba ic ibes’.
A he hea o Howa d’ss o y lies he con la ion o Classical G eece and con empo a y wes e n Eu ope.
On ab oade scale, my pape add esses he impac his p eoccupa ion had on mode n schola ship (bo h
colonialis and an icolonial his o ical na a i es ela ed o ‘Hellenis ic’ Bak ia and India). Icon end ha
in he depic ion o he G eco -Bak ian kingdoms as Eu opean o ‘Wes e n’, schola ship, a el w i ing, and
ad en u e ic ion mu ually in o med one ano he .
KEYWORDS
A ghanis an; colonialism; Robe E. Howa d; Alexande he G ea ; G eco -Bac ian kingdoms; bo de lands.
The i le o his pape de i es om asho s o y by Ame ican pulp ic ion au ho
Robe E. Howa d (1906–1936). The Los Valley o Iskande is an ad en u e ale se in
mid -nine een h cen u y A ghanis an, when he so -called G ea Game was a i s peak.
The he o is agunslinge o I ish descen om El Paso, Texas, named F ancis Xa ie
Go don. He wo ks, eluc an ly, as ascou and messenge o he B i ish colonial au-
ho i ies on he No h -Wes F on ie .1
Go don– known in he Eas by his A abian nom de gue e, El Bo ak o ‘The Swi ’–
is he main p o agonis o hal adozen s o ies ha Howa d w o e in 1934 and 1935
(Tompkins 2010).
2
In The Los Valley o Iskande , Go don mus wa n he ga ison in
he B i ish ou pos a Ali Masjid in he Khybe Pass (Fig. 1) o asec e plo o ‘emb oil
Cen al Asia in asac ed wa and send howling ho des o ana ics ac oss he Indian
bo de ’ (Howa d 2010, 5).
1 As a ypical Howa d he o, Go don has no espec o au ho i y, and no sympa hy o he B i ish
colonial p ojec in India and A ghanis an; bu as Mo gan Holmes no ed, El Bo ak’sconce n is no
wi h ex ending B i ish domina ion, ‘i is abou p e en ing he nex would -be Genghis Khan o Ta-
me lane om eme ging in Cen al Asia’ and o e unning seden a y socie y, slaugh e ing housands
(Finn 2013, 273–274).
2 The name El Bo ak was bo owed om he 1915 pi a e no el The Sea Hawk by Ra ael Saba ini (Ha -
dy 2010, 534). The ansla ion ‘ he Swi ’ is no en i ely co ec , as he name likely was inspi ed by
al -Bu āq, he name o he magical ho se -like moun ha ca ied he P ophe o he Hea ens, and
which in u n de i es om he A abic adjec i e ba q (‘ligh ning’, c . C. G ube , ‘al -Bu āq’, in he
Encyclopedia o Islam online) o Middle Pe sian *ba āg o *bā ag (‘moun ’ o ‘ iding beas ’, c . Shaked
2002).
STUDIA HERCYNIA XXVIII/2, 13–32
14 STUDIA HERCYNIA XXVIII/2
Fig. 1: The Khybe Pass wi h he Fo ess o Ali Masjid. Colo ed li hog aph by James Ra ay, 1847
(Wellcome Lib a y, London; in . no. 30331i).
Riding alone h ough he unhospi able hills o an unmapped co ne o A ghanis an, Go don
inds himsel hun ed by a‘human bloodhound’: he malicious p o -Russian Aus o -Hunga ian
named Gus a Hunyadi– he mas e mind behind he plan o o e un India– and his band
o blood hi s y Tu kish and A ghan henchmen aiming o s op him a all cos . Jus when hey
h ea en o inally o e haul him, he mee s ahandsome young man a med wi h an a chaic-
-looking swo d. Go don immedia ely eels ha he e is some hing unusual abou he appea -
ance o he young man:
His hai caugh Go don’sa en ion. Blue eyes, such as he you h had, we e no uncommon
in he hills. Bu his hai was yellow, bound abou his emples wi h aband o ed clo h, and
alling in squa e -cu mane nea ly o his shoulde s. He was clea ly no A ghan. Go don e-
membe ed ales he had hea d o a ibe li ing somewhe e in hese moun ains who we e
nei he A ghans no Muhammadans. Had he s umbled upon amembe o ha legenda y
ace? (Howa d 2010, 8).3
3 Ci a ions a e om he 2010 Del Rey edi ion o he El Bo ak s o ies, compiled and anno a ed by Rus y
Bu ke. Bu ke’s ex ollows Howa d’so iginal ypesc ip kep in he Public Lib a y o his home own
C oss Plains, Texas, and es o es he o iginal i le Swo ds o he Hills.
15ROLF STROOTMAN
I soon u ns ou ha indeed he has. The young man, whose name is Ba dylis, leads Go don
o he sa e y o ahidden alley whe e an ancien Hellenic ci iliza ion lies undisco e ed. ‘Who
a e you people?’ Go don asks Ba dylis. ‘You a e no an A ghan. You do no look like an O ien al
a all.’ The young man eplies: ‘We a e he Sons o Iskande . When he g ea conque o came
h ough hese moun ains long ago, he buil he ci y we call A alus, and le hund eds o his
soldie s and hei women in i . Iskande ma ched wes wa d again, and a e along while
wo d came ha he was dead and he empi e di ided. Bu he people o Iskande abode he e,
unconque ed. Many imes we ha e slaugh e ed he A ghan dogs who came agains us.’ I is
hen ha Go don unde s ands:
Ligh came o Go don, illumina ing ha misplaced amilia i y, Iskande – Alexande he
G ea , who conque ed his pa o Asia and le colonies behind him. The boy’sp o ile was
classic G ecian, such as Go don had seen in sculp u ed ma ble, and he names he spoke
we e G ecian. Undoub edly he was he descendan o some Macedonian soldie who had
ollowed he G ea Conque o on his in asion o he eas (Howa d 2010, 11).
The lines ha ollow each us ha aclassical educa ion no only nu u es highb ow cul u al
capi al and he abili y o hink logically and analy ically– i also helps you ge a ound in
A ghanis an.
To es he ma e , he spoke o Ba dylis in ancien G eek, one o he many languages, mod-
e n and obsole e, he had picked up in his a ied ca ee . The you h c ied ou wi h pleasu e.
‘You speak ou ongue!’, he exclaimed, in he same language. ‘No in a housand yea s has
as ange come o us wi h ou own speech on his lips. […] Su ely, you, oo, a e aSon o
Iskande ?’ (Howa d 2010, 11–12).
The Los Valley o Iskande does no ank among Howa d’s ines wo k. W i en a ound 1934,
Howa d’sagen , O is Kline, was unable o sell i o one o he pulp magazines, and he s o y
was inally published pos humously in 1974, almos o y yea s a e he dea h o he au ho
(on he publica ion his o y, see Ha dy 2010, 541–542). Howa d o iginally ga e i he a he
indis inc i le Swo ds o he Hills, bu i is be e known by he i le ha was used in he olume
in which i was i s p in ed. Howa d pu is s may objec o his unau ho ized in e en ion,
bu i could be a gued ha Glenn Lo d, he edi o o ha olume– which is en i led The Los
Valley o Iskande a e he enamed ale– did he s o y a a o .
Id aw a en ion o his lesse -known Howa d ‘ya n’ because Iconside i exempla y o
he los wo ld o los ci y li e a u e se in Cen al Asia, and by ex ension he Eu opean (and
in his case, also Ame ican) p eoccupa ion wi h he G eek p esence in ancien Bak ia and
India. My pape is hus conce ned wi h he en anglemen o popula cul u e, his o iog aphy
and a chaeology, and he ways in which con empo a y cul u al and poli ical issues impac
schola ly iews o he pas . Howa d’ss o y is based upon he ope o he Wes e n ad en u e
who en u es in o inaccessible, ba ba ous lands on he ail o Alexande . The bes -known
example is Rudya d Kipling’sno ella The Man Who Would be King, in which wo B i ish ogue
soldie s a el o emo e Kā i is ān in sea ch o he easu es allegedly le behind he e by
Alexande (Kipling 1888).4 Howa d goes beyond Kipling’so iginal an asy by con on ing his
eade s wi h acommuni y o e hnically pu e Hellenes ha has su i ed h ough he cen u ies
4 On he image o Alexande and he so -called ‘G eco -Bac ians’ in Kipling’sno ella, see Vasunia
2013, 77–90; Mai s 2021.
16 STUDIA HERCYNIA XXVIII/2
wi h hei ancien cul u e in ac . S udying his s o y, Ia gue, can help us un a el he colonial
a i udes ha ha e in o med mode n iews o ancien Cen al Asia.
TRAVELLING SWORDSMEN IN GRIM LANDS
Robe E. Howa d (Fig. 2) is known oday mainly as he c ea o o Conan o Cimme ia,
apseudo -Cel ic wa io whose ad en u es ake place in a a ie y o his o ical se ings only
hinly disguised as an asy lands (and who is ne e called ‘Conan he Ba ba ian’ in any o How-
a d’ss o ies). His wo k s ands ou among he au ho s who p oduced ex s o he Ame ican
pulp magazines o he 1920s and 1930s because o his i id w i ing s yle, and he unse ling
da kness lu king unde nea h his bes s o ies.
Fig. 2: Robe E. Howa d (a e Louine 2018, 19).
Du ing his sho li e ime– he ook his own li e a he age o hi y, ha ing ha dly e e le his
na i e Texas– Howa d w o e o e h ee hund ed wo ks o ic ion o pulp magazines such as
Th illing Ad en u es, O ien al S o ies, and abo e all Wei d Tales. He was ac i e in awide ange o
gen es, including his o ical ad en u e, humo ous all ales, boxing s o ies, an asy, wes e n,
ho o , and so -called spicy s o ies. Ac ion is he d i ing o ce o hese ales, which a e o en
qui e iolen , as ad en u e s o ies ypically a e. They a e cha ac e ized by hei p e e ence
o dialogue and e y as pace. The Los Valley o Iskande , oo, begins in medias es as Go don,
slumbe ing ligh ly unde he cold s a s, wakes up ba ely in ime o epel asudden swo d
17ROLF STROOTMAN
s oke, kills his i s man by he end o he i s pa ag aph, and amid lying bulle s jumps on
his ho se and gallops o in o he da k nigh chased by Hunyadi’showling wol pack.
Howa d dese es se ious conside a ion om academics because, alongside J. R. R. Tolkien
and H. P.Lo ec a , he is one o he h ee mos in luen ial au ho s in he his o y o an a-
sy ic ion. His imp in on Wes e n pop cul u e is eno mous. He in en ed he sub -gen e o
Swo d & So ce y– a e m coined by F i z Leibe – in which a eling swo dsmen ba le e il
magicians, mons e s, and demons, hun o easu e, escue p incesses, epulse seduc i e
wi ches, and sleep wi h go geous queens. Howa d con ibu ed subs an ially o he de elop-
men o hese gen e opes (and gende s e eo ypes), bu p ima ily esponsible a e he o en
abysmal a emp s a imi a ing him. An abundance o ew i ings and pas iches by sel -decla ed
‘pos humous collabo a o s’, he iconic co e a o he con o e sial Lance Conan se ies o
he 1960s by F ank F aze a (who ga e Conan his adema k long hai ), he app op ia ion o
Conan as aca oon cha ac e by he Ma el Company and la e Da k Ho se Comics, h ee
Conan mo ies, none o which is ac ually based on aHowa d s o y and only one o which is
no ewo hy ( he i s one, wi h A nold Schwa zenegge ), aple ho a o Howa d -inspi ed B
mo ies especially in he 1980s, wo TV se ies, and mul iple ideo games: all his and mo e
ensu ed Howa d’ss a us as amajo icon o Ame ican cul u e.5
RACE AND CULTURE IN HOWARD’SFICTION
Highly con o e sial is he ques ion whe he he undeniable acism in Howa d’sw i ings is
only casual, and ‘no mal’ o he ype o s o ies he w o e and he social milieu ha he belonged
o– he whi e, Anglo, u al Texan middle classes– o ha his wo k is in es ed wi h amo e
p o ound conce n wi h acial pu i y.6 The la e was a gued abo e all by Benjamin Ga s ad in
wo well - esea ched a icles (Ga s ad 2010; 2016; c . Sho lin 2013). Lo enzo DiTommaso on
he o he hand a gued ha Howa d uses ace in his an asy s o ies as ali e a y de ice, allowing
apid plo de elopmen and ins an wo ld building: ‘This no only eed Howa d om ha ing
o popula e awo ld ex nihilo, bu also allowed he imagina ion o his eade s o shoulde mos
o he bu den’ (DiTommaso 2006, 112–113; asimila p ocedu e can be seen in Howa d’s a he
ske chy ec ea ion o colonial -e a A ghanis an and i s mul ie hnic inhabi an s).
7
O he s again
5 We may add o good measu e he s ill popula 1970s able op ole -playing game Dungeons & D ag‑
ons, which combines cha ac e s and opes om Tolkien and Howa d. No e also he 1980s ac ion
igu e He ‑Man, wi h accompanying anima ed child en’sse ies He ‑Man and he Mas e s o he Uni e se,
c ea ed by oy ac o y Ma el and ea u ing as i s i ula he o amuscula male Ba bie inspi ed by
he 1982 mo ie Conan he Ba ba ian; wi h he He -Man anchise we each he absolu e nadi o
(indi ec ) Howa d adap a ions. See P ida 2013, making acase o he c i ical s udy o he Conan
igu e as acul u al p oduc . Howa d became con o e sial again when Michael Ba kun (2003,
119–123) aced he conspi acy heo y claiming he exis ence o amind -con olling ex a e es ial
ep ilian eli e aiming a wo ld domina ion, popula ized by conspi acy heo is Da id Icke, back
o Howa d’ssho s o y, The Shadow Kingdom (1929); Ipe sonally eel ha he 1980s TV se ies V, in
which ep iloid aliens disguised as humans ake o e he ea h, may ha e exe ed amo e di ec
in luence (Howa d’sse pen men a e p imo dial, no ex a e es ial).
6 Awell -in o med and nuanced, hough a imes sligh ly apologe ic, discussion o he con o e sy
is o e ed by Finn 2013, 85–108. Finn makes he impo an poin ha his ype o c i icism (which
he calls ‘pos mode n’) is o en based upon aselec i e eading o s o ies.
7 C . DiTommaso 1996, one o he ea lies schola ly discussions o Howa d’swo k in apee - e iewed
academic publica ion, and he i s s udy o he ole o ace in Howa d’swo ld building. DiTomma-
so, howe e , wo ked om he i s publica ion o Howa d’sConan s o ies in book o m published

18 STUDIA HERCYNIA XXVIII/2
con end ha ‘i is inc edibly naï e o h ow a wen y - i s cen u y alue judgmen on o people
who we e li ing ahund ed yea s ago’ (Finn 2013, 102).
I is no easy ask o make an e enhanded judgmen abou his issue. On one hand, How-
a d’spe spec i es on ace and u iliza ion o acial s e eo ypes indeed e lec he p e ailing
a i udes o his ime and social milieu. The employmen o (nega i e) e hnic s e eo ypes
was expec ed o au ho s who penned ad en u e s o ies o he In e bellum pulp magazines.
These publica ions p ima ily a ge ed awhi e middle -class eade ship. Racialism mo eo e
is akey ea u e o an asy and con inues o se e as he undamen al unde pinning o he
wo ld -building ha de ines he gen e un il oday (DiTommaso 2006). On he o he hand,
Howa d’ss o ies and le e s consis en ly con ey asense o ahie a chy be ween ‘ aces’, en-
compassing bo h he ic ional and pu po edly eal ones; his is unde sco ed by his pe sis en
in e p e a ion o his o y as an ongoing s uggle be ween aces o sup emacy (Ga s ad 2010,
240). I is ue ha wi hin Howa d’sw i ings, he ‘ aces’ in ac equen ly a e e hnic o cul-
u al g oups such as Pic s, Cel s, o Comanche. Howe e , i is no ewo hy ha hese g oups
a e consis en ly cha ac e ized in e ms o hei sha ed physical and psychological ai s, in
o he wo ds hei pe cei ed acial ea u es.8
The c ux o he ma e appea s o hinge on he speci ic s o y unde sc u iny. In ce ain
ins ances, Howa d seems o employ acial s e eo ypes as ama e o con enience, adhe ing o
he con en ions p e alen in he gen es he engaged wi h. Al e na i ely, he may be con eying
adeepe anxie y ega ding he pe cei ed e osion o whi e sup emacy in he Ame ican Sou h.
In Howa d’ss o ies and le e s, miscegena ion po en ially leads o he o e h ow o ci iliza-
ions because i weakens he ‘highe ’ ace while s eng hening he ‘lowe ’ one, and his in How-
a d’s iew o e ed ajus i ica ion o seg ega ion: ‘mas e s may only main ain hei sup emacy
as long as hey do no mix wi h hei sla es’ (Ga s ad 2010, 237). This is exempli ied by his
s o ies se in he Ame ican Sou h, no ably he Sou he n Go hic no ella Black Canaan (1936).9
In his na a i e abou an A ican -Ame ican up ising in he swamps o Louisiana, he mos
h ea ening an agonis a guably is asensual oodoo wi ch o mixed acial descen ; known as
he B ide o Damballah (in ac he name o adi ine being in A ican diaspo ic eligions), she
li e ally pa alyzes he whi e male p o agonis wi h he black magic and sexual allu e.
I is no easy o see why he spec e o acial degene a ion exe ed such as ong hold on
Howa d. The communi y whe e he esided, he small own o C oss Plains in cen al Texas,
was almos en i ely whi e; he had only expe ienced mul ie hnic socie ies du ing b ie s ays
in la ge owns like New O leans and San An onio. His no ions ega ding in e acial con lic
we e pa ly g ounded in he dis inc Anglo -Texan na a i e adi ions and on ie my hology
ha shaped him as aw i e (see Finn 2013, 63–84). These na a i es ended o ca ego ize he
inhabi an s o Texas on he basis o hei pe cei ed e hnici y. Na i e Ame icans, no ably he
Apache and Comanche, o en se ed as ad e sa ies. Howa d’s iews may in addi ion ha e been
shaped by his ex ensi e co espondence wi h his men o , ellow pulp au ho H. P.Lo ec a ,
whose bla an acism and xenophobia a e well -documen ed aspec s o bo h his biog aphy
and his s o ies, and who sha ed his conce ns abou immig a ion and acial decline h ough
by Lance Books (1965–1968) om which nega i e acial depic ions had been expunged (Sho lin
2013, 92). The o iginal uncenso ed ex s became a ailable wi h he ou een - olume Howa d se ies
published by Del Rey Books be ween 2003 and 2011.
8 In his ic ional Hybo ian wo ld, Cimme ians o ins ance ha e black hai while he neighbo ing
Vani all ha e ed hai ; hey a e bo h as ong and p oud people and hey a e cons an ly a wa
wi h each o he . On he endu ing in luence o Howa d’s acial wo ld building in la e an asy, see
DiTommaso 2006.
9 On his s o y, see Ga s ad 2010.
19ROLF STROOTMAN
his le e s. Compa ed o Lo ec a , howe e , Howa d was ema kably nuanced. His wo k also
con ains posi i e po ayals o non -whi e people (mainly men), and as Ma k Finn poin ed ou ,
‘ he majo i y o ogues and despicable cha ac e s in Robe ’s[s o ies] a e he whi e Eu opeans
o hei cul u al equi alen s’ (Finn 2013, 97).
Be ha as i may, ace heo y in any case in o ms The Los Valley o Iskande , as we shall
examine below. Bu ha s o y is also an excep ion wi hin Howa d’soeu e because o he
ela i ely posi i e ea men o ahighly ci ilized, u banized people, in his case he ancien
G eeks. Usually, Howa d idealizes he ype o he up on no he n ba ba ian, whom he
hen con as s wi h he degene a e ci y -dwelle s o so -called ci ilized coun ies.
10
‘A yans
de e io a e swi ly in seden a y and peace ul li e’, says he na a o o Child en o he Nigh ,
a1931 sho s o y in which Howa d p esen s his ideas abou acial de elopmen . ‘When hey
pen hemsel es in wi h ci y walls, hey seal hei doom’ (Howa d 2008, 156). Wha accoun s
o his posi i e ake on he sophis ica ed Hellenes is hei alleged p eoccupa ion wi h bodily
heal h: ‘E iden ly hese descendan s o G ecian a hle es ha e as much admi a ion o physical
pe ec ion as had hei ancien ances o s’ (Howa d 2010, 13). Mo eo e , he G eeks‘ pe sis-
en s uggle o su i al agains he ie ce A ghan ibal wa io s su ounding hem d aws
pa allels o se le s on he Ame ican on ie – one o a ious indica ions ha Howa d’spe -
spec i e on A ghanis an d aws inspi a ion om Texan olklo e and on ie s o ies. Like he
mo e isola ed whi e communi ies in u al Texas (o so i could be belie ed), he G eeks o
A alus ha e no degene a ed because hey ne e in e b ed wi h he su ounding non -whi es.
The El Bo ak s o ies a e ma ked by acialism, as he a ied peoples con e ging in Cen al
Asia a e equen ly depic ed wi h dis inc bu gene ally un a o able inhe en cha ac e is ics.
Go don/El Bo ak is supe io o hem all– no because he is an Ame ican bu because he is
aTexan on ie sman who descends om a ace o Cel ic wa io s. Ba ling de ious Russians
and sa age A ghans, while despising he so -called ci ilized B i ish and decaden Pe sians, he is
he ad en u e gen e’ss ock cha ac e o he Wes e n he o in an exo ic se ing who is supe io
o he na i e peoples he encoun e s in physical, mo al, and in ellec ual e ms, and as such is
compa able o Hen y Ride Hagga d’sAllan Qua e main and Edga Rice Bu ough’sTa zan
(Howa d was well -acquain ed wi h hese men’swo ks), o indeed Howa d’sown Conan.
HOWARD’SAFGHANISTAN
Howa d was ai ly well -in o med abou e hnology and his o y h ough his subs an ial p i a e
lib a y and he local public lib a ies he equen ed.11 His s o ies e lec ed he popula s e e-
o ypes o his day, and we e de e mined by he demands o he gen es ha he wo ked in. His
iews on his o y and cul u e we e in o med by social Da winism, which was no uncommon
in he In e bellum pe iod. In colonial w i ings, non -Wes e n socie ies ha supposedly ha e no
10 Ano he opposi ion Howa d uses, is ha be ween no he n ba ba ians like Conan (who ac acco ding
o acode o hono ) and non -whi e sa ages. Examples o he la e ca ego y can be ound in he Conan
ales The Vale o Los Women, se in a an asy e sion o ‘Da k’ A ica, and Beyond he Black Ri e , in
which sa age Pic s s and in o na i e Ame icans h ea ening peace ul se le communi ies; he
wo s o ies a e widely ega ded as belonging o espec i ely he wo s and he bes ha Howa d
w o e.
11 Alis o books owned by Howa d has been compiled by Rus y Bu ke and is a ailable online a he
websi e Howa d His o y: The Li e and Times o Robe E. Howa d (howa dhis o y.com), main ained
by Rob Roehm; and as a‘legacy lib a y’ a Lib a y hing (lib a y hing.com/p o ile/Robe EHowa d).
Iwas unable o consul He on 1984.
20 STUDIA HERCYNIA XXVIII/2
ye eached he highe ungs on he ci iliza ional ladde a e habi ually desc ibed as ‘ ibal’–
a e m sugges ing ba ba ism and he absence o s a ehood. A ghanis an is no excep ion; as Ni i
Manchanda (2018) showed, he wo d ‘ ibe’ became a‘gene ic signi ie o all hings A ghan’.
Howa d’sCen al Asian ic ion leans hea ily on he wo k o Talbo Mundy, he B i ish-
-Ame ican au ho o ad en u e s o ies se in colonial India and on he No h -Wes F on ie .
Mundy saw A ghanis an as ‘ he home o con as s, o blood - euds ha las un il he las -bu -
-one man dies’, whe e ma auding sa ages dwelled ‘abo e he golden subcon inen [India],
om which pe ch i ceaselessly b oods and b eeds he wa io s who migh descend in human
lash loods, human a alanches’ (quo ed by Tompkins 2010, xix). This is echoed in The Los Val‑
ley when Howa d w i es ha ‘in he A ghan moun ains all igh s we e o he dea h’ (Howa d
2010, 3). Bu also his o he A ghan s o ies p oceed om he p emise ha A ghanis an is home
o ba ba ic ibes ben on in ading India. A he age o se en een, Howa d had ead a leas
i e Mundy no els: The Winds o he Wo ld (1915), King– o he Khybe Ri les (1916), The I o y T ail
(1915), The Eye o Zei oon (1920), and he Wes e n F on no el Hi a Singh (1918). I was also a ound
his ime ha he c ea ed he cha ac e o El Bo ak. On July 30, 1923, Howa d w o e o his iend,
he la e au ho Te is Clyde Smi h, abou his belie ha ‘[w]hen India u ns om wa o ade
and becomes debauched he wild ibesmen o A ghanis an come down he Khybe Pass wi h
o ch and swo d’ (Roehm– Bulla d 2021, 12). As he young age a which he w o e hese lines
al eady sugges s, his is abo owed iew, da ing o a ime when he was d eaming o being
himsel aw i e like Mundy, as his many le e s o Smi h e eal. Bu he ac ha his was such
Fig. 3: D awing by Robe E. Howa d, enclosed in ale e o Te is Clyde Smi h (Roehm– Bulla d
2022, 447, no. 365).
21ROLF STROOTMAN
apopula pa adigm in his ime allows us o use The Los Valley o Iskande as apa adigma ic
s o y o Wes e n iews o he con as be ween he G eeks in Bak ia and he ba ba ic ibes
su ounding hem. These no ions can be li e ally illus a ed by a udimen a y ske ch enclosed
in ala e le e o Smi h; he d awing is en i led ‘Though s o an A ghan on a aid’ and i shows
a u baned wa io a med wi h scimi a and muske , his mind se on plunde and ape (Fig. 3).
Fo Howa d, oo, he Khybe Pass signi ied abo de be ween ci iliza ion and ba ba i y, like
Had ian’sWall, o he Black Ri e in his own ic ional con inen , Hybo ia. Go don/El Bo ak
howe e p e e s he wa like ibes no h o Khybe o he ci ilized Eu opeans, ea ning hei
espec wi h his bodily s eng h and manly cou age (Fig. 4).12 El Bo ak is hus an ou side in
bo h wo lds. The cha ac e was loosely based upon some eal -li e ad en u e s in nine een h-
-cen u y A ghanis an– in pa icula he Ame ican Alexande Ga dne and he Sco ish explo e
Alexande Bu nes– and wo ic ional he oes c ea ed by Talbo Mundy: Dick An hony o A an,
aSco sman igh ing he Russians in I an in ase ies o s o ies un by Ad en u e magazine in
1914–1915; and A hels an King, he i ula he o o he 1916 no el King– o he Khybe Ri les.
Fig. 4: A ghan ibal wa io s in B i ish se ice. Colo ed li hog aph by James Ra ay, published in
1847 (Na ional A my Museum, London; in . no. 1966-08-26-11).
Go don has mo e han a ew cha ac e is ics in common wi h he be e -known Conan, who, in-
ciden ally, has his own blood -s ained A ghan ad en u e: he no ella The People o he Black Ci cle,
published in Wei d Tales in 1934, is se in a an asy e sion o A ghanis an called A ghulis an.
The plo ea u es many elemen s no mally seen in El Bo ak s o ies, including ie ce A ghul
ibesmen, a‘Zhaiba Pass’ as bounda y be ween ci iliza ion and ba ba i y, and abeau i ul
p incess om Vendhya (India) named Yasmina– aname de i ed di ec ly om Talbo Mun-
dy’sCen al Asian s o ies, and also used (as ‘Yasmeena’) in he El Bo ak s o y The Daugh e o
12 This o cou se is a ope o Wes e n ad en u e s o ies in ‘exo ic’ se ings, seen also in he wo ks
o Hen y Ride Hagga d (Allan Qua e main), Edga Rice Bu ough (Ta zan), and Ka l May (Old
Sha e hand).
28 STUDIA HERCYNIA XXVIII/2
HOWARD’SAFGHANISTAN AS BORDERLAND
El Bo ak’sCen al Asian ad en u es can be cha ac e ized as bo de land na a i es. How-
a d’s ic ion, pa icula ly his an asy, wes e n, and his o ical ad en u e s o ies, a e eple e
wi h bo de land opes and cha ac e is ics. Th ough his Texan he o El Bo ak, Howa d p ojec s
he on ie adi ions o his na i e Texas on A ghanis an. Also his ocus on con lic be ween
e hnic g oups a he han s a es can be unde s ood as pa o aTexan s o y elling adi ion:
Texas was bo ne ou o iolence, and i s his o y bea s ha ou – bu i ’s he na u e o he
iolence ha is wo h no ing. All o he majo wa s ough in and a ound Texas we e cul-
u al clashes– whi e se le s e sus Na i e Ame icans. O whi e e sus Hispanic. O Na i e
Ame ican e sus Na i e Ame ican. S o ies o he las o he Indian wa s wi h he Comanche
we e s ill being old and e old in Robe ’s ime by aging su i o s o he ca nage.31
Like he be e known Conan– acha ac e ‘much close o he Ame ican on ie adi ion
hen epic an asy’ (Finn 2013, 239; c . T ou 2004; Sho lin 2013; Weiss 2013)– El Bo ak is
essen ially aliminal igu e in aliminal se ing: bo h a e exiles om hei na i e coun y–
espec i ely he cold no he n bo de land o Cimme ia and he nine een h -cen u y Texan
on ie (Go don hails om El Paso, an a che ypal bo de own)– and bo h a e ou side s in
he ci ilized and ba ba ic lands whe e hei cons an a els b ing hem. As Ja ed an Duinen
w i es abou he bo de land se ings o he Conan s o ies, in pa icula Beyond he Black Ri e ,
The in e ac ion be ween bo de lands egions and ci ilised cen es is acons an heme and
he bo de lands a e o en p esen ed as si es whe e he ci ilised (and ci ilising) na a i e
un a els. In many ways, Conan unc ions as an embodimen o he bo de lands. He is
ap oduc o abo de lands egion (Cimme ia) and Howa d o en deploys him o expound
he ci ilisa ion -ba ba ism dicho omy. […] He becomes p ized by agen s o hese ci ilised
cen es due o his bo de lands knowledge and quali ies (Van Duinen 2016, 351).
The igu e o El Bo ak pe o ms asimila na a i e unc ion. The Los Valley o Iskande s ands
in along adi ion o colonialis and whi e sup emacis na a i es ocused on he G eek p es-
ence in Cen al Asia. The G eeks a e desc ibed as beau i ul heal hy blue -eyed blonde ‘G ecians’
wi h hei ‘classic G ecian p o ile’ (Howa d 2010, 11). I is signi ican ha in Howa d’ss o y,
he G eeks le behind by Alexande consis ed o bo h men and women, as we al eady saw, so
ha hei e hnic pu i y is secu ed.32
Based upon he s anda d image o wes e n Eu opean se le communi ies in colonial
Ame ica, he G eeks o A alus a e p esen ed as ou side s s uggling o su i al in ahos ile
en i onmen . They a e con as ed in acial e ms o he su ounding ‘Muhammadans’. This is
pa icula ly he case wi h ‘ashi y cha ac e ’ named Abdullah: aTajik ade who is allowed
ad en u e s along he No h -Wes F on ie is explo ed a leng h by Schliephake 2019; Bu le
2018 desc ibes how jou neys ‘in he oo s eps o Alexande ’ eg essed om oman ic Wande lus
o ou is a ac ion.
31 Finn 2013, 94–95.
32 A1986 comic adap ion o he s o y by Roy Thomas (scena io), Howa d Chaykin and E nie Chan
(d awings), and Don Wa ield (colo ing), ansplan s Iskande ’slos ci y o he wo ld o Conan, lo-
ca ing i somewhe e sou h o S ygia (≈ Egyp ), bu s ill in ol ing he his o ical igu e o Alexande
he G ea , and ea u ing G eeks wi h pink skin and yellow hai ; in his Ma el e sion, he you h
Ba dylis has become ablonde woman in abikini.

29ROLF STROOTMAN
in o he sec e alley o sell beads and mi o s o he A alan ladies in e u n o locally p o-
duced wine and ex iles. He is desc ibed as ‘a ul u e -like igu e’ wi h ‘ a -like ea u es, […]
a enomous g in’ and eyes ‘shining wi h ha e and ea ’ (Howa d 2010, passim). He is also an
a ms smuggle h ough he Khybe Pass, supplying he ibes wi h mode n B i ish b eech-
loading i les. I is no su p ise hen ha Abdullah u ns ou o be de ious and eache ous: like
ala e -day Ephial es, he leads Hunyadi’sba ba ous ho de by asec e pa h in o he hidden
alley o he G eeks. Howe e , because o El Bo ak’spe sonal p e e ence o he wild A ghan
hin e lands beyond Khybe , and because o he s o y’simplici ejec ion o Wes e n ci iliza-
ion (explici in a ious o he Howa d ya ns), Howa d’sA ghanis an ambiguously enough is
also aplace whe e he na a i e o Wes e n supe io i y is challenged. In ha sense, oo, hese
a e ypical bo de land s o ies.
CONCLUSION
In The Los Ci y o Iskande , he G eeks in Cen al Asia a e imagined as wes e n Eu opeans su -
ounded by ba ba ic Asians. Though Howa d’s acial ideas a e oo ed in ypical In e bellum
Ame ican, iz, Texan conce ns abou pe cei ed h ea s o Anglo -Ame ican sup emacy, he
image y he uses in The Los Ci y o Iskande de i es om awes e n Eu opean cons uc ion o
aClassical He i age and colonialis ideas abou he impac o ‘Hellenism’ in ancien Bak ia
and India. The depic ion o he Classical G eeks as ai -skinned and blonde is he ul ima e
consequence o he mode n Eu opean equa ion o he ancien G eeks o mode n (wes e n)
Eu opeans. F om Be an’sand Ta n’sp ojec ion o he B i ish Empi e’sci ilizing mission on o
Alexande and his Successo s o Na ain’spos colonial sub e sion o hese iewpoin s and Ed-
dy’s ocus on ‘Nea Eas e n’ esis ance o ‘Hellenism’, his iden i ica ion lies also a he hea
o many schola ly app oaches o ‘Hellenis ic’ Cen al Asia in he wen ie h cen u y (Be an
1902; Ta n 1938; Na ain 1957; Eddy 1961).33
An unp ejudiced app oach o ‘Hellenis ic’ Cen al Asia, Ia gue, is only possible i we
abandon he iew ha he ancien G eeks a e ‘Wes e ne s’, o be dis inguished sha ply om
‘O ien al’ ci iliza ions, as is s ill he no m in bo h Classical s udies and he s udy o he Ancien
Nea Eas . Bu Classical G eece is no ‘Eu opean’; i is an in eg al pa o he wide koine o
in e ac ing peoples and cul u es in he eas e n Medi e anean.
The ale o El Bo ak and he los ci y o Alexande ends wi h asa age ba le be ween he
alian G eeks and A ghan ibesmen. The enemies a e de ea ed because he Ame ican Cel
Go don igh s alongside he G eeks, o whom he eels s angely ela ed. O cou se, Go don
kills Hunyadi. A e he ba le, he e uses an o e by he A alans o s ay and be hei leade .
‘Imus go o my own people,’ Go don said, ‘and i is s ill along oad o a el. […] Ali le ood
o ca y wi h me on my jou neys is all Iask om he people o A alus, who a e men as b a e
and alian as hei oyal ances o s’ (Howa d 2010, 27). And so, he ci y is sa ed, and i emains
hidden un il his day– s ill wai ing o be edisco e ed and eclaimed by he Wes . The s o y o
he o go en G eeks o A alus is hus one o he many ic ional ales ha an icipa ed in he
Wes he disco e y o he los ci y o Ai Khanoum long be o e i ac ually occu ed.
33 Fo discussion o he his o iog aphy, see S oo man 2014, 20–26, and S oo man 2023, 13–16;
Hoo 2022, 39–70.
30 STUDIA HERCYNIA XXVIII/2
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Rol S oo man
U ech Uni e si y
Depa men o His o y and A His o y
Ancien His o y and Classical Ci iliza ion
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