The only primary source for information on the Brazen Horde is the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. There are tidbits in "The Rock of the West" (Living Greyhawk Journal 5) and the Player's Guide to Zeif, but nothing of great note. Based on my research therein, here is what we know of them:
The Brazen Horde were nomads from southern Komal (beyond Mur and the Gulf of Ghayar). Like the tribes of Baklunish nomads that roamed the plains south of Zeif, they were a warlike people, constantly at odds with the Komali. In fact, the Uli considered them to be "western Paynim," though the leaders of the Horde did not use the title "khan."
During the reign of Melek the Restless (2944-2982 BH), Zeif was being plagued by the Paynim tribes on its southern border. As a solution, he invited the Brazen Horde (2958 BH) to act as a buffer between the Sultanate and these nomadic raiders. For decades, the groups warred with each other. The Uli repelled them in the south, while mixed bands of Oerid-Baklunish refugees flooded into southern Ekbir. The Tiger and Wolf Nomads trace their origins to the Paynim Diaspora.
After establishing their control over the so-called "Plains of the Paynims," the Horde turned their attention to Tusmit and Ket in the early 3rd century CY. Tusmit was able to repel the invaders with the help of Ekbir, but Ket chose capitulation over resistance. The bey of Lopolla broke with Zeif and joined the great padishah of the nomads as an ally. After an initial period of plundering, the Kettites were left well enough alone. However, their land was used as a secure haven from which the Horde launched raids into the realms to the east and south. Veluna, in particular, suffered during these years.
The rise of the Horde in Ket greatly alarmed the courts outside the Baklunish Basin. King Tavish I of Keoland considered these "Paynim" to be such a threat that he ordered the formation of the Knights of the Watch, headquartered in Gran March. In the middle of the 4th century CY, Keoland invaded Ket and defeated the nomads. The bey fled to the Banner Hills with his army, where a strong Kettite resistance flourished.
The loss of Ket fractured the Horde, and the khan-led Paynim tribes challenged their authority. Intertribal warfare became the norm on the plains. The Brazen Horde is now a memory, but every nation of the Baklunish Basin has been effected by them. From Tusmit to the Dry Steppes, Ket to the Gulf of Ghayar, there are still pockets of people who can trace their lineage back to these nomadic horseman from the Western Reaches.
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Q1: Did I miss anything? I know I left out the trouble Melek II had with the Horde, and how he eventually convinced them to leave Zeif alone. I'm also aware that the LGG says the horses of the BH were superior in many ways to those of the indigenous Paynim. Other than that, I think I covered everything.
Q2: Were the Brazen Horde Baklunish? Were they Paynim? Are all Paynim Baklunish? It's not clear from what is in the LGG. Depending on the section you read, you get different impressions. Sometimes they are considered Paynim (Keoland obviously thought them to be, and the Uli called them "Paynim cousins"). However, the rest of the nations of the Baklunish Basin appear to draw a distinction between the two. If Paynim is a term meaning "Baklunish" nomadic horsemen, one still doesn't have an answer. It would be easier to say that the BH was simply a group of western Paynim, but it would be more fun to give them an alternative heritage.
Last edited by ephealy on Sun Feb 04, 2007 4:13 am; edited 1 time in total
Q1: Yes, I think you covered all the published references that I'm aware of.
Q2: The BH come from a very vast tract of land where the cultures haven't been clearly defined yet. So it is easiest to assume they are Baklunish but given Komal had rebuffed them prior to Melek's invitation, I'm sure they have been on the move before, mixing with other cultures. Maybe Suhfang being the best candidate. The fact they rode horses and were alike enough for Uli and Keoish both to confuse them for Paynim leads me to believe the Baklunish trait is strongest in the BH.
I believe Paynim are a very broad subculture of Baklunish dating back to the Empire. Using Al Qadim as a guide you could classify Baklunish into settled 'Al-Hadhar' and nomadic 'Al-Badia'. In this, the Paynims would recognize their own nomadic 'cousins' by lifestyle if not exact racial-makeup. Easterners likewise knowing -nothing- about Paynims would just see a horse and assume.
Your summary is well made, now here is my differences from an Ull p.o.v. According to the LGG, Ull was formed after the Invoked Devastation when the Uli tribe of Paynims sought to have what the Yorodhi (Oerid) had, namely their resources and towns. Thus they became occupiers and semi-nomadic especially in the south. Just when the Uli had asserted control over all of the land to become 'Ull', that is when the Brazen Horde rode in and nearly occupied the occupiers. This resulted in many Yorodhi built-Uli owned villages being destroyed and an influx of Oerids fleeing north to Ekbir as refugees. Fortunately the Uli love a good fight and drove off the Horde.
From what I recall in the Ekbir section of LGG, the refugees in Ekbir made up of Paynim and Oerid were kept in camps by the Caliph. Then one day two large bands of Paynim arrived and began to incite the camps into a riot after refusing to submit to the Caliph's rules. Because of the 'Paynim Unrest' they had to flee north at that point to escape the law. If not for that event, there would -still- be refugee camps in Ekbir as I don't see the lawful 'al-Hadhar' ever fully accepting Al-Badia or infidel Oerids into their culture.
The Ket parts I'm not read up on, but they look good to me so far.
Yeah the same setting gobbled up by FR, it has no more place there than GH in my opinion so I routinely skim the book for Baklunish elements to use in my writings. The main settng book is Al-Qadim Arabian Adventures, don't recall the cover mine is missing one from overuse.
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