Punt
"'We'll go to Punt. The people of Punt worship an ivory woman, and they wash gold out of the river in wicker baskets.'" -- Robert E. Howard: "Jewels of Gwahlur"
A black kingdom lying east of Keshan and west of Zembabwei.
The River Styx formed the southern and western border of the kingdom, and its tributaries carried gold out of the adjacent mountains. The Puntans gleaned the precious metal from the river by means of close-meshed baskets. In the hills to the east of Xuchotl were sources of gold, silver, copper, jade, lapis lazuli, and marble. The gold of Punt is presumed to come out of these hills, washed out of the mother lode into the Styx.
East of its capital city, Kassali, stretched a wide savanna, then forest that encroached upon the uplands. Slavers from northern nations invaded Punt and carried off its people.
Not much is revealed about the Puntan culture or economy in the Saga. The people worshipped an ivory woman and probably combined hunting and collecting with simple subsistence agriculture and their gold washing.
- Deadman's Journey: The caravan route taken by slavers raiding the Blacklands of Punt and Zembabwei. It crosses the Southern Desert from Khauran to the River Styx. (Conan and the Amazon)
- Jukala, Mountains of: A towering, volcanic mountain range located in the Blacklands south of Punt. The mountains are covered with thick glaciers and huge snowfields. Geyser and hot-springs are a common sight. The peaks are one of the sources of the River Styx. The rare silver lotus grows in a hidden valley high in the mountains. (Lord of the Black River)
- Kassali: The capital of Punt. At the center of the city lies the royal palace and it's high towers. The walls are made of sun-dried mud spangled with ornaments of glass and gold. (Ivory Goddess)
- Southern Wastes: The desert lands bordering Punt and Stygia. (Conan the Indomitable)
- Waputan: In an obscure Puntish dialect, this is the name of the south fork of the River Styx. It also means "water". For several hundred leagues, the Styx passes through the sparsely inhabited grasslands and forests, thorny thickets and reed lakes of Punt. The south branch ends at a vast rampart of snow-covered volcanoes called the Mountains of Jukala.(Lord of the Black River)
References: Jewels of Gwahlur, Red Nails, Ivory Goddess.
- Population: 730,000
- Capital: Kassali (pop. 78,000)
- Ruler:
- Major cities:
- Resources: Gold, precious and semi-precious gems, cattle
- Imports: Silks, spices, steel weapons
- Allies:
- Enemies: Keshan (hereditary enemy), Stygia (endures slave raids from), Zembabwei (distrusts)
- Tech level: Bronze age
- Religion: Nebethet