main image

TAMAR-SHAR-KHUN

Real Name: Tamar-Shar-Khun

Identity/Class: Human (Zingaran citizen), magic user (Hyborian Era)

Occupation: Sorcerer, researcher

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Two monster guardians, a giant eel, and most likely other monstrous creatures

Enemies: Conan of Cimmeria, all the visitors to his castle

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Demon-Sorcerer

Base of Operations: Castle on the Zingaran Coast at a hundred of leagues of distance from Kordaya

First Appearance: Savage Sword of Conan#61 (February, 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Tamar-Shar-Khun can increase the size of animals and crops, produce fire by magic means, and control some shapeshifting monsters.

History: (Savage Sword of Conan#61 (fb) - BTS) - Tamar-Shar-Khun dedicated his life to the study of things prohibited to men. At the time of King Phehemenes of Zingara, he lived isolated in his castle, killing everybody who went near his castle. Tamar-Shar-Khun discovered how to grow the crop and livestock to a size at least double of the normal.

(Savage Sword of Conan#61) - During the civil war in Zingara, some peasants tried to steal Tamar-Shar-Khun's secrets, with the hope to be able to feed their families. One night, Erik, Renard and another man climbed the cliff under the castle and entered in it, but Tamar-Shar-Khun was awake. With a few words pronounced in an unknown language over a brazier, he cast a spell and the three invaders died screaming, in a trap.

The civil war finished but the people was still suffering hunger, so Queen Sharmela suggested to King Phehemenes to order Conan of Cimmeria to steal Tamar-Shar-Khun's formula of growth.

    Tamar-Shar-Khun with unknown means saw Conan and Zerbo approaching to the Castle. Conan and Zerbo arrived in view of castle and were deceived by two girls whom Conan saved from a giant reptile. The girls were Tamar-Shar-Khun's guardians, and they transformed into monsters, killed Zerbo, and attacked Conan who easily slew them all.

    At midnight the Cimmerian met Tamar-Shar-Khun in the castle's hall. Tamar-Shar-Khun refused to help the thousands of people who were dying of hunger. Conan threatened him, and the sorcerer created a magic wall of fire but Conan leapy over it and managed to kick Tamar-Shar-Khun. The sorcerer then put on magic lights that blinded Conan and hid in a passage in a wall. He activated a mechanism that lowered the ceiling and filled the room of water. Then a wall moved and let a giant eel enter in the room. Conan managed to wound the moray, and its convulsions smashed the walls causing tons of water to flood the castle. Tamar-Shar-Khun was swept away by the waterflow and apparently drowned. His castle crumbled, burying his secrets. Conan saved himself.

Comments: Created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.

Profile by Spidermay.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Tamar-Shar-Khun has no known connections to

The monster-guardians

    The monsters disguised as beautiful girls were one of the measures that Tamar-Shar-Khun used to defend his castle. The two monsters could transform into girls and had strength superior to a strong man, as well as sharp talons and long teeth.

    The two monsters intercepted Conan and Zerbo's path to the Castle. In human form they presumably arranged to be attacked by a giant lizard. Conan wounded the lizard and caused it to fall in the sea from a cliff; then the two "girls" showed their "gratitude" to Conan and Zerbo. Zerbo was strangled by one of them, but Conan managed to push away the other one. Both of them attacked Conan but were slain by Conan's savagery.

--Savage Sword of Conan#61

 

 

The Castle

    The Castle was built at the top of a cliff on the sea. It seemed to be large and strong, with high walls and high towers. It probably contained one or more courtyards where Tamar-Shar-Khum bred its animals and cultivated the giant crops.

    The castle was easy to climb both from sea and land, but the danger for the visitors were not so recognizable, for the traps and for the presence of guardians. Four men were killed by a trap in the floor. The hall could become a huge basin with a giant eel as killer. Outside, a giant lizard and two shapeshifter-monsters guarded the ways of access from the coast.

    However, the inside walls were not so resistant. The giant eel smashed one of its walls, and the strength of the waterflow crushed also the other walls and the Castle (possibly having been preserved by Tamar-Shar-Khun) crumbled.

--Savage Sword of Conan#61

Images: (without ads)
Savage Sword of Conan#61, p35, pan1 (Tamar-Shar-Khun, full body)
Savage Sword of Conan#61, p3, pan2 (Tamar-Shar-Khun, head shot)
Savage Sword of Conan#61, p39, pan5 (giant moray)
Savage Sword of Conan#61, p30, pan7 (monsters)
Savage Sword of Conan#61, p1, pan1 (castle)

Other Appearances: None

Last updated: 07/08/06

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Back to Characters