The story is set in Egypt in 1021 AD. Diego de Guzman, a Castillian, is in Cairo on a mission of personal vengeance. Disguised as a Moor, he seeks a man responsible for the deaths of his comrades and his own imprisonment. He learns that this man is now a high-ranking officer in the army of the Caliph, al Hakim, and learns that the Caliph, believing himself to be God Incarnate, plans to launch a jihad against Spain. De Guzman, with the aid of a Turkish ally, is able to take advantage of court intrigues and simmering rebellion among the Caliph’s subjects to prevent the jihad.
The Cross Plains Library has an original draft of this story. L. Sprague de Camp rewrote “Hawks Over Egypt” into a Conan story “Hawks Over Shem”.
Published in:
- THE ROAD OF AZRAEL, Grant, 1979 (Regular edition)
- THE ROAD OF AZRAEL, Grant, 1979 (Limited edition)
- THE ROAD OF AZRAEL, Bantam, July 1980
- LA ROUTE D’AZRAËL, NeO, May 1986 (French)
- LA ROUTE D’AZRAËL, Fleuve Noir, March 1993 (French)
- BRAMY IMPERIUM, Wydawnictwo GEA, 1994 (Polish)
- SHADOW HAWK (TEN’ JASTREBA), North-West, 1998 (Russian)
- LORD OF SAMARCAND AND OTHER ADVENTURE TALES OF THE OLD ORIENT, Bison Books, April 2005
- LE SEIGNEUR DE SAMARCANDE, Bragelonn
- SWORD WOMAN AND OTHER HISTORICAL ADVENTURES, Del Rey, January 2011
- LE SEIGNEUR DE SAMARCANDE. L’OMBRE DU VAUTOUR, Bragelonne, March 2013 (French)
- LE SEIGNEUR DE SAMARCANDE, Le Livre de Poche, April 2020 (French)
