Introduction
The Lion of Tiberias was originally published in July 1933. Farnsworth Wright considered the story for Oriental Stories and returned it for revision in a letter to Howard on June 31, 1932. It is one of Howard’s stories in the historical fiction/crusader tales. It was later published in the Magic Carpet Magazine in July 1933.
The letter from Oriental Stories, signed by Farnsworth Wright, dated June 31, 1932:
Dear Mr. Howard:
THE LION OF TIBERIAS has the makings of a splendid story, but it is not satisfactory in its present form. I think however, that you can easily make it satisfactory.The trouble lies in the fact that you have put the background that was necessary for you to know thoroughly in order to conceive the tale, into the story; you have written in the background as history, to the detriment of the story. All those details of battle and campaigns at the beginning of the story would interest but few of our readers, especially since you have not prepared the readers for them by enlisting their sympathy for the characters. You first grip the readers’ sympathies and arouse their hatred against Zenghi in the scene beginning on page 10 with the capture of Achmet and Norwald after the flight of the Emir and ending with the death of Achmet. You should begin the story at this point, and quickly cut back to the earlier incident when the prince Achmet saves John Norwald, to let the reader know it comes about that a man from Danelagh in England happens to be the comrade in arms of a Moslem in Asia. This is well-worded as it stands, and needs only to be inserted in its new position, and the rest of the introduction thrown aside as deadwood. From page 10 on, the story is magnificient.
Sincerly yours,
Farnsworth Wright,
Editor.
Published in:
- THE MAGIC CARPET MAGAZINE Volume 3 Number 3, Popular Fiction Publishing Company, July 1933
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER, Grant, 1st, 1973
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER, Zebra, 1st, March 1975
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER, Zebra, 2nd, 1975
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER, Zebra, 3rd, 1976
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER, Grant, 2nd, 1976
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER, Zebra, 4th, 1976
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER, Zebra, 5th, 1977
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER, Sphere, 1977
- TERRA FANTASY 42: DIE BESTIE VON BAL-SAGOTH, Erich Pabel Verlag KG, December 1977 (German)
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER, Ace, July 1979
- TERRA FANTASY 42: DIE BESTIE VON BAL-SAGOTH, Erich Pabel Verlag KG, August 1980 (German, 2nd printing)
- SONYA LA ROUGE, NeO, July 1985 (French)
- SONYA LA ROUGE, Fleuve Noir, April 1992 (French)
- THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN VOLUME 1 NUMBER 228, Marvel Comics, December 1994 (partial graphic adaptation)
- THREE-BLADED DOOM, North-West, 1998 (Russian)
- БУРЙ НАД ОРИЕНТА (BURY NAD ORIENTA), ELF, 2001 (Bulgarian)
- GATES OF EMPIRE AND OTHER TALES OF THE CRUSADES, Wildside Press, 1st, June 2004
- GATES OF EMPIRE AND OTHER TALES OF THE CRUSADES, Wildside Press, 2nd, 2004
- LORD OF SAMARCAND AND OTHER ADVENTURE TALES OF THE OLD ORIENT, Bison Books, April 2005
- GATES OF EMPIRE AND OTHER TALES OF THE CRUSADES, Wildside Press, September 2006
- THE EXOTIC WRITINGS OF ROBERT E. HOWARD, Girasol Collectables, October 2006
- PULP REPLICA: THE MAGIC CARPET MAGAZINE V3N3, Girasol Collectables, July 2007
- PULP FACSIMILE: MAGIC CARPET MAGAZINE V3N3, Wildside Press, January 2008
- THE LION OF TIBERIAS, Dodo Press, February 2008
- THE COMPLETE MAGIC CARPET MAGAZINE, Girasol Collectables, April 2008
- LE SEIGNEUR DE SAMARCANDE, Bragelonne, July 2009 (French)
- LORD OF SAMARCAND AND OTHER ADVENTURES, Halcyon Press, Ltd., December 2009
- THE ROBERT E. HOWARD OMNIBUS: 99 COLLECTED STORIES, Halcyon Press, Ltd., May 2010
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER AND OTHER STORIES, Benediction Classics, June 2010
- CONAN’S BRETHREN, Gollancz, January 2011
- SWORD WOMAN AND OTHER HISTORICAL ADVENTURES, Del Rey, January 2011
- ORIENTAL STORIES: FIVE COMPLETE NOVELETTES, Nuelow Games, February 2012
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER AND OTHER STORIES, Benediction Classics, February 2012
- THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER AND OTHER STORIES, Oxford City Press, February 2012
- SOLOMON KANE AND OTHER STORIES, Jame-Books, August 2012
- ROBERT E. HOWARD’S COLLECTED WORKS, Jame-Books, February 2013
- LE SEIGNEUR DE SAMARCANDE. L’OMBRE DU VAUTOUR, Bragelonne, March 2013 (French)
- WEIRD TALES: 101 WEIRD, STRANGE, AND SUPERNATURAL STORIES VOLUME 10, Civitas Media, June 2013
- THE SAGA OF KING KULL & THE HISTORICAL ADVENTURES, Business and Leadership Publishing, July 2014
- THE LION OF TIBERIAS, eStar Books, September 2014
- HISTORICAL ADVENTURES, Ozymandias Press, August 2016
- IL SIGNORE DI SAMARCANDA E ALTRE STORIE ORIENTALI, Elara, January 2018 (Italian)
- THE MAGIC CARPET MAGAZINE VOLUME 3 NUMBER 3, Fiction House Press, July 2018
- LE SEIGNEUR DE SAMARCANDE, Le Livre de Poche, April 2020 (French)
- PULP FACSIMILE: THE MAGIC CARPET MAGAZINE V3N3, Adventure House, April 2020