Editing Conan the Barbarian (section)

==Setting==
{{main|Hyborian Age}}

The stories occur in the fictional "[[Hyborian Age]]", set after the destruction of [[Atlantis]] and before the rise of any historical [[Ancient history|ancient civilization]]. This is a specific epoch in a fictional timeline created by Howard for many of the [[low fantasy]] tales of his [[Mythopoeia|artificial legendary]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://hyboria.xoth.net/history/hyborian_age.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525135846/http://hyboria.xoth.net/history/hyborian_age.htm | archive-date=25 May 2011|title=The Hyborian Age|last=Howard |first=Robert E. |others=adapted by [[Roy Thomas]] and [[Walt Simonson]]|journal=Conan Saga |issue= 50–54, 56|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]|url-status=live}}</ref>

Howard invented the Hyborian Age as a useful literary device. He had an intense love for history and historical dramas, but he also recognized the difficulties and the time-consuming research work needed in maintaining historical accuracy. Also, the poorly-stocked libraries in the rural part of Texas where Howard lived did not have the material needed for such research. By conceiving a fictional "''vanished'' age" and choosing names that resembled historical ones, Howard avoided anachronisms and the need for lengthy exposition.<ref name="Hyborian Genesis"/>

According to "The Phoenix on the Sword", the adventures of Conan take place "Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the [[Aryan|Sons of Aryas]]."<ref>{{cite journal|author-link=Robert E. Howard|last=Howard|first= Robert E. |title=The Phoenix on the Sword|journal=[[Weird Tales]]|issue=20|date=6 December 1932|title-link=The Phoenix on the Sword}}</ref>