JASOOM
This is the Barsoomian name for Earth, just as Mars is our name for Barsoom. If John Carter’s travel to Barsoom involved crossing not merely millions of miles but also millions of years, then the Barsoomian astronomers of ancient times might have observed the Earth before the appearance of the first humans: a world teeming with huge creatures, steaming jungles, flying reptiles, insects the size of helicopters, aquatic behemoths compared to which modern whales would be the size of minnows, and monsters seen today only in the reconstructions of paleontologists.
JED
A military rank, equivalent to a chieftain or minor king. [See Military Titles]
JEDDAK
A military rank, equivalent to a great king or emperor. [See Military Titles]
JEDDAK OF JEDDAKS (WARLORD OF MARS)
Designation bestowed upon John Carter. [See Military Titles]
JEDDARA
A military rank, equivalent to queen or empress. [See Military Titles]
JEDWAR
A military rank, equivalent to a general of generals, or a warlord. [See Military Titles]
JETAN
A popular game on Barsoom, often referred to as “Martian chess.” It is played on a board of one hundred squares. The front row of “chess men,” instead of pawns, are thoats and panthans. The back row, instead of being rooks, knights, bishops, king, and queen, are warriors, padwars, dwars, fliers, chiefs, and princesses. While most Martians play the game on convenient boards with beautifully carved pieces—John Carter is known to carry a miniature Jetan set with him—in the city of Manator the game is played on a giant field by live “pieces.” In Manator, when a piece seeks to “take” another, they actually fight to the death.
JOHN CARTER
A captain in the Confederate Army. After the American Civil War (1860–1865) he made his way westward. Trapped in a cave by fierce Indian warriors, he was miraculously transported to Barsoom (Mars). He appears to be thirty years old, but in fact has lived for centuries, always appearing to be of the same age, and always a skilled swordsman and courageous warrior. In any situation, no matter how hopeless the odds, he fights on, uttering his personal motto, “I still live.” Because Mars is a smaller planet than Earth and has lighter gravity, John Carter is capable of leaping to great heights and performing other amazing feats. Upon arriving on Mars, John Carter is a stranger in a strange land, but becomes a Jeddak (warlord) and eventually the Jeddak of Jeddaks, in effect, the emperor of an entire planet.
JOHNNY REB
A slang name for a soldier of the Confederate (Southern) army during the American Civil War. The term referred to the fact that the eleven Confederate States were in a state of rebellion against the United States.
JULIAN
The Earthman hero of The Moon Maid, who travels to the moon to do battle with the Va-gas and Kalkars. [See Moon Maid, The]
KALDANES
These are surely the strangest of all Martian creatures. Really little more than a brilliant brain housed in a soft skull, Kaldanes also possess clawlike organs through which they can attach themselves to creatures called Rykors. Rykors look very much like normal human beings, but instead of having heads, their necks end in a set of openings through which Kaldanes insert their claws, thereby forming a double creature.
KALKARS
An evil humanoid race that lives inside Earth’s moon, alongside the Va-gas. [See Moon Maid, The]
KANTOS KAN
A Red Martian, Kantos Kan was a padwar in the aerial navy of the City of Helium. Involved in a war between Helium and Warhoon, Kantos Kan was captured and imprisoned along with John Carter. The two men, one of Earth and one of Mars, became close friends. They managed to escape their prison together, and remained friends for many years, Kantos Kan rising through the ranks of Helium’s navy.
KAOR
The most common form of Martian greeting. Although roughly translated as “Hello,” the Martian word is sometimes used in a very emphatic, emotional manner. While uncounted different languages have developed on Earth, several hundred of which are still in use, there is apparently a single language used throughout Barsoom. Perhaps “Barsoomian” is the only language that ever developed on Mars and spread through the entire planet, or perhaps many languages were invented separately and merged into Barsoomian.
KARAD
[See Units of Measurement]
KORUS, LOST SEA OF
While not truly lost, Korus has shrunk since ancient times. It remains above ground at the South Pole of Mars, directly over the Sea of Omean. This very peculiar configuration is unique on Barsoom, and as far as is known, is unlike any other body or water on Mars or Earth.
LLANA OF GATHOL
The granddaughter of John Carter and Dejah Thoris, daughter of Tara of Helium and Gahan of Gathol. This young woman’s beauty attracted an eager suitor named Hin Abtol, a Jeddak of the Panars. Alas, Llana doesn’t care for Hin Abtol, but he won’t take no for an answer so he kidnaps her. Llana is rescued by her grandfather, John Carter, and the warrior Pan Dan Chee, only to become involved in a battle, get captured and rescued again and again, for a total of at least five breathtaking imprisonments and rescues. Llana’s adventures are described to Edgar Rice Burroughs by John Carter in person, when Burroughs as an elderly man is living in Hawaii and John Carter returns to Earth for one of his periodic visits.
LOTHARIANS
Once a great seafaring people, the Lotharians retreated to a beautiful, peaceful valley when the great oceans of Mars dried up. They enjoy a very lengthy lifespan and have great mental powers including the ability to create food so real that it is nourishing and weapons so effective they can kill their enemies. However, with the passage of many centuries, all female Lotharians have died, leaving an all-male society that is doomed to disappear when its present members reach the end of their lives. The lovely Thuvia becomes a prisoner of the Lotharians, but is rescued by Carthoris, son of John Carter and Dejah Thoris, and eventually becomes Carthoris’s bride.
MALAGORS
The combination of Barsoom’s light gravity and that planet’s thin atmosphere would have a questionable influence on the evolution of flying creatures. The Malagor was a huge bird, capable of flight probably as a result of its light weight, achieved in part by the development of hollow bones like those of Earthly birds, and its huge wings. After a lengthy period of extinction, the Malagor was restored to the Barsoomian biosphere by the brilliant scientist Ras Thavas, again, as Earthly scientists hope someday to re-create extinct species by cloning preserved DNA.
MANATOR
An ancient city of Barsoom, surrounded by such rough, inhospitable terrain that it has had little or no contact with the rest of Martian civilization for many centuries. However, the game of Jetan is of such ancient origins that it is known in Manator where it is played on a gigantic board with live “pieces.” Criminals in Manator are sentenced to become Jetan pieces for anywhere from one to ten games, and when a Jetan piece is “taken” in Manator, this means that he has literally had to fight for his life—and lost. [See Jetan]
MANTALIA
A Martian plant that can thrive with almost no water, thus giving it a high survival value on the very dry surface of the planet. The mantalia produces a flavorful and nourishing sap, rather like maple syrup, but more milky in appearance, and is highly prized as a source of sustenance.
MATAI SHANG
High priest of the Holy Therns, his own title being Holy Hekkador. He was the brother of the high priestess Issus. When the false religion of the Therns was exposed and its corrupt leaders exposed, Matai Shang succeeded in kidnapping Dejah Thoris of Helium and Thuvia of Ptarth and fleeing to remote cities where he felt he could still exert his authority. John Carter eventually rescued Matai Shang’s captives.
MILITARY TITLES
The political structure of Mars is fairly primitive, a combination of military hierarchy and royal dynasties. The military ranks of jedwar (general of generals, or warlord), odwar (general),
dwar (captain), and padwar (lieutenant) all have rough equivalents in Earthly armies. They are probably based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’s experience as a soldier in the cavalry of the United States Army. Panthans are mercenaries. Jeds are chieftans or minor kings. Jeddaks are great kings or emperors. Jeddaras are queens or empresses. Princesses, however, are referred to simply as princesses. The ultimate title on Mars was won by John Carter, and was rendered as either Jeddak of Jeddaks or simply, the Warlord of Mars.
MOON MAID, THE
While not exactly part of the Barsoom series, The Moon Maid is connected nonetheless. According to this novel, which is regarded by some critics as one of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s very best efforts, the events begin in the year 2024, although they are told to Burroughs in 1967, then transmitted telepathically by the author to his more youthful self for publication in 1923. In the novel, a spaceship is built on Earth in 1924. It is named the Barsoom and sets out for Mars, but instead crash-lands on the moon, which turns out to be hollow and inhabited. Survivors of the crash encounter a number of species and nations, most notably the Kalkars, who eventually conquer the Earth, leading to a rebellion. The Moon Maid of the title is the beautiful Nahee-lah. The Earth hero, Julian, rescues her from assorted perils.
MOONS OF MARS
Earthly astronomers call the two moons of Mars Phobos and Deimos. Barsoomians refer to them as Thuria (Phobos) and Cluros (Deimos). Thuria is the larger of the two; it is inhabited and its natives call it Ladan. Strangely, when anyone travels to Thuria from Barsoom, the traveler shrinks to a proportionate size, so that Thuria seems to be a full-sized planet. As far as is known, Barsoom’s smaller moon, Cluros, is uninhabited.
NINTH RAY
[See Eighth and Ninth Rays]
ODWAR
A military rank, equivalent to a general. [See Military Titles]
OLIVER HOWARD
An American general. [See Cochise]
OROVARS (WHITE MARTIANS)
These were one of the ancient human races of Barsoom. As long as a million years ago, they were a great seafaring people, sailing the oceans of the planet and trading with many other peoples. Over the passage of hundreds of thousands of years, as the great seas and oceans of Mars dried up, the Orovars built and rebuilt their cities to remain on the edges of these bodies of water, but eventually there was so little water left on Mars that the Orovars were faced with disaster. Their civilization in shambles, they were conquered by the six-limbed Green Martians. However, the Orovars survived to combine with other Martian races—the black and yellow humans—to create the modern White Martians, the Therns and Lotharians.
ORTHIS
The leader of the Kalkars. [See Moon Maid, The]
PADWAR
A military rank, equivalent to lieutenant. [See Military Titles]
PAN DAN CHEE
An Orovar (White Martian) and, a warrior of the City of Horz. Captured by a band of Green Martians, Pan Dan Chee is rescued by John Carter, who offers to return with him to Horz. However, the policy of this city is extremely hostile to visitors (to say the least!) and both John Carter and Pan Dan Chee are condemned to death. After much derring-do they escape, but Pan Dan Chee has by now seen a miniature carving of John Carter’s granddaughter, Llana, and fallen hopelessly in love with her. Although at first reluctant to do so, Llana eventually accepts Pan Dan Chee as a suitor.
PANTHAN
A mercenary. [See Military Titles]
PELLUCIDAR
While not directly connected with the Barsoom stories, the Pellucidar books played an important role in the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs. The basic idea behind these stories is that the Earth is not a solid sphere like a billiard ball, but is hollow like a tennis ball. Its interior is warmed and lighted by a miniature sun which shines in the very center of the world, creating eternal daylight for the dwellers on the inner surface of the Earth. Edgar Rice Burroughs called this inner world Pellucidar. The novels set in this world were popular. The most famous of them, Tarzan at the Earth’s Core, tells the story of Burroughs’s most famous adventure hero traveling to Pellucidar on a zeppelin that navigates a great opening at the North Pole. Burroughs utilized a similar theme in his novel The Moon Maid.
PLANT MEN
These are truly horrible beings, very likely the inspiration for some of the monsters found in the stories of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, an early admirer of Burroughs. The plant men are ten to twelve feet tall, hairless, and blue in color except for long, thick, black hair on their heads. They have no mouths but obtain nourishment through their hands. They have only one eye, a dreadful white orb. They are fierce fighters, hopping over their opponents to gain advantage in battle. They dwell in the Valley Dor near Barsoom’s South Pole.
RACES OF BARSOOM
Unlike Earth, where there is only one surviving human species, the ancient Neanderthal and other relatives having disappeared thousands of years ago, Barsoom has at least four “human” species. There are true humans of various colors—red, white (Orovars), yellow (Okarians), black (First Born)—identical to Earth humans except for the fact that they lay eggs rather bearing their children alive. There are also the great, six-limbed Green Martians (i.e., Tharks and Warhoons), the Rykors and Kaldanes, and the strange, terrifying plant men.
RADIUM RIFLES
Because the Martian civilization is ancient, many inventions developed long ago survive into the present. These include radium rifles. These are not ray-guns of the type featured in other science fiction stories of Burroughs’s era. Rather, they fire bullets tipped with explosive radium pellets, in effect tiny atomic bombs. However, most Martians consider these unsuitable, and instead prefer to fight with swords.
RAS THAVAS
A mad scientist who transfers brains into genetically engineered synthetic bodies called hormads.
RED MEN
The ancient “human races” of Mars were divided by skin color into white, black, and yellow. Over many millennia these races amalgamated, resulting in the dominant Barsoomian race of John Carter’s time. They are a beautiful people with smooth skin and glossy black hair. They are identical to terrestrial humans, save for laying eggs rather than bearing their young alive. Small enclaves of the white, black, and yellow Martian races do survive to modern times. There are also other non-human peoples on Mars, most notably the six-limbed Green Men and the cyclopean plant men.
RIVER ISS
This is the largest surviving body of water on Mars, which was once a warm planet with abundant water and a rich atmosphere. For many years, Edgar Rice Burroughs’s description of the ancient Mars was considered sheer imagination, but recent discoveries indicate that this description is remarkably accurate. There is overwhelming evidence that Mars once had seas and mighty rivers, the dried beds of which have been explored by orbiting satellites and robotic landers. Maybe John Carter traveled not only through space from Jasoom to Barsoom, but through time as well, from the Earthly year 1866 to the Mars of long, long ago.
RYKORS
[See Kaldanes]
SARKOJA
A very old Green Martian woman, member of Tars Tarkas’s tribe or horde. She was treacherous by nature and wildly jealous of John Carter and Dejah Thoris, attempting to lead them into traps and bring about their doom. When her schemes were uncovered, she sought to escape justice by embarking on the pilgrimage on the River Iss, almost certainly to meet a suitably unpleasant demise at the hands of the white apes or Holy Therns.
SKEEL
A hardwood found on Barsoom.
SOLA
Upon his arrival on Mars, John Carter became a prisoner of the Green Men horde led by Tars Tarkas. Injured and imprisoned, John Carter might well have died, but Sola was possessed of an empathetic and caring nature, a great rarity among Green Martians. She nursed John Carter back to health and tutored him in the ways of Barsoom. Her parentage was at first unknown, but eventually it was revealed that she was the daughter of Tars Tarkas.
TAL
A unit of time. The
Martian equivalent of a second.
TARA OF HELIUM
Daughter of John Carter and Dejah Thoris and sister of Carthoris. Beautiful but vain, she is courted by Gahan of Gathol and flees Helium in her personal flier. After a series of breathtaking perils, imprisonments, and rescues, she agrees to marry Gahan and eventually becomes the mother of Llana of Gathol.
Under the Moons of Mars Page 29