Administrator & Ubar

"The High Castes in a given city," said my father, "elect an administrator and council for stated terms. In times of crisis, a war chief, or Ubar, is named, who rules without check and by decree until, in his judgment, the crisis is passed."
Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Page 42

In your veins must flow the blood of your father, once Ubar, War Chieftain, now Administrator of Ko-ro-ba, this City of Cylinders."
I was surprised, for this was the first time I had known that my father had been War Chieftain of the city, or that he was even now its supreme civil official, for that matter, that the city was named Ko-ro-ba, a now archaic expression for a village market.
Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Page 58

In the center of the amphitheater was a throne of office, and on this throne, in his robe of state - a plain brown garment, the humblest cloth in the hall - sat my father, Administrator of Ko-ro-ba, once Ubar, War Chieftain of the city.
Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Page 62

"Then," said my father, placing his hands solemnly on my shoulders, "in virtue of my authority as Administrator of this City and in the presence of the Council of High Castes, I declare you to be a Warrior of Ko-ro-ba."
Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Page 63

My father, in his office as Administrator of Ko-ro-ba, had attempted to develop an alliance against Ar, but the free cities of Gor had, in their pride and suspicion, their almost fanatical commitment to protecting their own independent destinies, refused the alliance. Indeed, they had, in the fashion of Gor, driven my father's envoys from their Council Chambers with the whips normally used on slaves, an insult which, at another time, would have been answered by the War Call of Ko-ro-ba. But, as my father knew, strife among the free cities would be the very madness which Marlenus of Ar would welcome most; better even that Ko-ro-ba should suffer the indignity of being thought a city of cowards.
Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Page 66

There are two systems of courts on Gor those of the City, under the jurisdiction of an Administrator or Ubar, and those of the Initiates, under the jurisdiction of the High Initiate of the given city; the division corresponds roughly to that between civil and what, for lack of a better word, might be called ecclesiastical courts. The areas of jurisdiction of these two types of courts are not well defined; the Initiates claim ultimate jurisdiction in all matters, in virtue of their supposed relation to the Priest-Kings, but this claim is challenged by civil jurists.
Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Page 194

Chronology, incidentally, is the despair of scholars on Gor, for each city keeps track of time by virtue of its own Administrator Lists; for example, a year is referred to as the Second Year when so-and-so was Administrator of the city.
Outlaw of Gor     Book 2     Page 178

Such contests, in which life is lost, used to be popular at Ar, for example, being sponsored in that city by the Caste of Initiates, who regard themselves as being intermediaries between Priest-Kings and men, though I suspect that, at least on the whole, they know as little about the Priest-Kings as do other men. These contests, it might be mentioned, were banned in Ar when Kazrak of Port Kar became administrator of that city.
Priest-Kings of Gor     Book 3     Page 11

On Gor, incidentally, chairs have special significance, and do not often occur in private dwellings. They tend to be reserved for significant personages, such as administrators and judges.
Priest-Kings of Gor     Book 3     Page 45

The Administrator, however, would not be uninformed. His presence at the banquet was felt in the person of his plenipotentiary, Kamras, of the Caste of Warriors, a captain, said to be Champion of Turia.
Nomads of Gor     Book 4     Page 83

There were three who stood near the pyre; one wore the brown robes of the Administrator of a City, the humblest robes in the city, and was hooded;
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Page 3


Kazrak, who had been Administrator of the City for several years, had finally been deposed, largely due to the agitations of certain factions among the Initiates and Merchants, who had had their various grievances against the Administrator. Kazrak had offended the Caste of Initiates primarily by levying taxes on their vast holdings throughout the city and upon occasion upholding the rulings of the administrative courts over the courts of the Initiates. The Initiates, in their interpretations of sacrifices and in their preachments, primarily to the low castes, had led many of the city to fear that Kazrak might not long enjoy the favor of the Priest-Kings. After the murder of Om, who had been on tolerable terms with the Administrator, the new High Initiate, Complicius Serenus, in studying the omens of the white bosk slain at the Harvest Feast had, to his apparent horror, discovered that they had stood against Kazrak. Other Initiates wished to examine these omens, being read in the state of the bosk's liver, but Complicius Serenus, as though in terror, had cast the liver into the fire, presumably that such dark portents might be immediately destroyed. He had then collapsed weeping on the pillar of sacrifice, for it was well known that he had been a beloved friend of the Administrator. It was from this time that Kazrak might clearly have been said, particularly among the lower castes, to have lost the confidence of the city. He was further in danger by virtue of his controlling measures restricting certain monopolies important to certain factions among the Merchants, in particular those having to do with the manufacture of bricks, and the distribution of salt and tharlarion oil. He had further imposed restrictions on the games and contests of Ar, such that the loss of life had become infrequent, even among competing slaves. It was argued that the citizens of Ar could scarcely remain strong and fearless unless accustomed to the sight of blood, of danger and death. And since Kazrak was originally, perhaps surprisingly, of Port Kar, a city not on particularly good terms with Ar, or any other Gorean city, there was the hint of sedition in such matters. Moreover, Kazrak had been one of the leaders of the forces that had preserved Ar in the time of its troubles with Pa-Kur, master of the Assassins; as the tale was now told in the Streets, the men of Ar themselves, alone, had overthrown the invader; Kazrak seemed a living reminder that Glorious Ar had once needed the aid of other cities, and men other than her own.
Whereas it is only the men of high caste who elect members to the Council of the City, the gold of merchants and the will of the general populace is seldom disregarded in their choices. Accordingly, Kazrak of Port Kar, for years Administrator of Ar, was by vote deposed and banished from the city, being publicly denied salt, bread and fire, as had been Marlenus, long years before him, once Ubar of Ar. Kazrak, with loyal followers, and the beautiful Sana of Thentis, his consort, had left the city months before. Their whereabouts were unknown, but it was thought they had hoped to found a colony on one of the islands of Thassa, farther north than even Cos and Tyros. The new Administrator of Ar was a man named Minus Tentius Hinrabius, an unimportant man except for being of the Hinrabian family, prominent among the Builders, having the major holdings in the vast, walled Hinrabian kilns, where much of Ar's brick is produced.
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Pages 15 - 16

"Those of this house stand near the Administrator, and the High Initiate," said Portus.
"What do you mean?" asked Kuurus.
"The gold of this house is heavy in the councils of the city."
"The Administrator and the High Initiate," asked Kuurus, "owe their thrones to the gold of this house?"
Portus laughed bitterly. "Without the gold of this house, how could the Administrator and the High Initiate have sponsored the races and the games that won them the favor of the lower castes?"
"But the lower castes do not elect the Administrator or the High Initiate," said Kuurus. "The Administrator is appointed by the High Council of the City and the High initiate by the High Council of the Initiates of the City."
"These councils," said Portus scornfully, "know well the way the lower castes yelp in the tiers." He snorted. "And there are many in the High Councils of the city who, if forced to decide between the steel of the hook knife and the feel of gold in their pouch, will choose gold to steel."
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Pages 18 - 19

Although there are some private show and sales rooms in the House of Cernus, and private auctions and exhibitions, intended to interest prospective clients, are held, most slaves, of the House of Cernus and others, are sold in one of the five public auction houses, licensed and taxed by the Administrator of Ar.
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Page 112

The Warriors who flanked the Administrator and High Initiate, incidentally, were Taurentians, members of the palace guard, an elite corps of swordsmen and bowmen, carefully selected, specially trained, independent of the general military organizations of the city. Their leader, or Captain, was Saphronicus, a mercenary from Tyros. I could see him a few feet behind the throne, wrapped in a scarlet cloak, a tall, spare man, long-armed and narrow-faced, whose head moved restlessly, surveying the crowd.
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Page 140

Kazrak, who had been Administrator of the City for several years, had been popular but his straightforward attention, after he had put aside the Red of the Warrior and donned the Brown of the Administrator, to numerous and complex civil and economic matters, such as reform of the courts and laws and controls and regulations pertaining to commerce, had not been such as to inspire the general enthusiasm of the common citizens of Ar, in particular those who remembered with nostalgia the glories and splendors of the reign of Marlenus, that larl of a man, that magnificent Warrior, vain and self-centered, powerful, conceited, yet a dreamer of dreams, of a world undivided and safe for men, a world united, be it at the point of the swords of Ar.
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Pages 142 - 143

Then, at dawn, on the first day of En'Kara, in the name of the city, the Administrator of Ar, or a Ubar if it be Ubar, greets the sun, welcoming it to Ar on the first day of the New Year.
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Page 211

Once in a Paga tavern I heard a man, whom I recognized to be one of the guards from the iron pens, though now in the tunic of a Leather Worker, declaring that the city needed for its Administrator not a Builder but a Warrior, that law would again prevail.
Assassin of Gor     Book 5     Page 231

It was the fourth day of the sixth passage hand, shortly before the Autumnal Equinox, which in the common Gorean calendar begins the month of Se'Kara. In the calendar of Ko-ro-ba, which, like most Gorean cities, marks years by its Administrator Lists, it would be the eleventh year of the administration of my father, Matthew Cabot. In the calendar of Ar, for those it might interest, it was the first year of the restoration of Marlenus, Ubar of Ubars, but, more usefully for the purposes of consolidating the normal chaos of Gorean chronology, it was the year 10,119 Contasta Ar, that is, from the founding of Ar.
Raiders of Gor     Book 6     Pages 1 - 2

The Forkbeard fingered the silver chain of office, looped about his neck, which he had taken from the administrator of Kassau.
Marauders of Gor     Book 9     Page 77

Most Gorean cities are governed by an executive, the Administrator, in conjunction with the high council.
Slave Girl of Gor     Book 11     Page 114

"To the Vosk League!" we said, fervently.
Two of the men at the table had been signatories to the treaty of the Vosk League, solemnly signed under festive canopies on the wharves of Victoria yesterday at the tenth Ahn, Glyco, who had signed on behalf of Port Cos, and Tasdron, Administrator of Victoria, who had signed on behalf of Victoria. In all, nineteen towns had become members of the league,
Guardsman of Gor     Book 16     Page 235

I had spent a night on the road and had arrived in Kailiauk, hungry and muddy, yesterday, shortly after the tenth Ahn, the Gorean noon. Indeed, I had heard the striking of the time bar, mounted on the roof of the Administrator's store, as I had approached the town's outskirts. In Kailiauk, as is not unusual in the towns of the perimeter, the Administrator is of the Merchants.
Savages of Gor     Book 17     Page 93

This morning, at the Five Horns stables, in Kailiauk, I had bought two kaiila. Bridles, a saddle, various sorts of gear, supplies, and trading goods, too, I had purchased in the town, at the store of Publius Crassus, of the Merchants, who is also Kailiauk's Administrator.
Savages of Gor     Book 17     Page 96

At dawn on the day of the vernal equinox a ceremonial greeting of the sun takes place, conducted usually by the Ubar or administrator of the city.
Players of Gor     Book 20     Page 10

In the houses of administrators, in the domiciles of high merchants, in the palaces of Ubars, for example, slaves, and usually beautiful ones, for they can afford them, are often abundant.
Mercenaries of Gor     Book 21     Page 22

"That is the central cylinder of Torcadino," he said, "the administrative headquarters of her first executive, whether it be Administrator or Ubar."
Mercenaries of Gor     Book 21     Page 127

"What of Seremides, the high general?" I asked. "Might he not ascend the throne?"
"Unthinkable," said the man. "He is as loyal as the stones of the Central Cylinder itself."
"I see," I said. My question had not been prompted, of course, merely by the obvious consideration that the Ubar's cloak might seem an attractive prize to a strong, ambitious man, but by the sober understanding that Ar was in a situation of crisis, whether she knew it or not. In such times, of course, in the light of the failures and ineffectuality of an inept civilian administration, it is not unknown for military men, seeing what must be done, simply responding to the imperatives of survival, to take power and attempt to instill the will, the discipline and order without which catastrophe cannot be diverted.
Mercenaries of Gor     Book 21     Page 264

He was not wearing the purple of the Ubar, but his shoulders were covered with a brown cloak, rather of the sort worn by Administrators in certain cities, civilian statesmen, servants of the people, so to speak.
Mercenaries of Gor     Book 21     Page 288

Gnieus Lelius, it seems, had been deposed, and Seremides, in a military coup he himself characterized as regrettable, had seized temporary power, a power to be wielded until the High Council, now the highest civilian authority in Ar, could elect a new leader, be it Administrator, Regent, Ubar or Ubara.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 83

The Initiates are sometimes thought of as the highest of the five high castes, and the Warriors commonly produce the administrators and ubars for a city.
Witness of Gor     Book 26     Page 225

Claudia Tentia Hinrabia, once the daughter of an Administrator of Ar, was one such.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 40

Brundisium has no Administrator and no Ubar. It is ruled by a Merchant Council, with its day to day affairs managed by an executive committee, chief of which is the harbor master.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 493

[1] "But," said my father, "sometimes such a war chief, or Ubar,
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 42

You have mastered a tarn, a war tarn. In your veins must flow the blood of your father, once Ubar, War Chieftain, now Administrator of Ko-ro-ba, this City of Cylinders.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 58

Administrator of Ko-ro-ba, once Ubar, War Chieftain of the city.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 62

[2] "The High Castes in a given city," said my father, "elect an administrator and council for stated terms. In times of crisis, a war chief, or Ubar, is named, who rules without check and by decree until, in his judgment, the crisis is passed."
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 42

No new Ubar, as far as I could tell, had yet been appointed by the council. There had been, at least, no general ringing of bars such as might be expected to announce such an appointment.
Players of Gor   Book 20   Page 379

Gnieus Lelius, it seems, had been deposed, and Seremides, in a military coup he himself characterized as regrettable, had seized temporary power, a power to be wielded until the High Council, now the highest civilian authority in Ar, could elect a new leader, be it Administrator, Regent, Ubar or Ubara.
Magicians of Gor   Book 25   Page 83

[3] The Initiates are sometimes thought of as the highest of the five high castes, and the Warriors commonly produce the administrators and ubars for a city.
Witness of Gor   Book 26   Page 225

[4] It perhaps need only be added that now being a Warrior, and thus of High Caste, he was now eligible for a seat on the High Council of the city, and even for the throne itself, whether it be that of Administrator or Ubar.
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 211

[5] For the first time Kazrak spoke. "On the day that Ar falls, she will wed Pa-Kur and rule beside him. He hopes this will encourage the survivors of Ar to accept him as their rightful Ubar. He will proclaim himself their liberator, their deliverer from the despotism of the Initiates, the restorer of the old order, the glory of the empire."
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 173

[6] Since the siege of Ar, when Pa-Kur, Master Assassin, had violated the limits of his caste and had presumed, in contradiction to the traditions of Gor, to lead a horde upon the city, intending to make himself Ubar, the Caste of Assassins had lived as hated, hunted men, no longer esteemed mercenaries whose services were sought by cities, and, as often by factions within cities.
Outlaw of Gor   Book 2   Page 72

[7] On the twentieth day of Camerius the great signal bars suspended about the walls of the city rang out the enthronement of a Ubar of Ar. Cernus had been proclaimed, as the Taurentians lifted their swords in salute and the members of the High Council had stood on the tiers of the Council Chamber and cried out and applauded, Ubar of Ar. Processions took place on the bridges; there were tournaments of the game organized; poets and historians vied in praising the day, each more ecstatically than the last; but, perhaps most importantly, holiday was declared, and great games and races were sponsored without cessation for the next ten days, extending even through the Third Passage Hand.
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 235

No new Ubar, as far as I could tell, had yet been appointed by the council. There had been, at least, no general ringing of bars such as might be expected to announce such an appointment.
Players of Gor   Book 20   Page 379

[8] the ascension of Talena to the throne of Ar, as Ubara. Her coronation may have been somewhat less spectacular than Myron's entry into the city and Lurius' subsequent triumph, which may have grated upon her somewhat, but I think it had been impressive enough. The crown of Tur leaves was placed upon her head by Myron, but on behalf of the people and councils of Ar. Seremides and most members of the High Council were in attendance. Certain other members of the High Council were asserted to be indisposed. Some rumors had it that they were under house arrest. A medallion of Ar was also placed about Talena's neck but the traditional medallion, which had been worn by Marlenus, and which he had seldom permitted out of his keeping, and which he may have had with him upon his departure from the city long ago, had not been found. Too, the ring of the Ubar, which in any event would have been too large for the finger of Talena, was not found. But that ring, it was said, had not been in Ar for years. Indeed, it had been rumored in Ar, even before the disappearance of Marlenus, that it had once been lost in the northern forests, upon a hunting expedition. After the medallion, Talena had been given the Home Stone of Ar, that she might hold it in her left hand, and a scepter, a rod of office, signifying power, that she might hold in her right. Her coronation was followed by a declaration of five holidays.
Magicians of Gor   Book 25   Pages 105 - 106

[9] "What is a Ubar?" she asked. "A king?"
"More powerful than a king," said Cabot.
Kur of Gor   Book 28   Page 682

[10] who rules without check and by decree
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 42

"You are herewith, by edict of the Ubar," said Marlenus, "commanded from the city of Ar, to depart before sundown of this day, not to return on pain of penalty of torture and impalement."
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Pages 404 - 405

I saw that among those barbaric ornaments was a ring. I gasped, for it was the seal of Ar, the signet of Glorious Ar. He threw it to Verna, as a bauble.
She caught it.
"With that," he said, "you are safe in the realm of Ar. With that you can command the power of the city. This is as the word of the Ubar. With this you can buy supplies. With this you can command soldiers. Any who come upon you and see this ring will know that behind you stands the power of Ar."
Hunters of Gor   Book 8   Page 301

[11] "A Ubar," pointed out Telima, "need give no accounting, no explanation."
Raiders of Gor   Book 6   Page 95

[12] Some cities are governed by a Ubar, who is in effect a military sovereign, sometimes a tyrant, whose word is law. The Ubar's power is limited institutionally only by his capacity to inspire and control those whose steel keeps him upon the throne.
Slave Girl of Gor   Book 11   Page 114

[13] The sack was to be opened, and she was to be presented to Claudius Ubar of Argentum, and the high council, and high citizens of Argentum, at the climax of a great feast, to be celebrated two days from now.
Kajira of Gor   Book 19   Page 345

"Tomorrow night, at the great victory feast," he said, "you will be turned over to Claudius, my Ubar, and the high council."
Kajira of Gor   Book 19   Page 351

At these tables were Claudius, the Ubar of Argentum, and members of the high council.
Kajira of Gor   Book 19   Page 362

It was not within your province to determine my innocence or guilt. That responsibility was that of Claudius, the Ubar of Argentum, and the high council.
Kajira of Gor   Book 19   Page 396

[14] The men about him he appointed high officers, by his word alone."
This was possible, as the word of the Ubar takes precedence over councils.
Swordsmen of Gor   Book 29   Page 115

[15] There are two systems of courts on Gor those of the City, under the jurisdiction of an Administrator or Ubar, and those of the Initiates, under the jurisdiction of the High Initiate of the given city; the division corresponds roughly to that between civil and what, for lack of a better word, might be called ecclesiastical courts.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 194

[16] Apparently he had realized she would be sold in this market on this day. I supposed that was not common knowledge. It seemed probable to me that this matter had been arranged, perhaps even with the collusion of a praetor, if not the Ubar himself.
Conspirators of Gor   Book 31   Page 134

[17] "Why do the slaves wear purple?" I asked Misk. "That is the color of the robes of a Ubar."
Priest-Kings of Gor   Book 3   Page 91

I was glad that the tunic I wore was not of the Ubar's purple
Priest-Kings of Gor   Book 3   Page 108

Kamchak stood before the throne of Phanius Turmus, the purple robe of the Ubar over one shoulder,
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 255

Some seventy or eighty yards away I saw the box of the Ubar and, upon the throne of the Ubar, Cernus, of the House of Cernus, in the imperial purple of the Ubar.
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 354

He was not wearing the purple of the Ubar, but his shoulders were covered with a brown cloak, rather of the sort worn by Administrators in certain cities, civilian statesmen, servants of the people, so to speak.
Mercenaries of Gor   Book 21   Page 288

[18] the swirling robe of the Ubar,
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 376

[19] Around his neck he wore the golden chain of the Ubar, carrying the medallionlike replica of the Home Stone of Ar.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 154

the golden medallion of a Ubar
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 6

"One who steals a sul may be mutilated, crippled, or killed," said Callias, "whereas one who steals cities may be gifted with the medallion of a Ubar."
Mariners of Gor   Book 30   Page 514

[20] "He is surely a big fellow," I said, "but I scarcely noticed him." Bila Huruma, indeed, had been an extremely large man, and long armed. He had sat upon a royal stool, of black, lacquered wood, mounted on the crossed, tied, horns of kailiauk. His arms and legs had been bare, and they had glistened from oil. He had worn armlets and bracelets, and anklets, of gold. He had worn at his loins the pelts of the yellow panther. He wore, too, the teeth of his beast as a necklace. Behind and about him had swirled a gigantic cloak of yellow and red feathers, from the crested lit and the fruit tindel, brightly plumaged birds of the rain forest. In making such a cloak only two feathers are taken from the breast of each bird. It takes sometimes a hundred years to fashion such a cloak. Naturally it is to be worn only by a Ubar. His head was surmounted by an elaborate headdress, formed largely from the long, white, curling feathers of the Ushindi fisher, a long-legged, wading bird, It was not unlike the common headdress of the askari. Indeed, save for the length of the feathers and the intricate leather and beading, in which the feathers were mounted, it might have been such a headdress.
Explorers of Gor   Book 13   Page 236

[21] Many of the free women of Gor and almost always those of High Caste wear the Robes of Concealment, though, of course, their garments are seldom as complex or splendidly wrought as those of a Ubar's daughter.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 87

[22] She tried to rise, but one foot was, of course, some ten inches higher than the other. She fell again, and I unstrapped the remaining shoe. "No wonder you can hardly walk," I said. "Why do you wear these silly things?"
"The daughter of a Ubar must look down on her subjects," was the simple if extraordinary reply.
. . .
The daughter of a Ubar looked up to no man.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 92

[23] Cernus was often in the Central Cylinder, attending to the numerous duties of Ubar of the city,
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 271

[24] the unification and revision of the codes of the five Ubars,
Raiders of Gor   Book 6   Page 159

[25] Then, at dawn, on the first day of En'Kara, in the name of the city, the Administrator of Ar, or a Ubar if it be Ubar, greets the sun, welcoming it to Ar on the first day of the New Year.
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 211

Lastly, as the culmination of Ar's Planting Feast, and of the greatest importance to the plan of the Council of Ko-ro-ba, a member of the Ubar's family goes to the roof at night, under the three full moons with which the feast is correlated, and casts grain upon the stone and drops of a red winelike drink made from the fruit of the Ka-la-na tree. The member of the Ubar's family then prays to the Priest-Kings for an abundant harvest and returns to the interior of the cylinder, at which point the Guards of the Home Stone resume their vigil.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 68

At dawn on the day of the vernal equinox a ceremonial greeting of the sun takes place, conducted usually by the Ubar or administrator of the city. This, in effect, welcomes the New Year to the city.
Players of Gor   Book 20    Page 10

[26] It was sometimes said that the power of Marlenus, the Ubar himself, rested ultimately on the lower castes, whom he cultivated and flattered.
Conspirators of Gor   Book 31   Page 103

[27] Ubars have always employed the Initiates as tools, some of the boldest even contending that the social function of the Initiates is to keep the lower castes contented with their servile lot.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 188

[28] "Perhaps," he said, "the ost, the sleen, the hith, the panther, the river shark, the larl, was created in their image."
"Such words might have you impaled," I said.
"Only where Ubars fear the white caste," he said.
Smugglers of Gor   Book 32   Page 144

[29] She had apparently once been of the Merchants, perhaps the high Merchants, and had even held herself to be of high caste, despite the fact that few Goreans accepted the Merchants as a high caste. It was regarded as a rich caste, but that is not, in the eyes of many, the same as being a high caste. It was, of course, a powerful caste, given its wealth, and even Ubars might court its favor.
Smugglers of Gor   Book 32   Page 154

[30] If the Merchants are not a high caste, it is clear they are an important caste. It is said they own councils and sway law, that their gold hides and whispers behind thrones, that cities heed their words, that Ubars are often in their debt.
Smugglers of Gor   Book 32   Page 64

[31] Contests of arms, fought to the death, whereas they may not take place at the fairs are not unknown on Gor, and are popular in some cities. Contests of this sort, most often involving criminals and impoverished soldiers of fortune, offer prizes of amnesty or gold and are customarily sponsored by rich men to win the approval of the populace of their cities. Sometimes these men are merchants who wish thereby to secure goodwill for their products; sometimes they are practitioners of the law, who hope to sway the votes of jury men; sometimes they are Ubars or High Initiates who find it in their interests to keep the crowds amused.
Priest-Kings of Gor   Book 3   Page 11

[32] I hoped that I would be granted death in battle, if death it must be. The Wagon Peoples, of all those on Gor that I know, are the only ones that have a clan of torturers, trained as carefully as scribes or physicians, in the arts of detaining life.
Some of these men have achieved fortune and fame in various Gorean cities, for their services to Initiates and Ubars, and others with an interest in the arts of detection and persuasion.
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Pages 9 - 10

[33] A torture slave, as is well known, is a slave trained to arouse, humiliate, frustrate, and then deny a male prisoner. Some captains, commanders, Ubars, and such, utilize the services of such a slave, usually for the pleasure of witnessing the discomfiture and misery of some hated enemy. Irons, knives, and cords are not the only means by which a helpless enemy may be tormented.
Smugglers of Gor   Book 32   Page 412

[34] I looked at Marlenus, testing the man. "What is it, Ubar, that you hold dearest - your city or your title? Do you seek the welfare of Ar or your private glory?"
Marlenus leaped to his feet, hurling the yellow robes of the Afflicted from him, drawing his blade from its sheath with a metallic flash. "A Ubar," he cried, "answers such a question only with his sword!"
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 172

"Take what men of mine you will," he said. "But I must fight for my city. I am Ubar of Ar, and while I live, my city will not perish."
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 203

It was obvious that Thorn, unlike my old enemy Pa-Kur, who presumably had perished at the siege of Ar, was not a man above sensual vices, not a man who could with fanatical purity and single-minded devotion sacrifice himself and entire peoples to the ends of his ambition and power. Thorn would never make a Ubar.
Outlaw of Gor   Book 2   Page 60

The wagons are said to be countless, the animals without number. Both of these claims, are of course, mistaken, and the Ubars of the Wagon Peoples know well each wagon and the number of branded beasts in the various herds;
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 21

The Wagon Peoples are fascinated with the future and its signs and though, to hear them speak, they put no store in such matters, yet they do in practice give them great consideration. I was told by Kamchak that once an army of a thousand wagons turned aside because a swarm of rennels, poisonous, crablike desert insects, did not defend its broken nest, crushed, by the wheel of the lead wagon. Another time, over a hundred years ago, a wagon Ubar lost the spur from his right boot and turned for this reason back from the gates of mighty Ar itself.
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Pages 27 - 28

Tuchuks do not make good spies, for they tend to be, albeit fierce and cruel, intensely loyal; and there are few strangers allowed in the wagon of a Tuchuk Ubar.
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 201

Conrad, Hakimba and the Paravaci strode to the throne of Kamchak, but none of them, as befitted Ubars of their peoples, knelt.
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 334

He released my hand and sat back, cross-legged, his back straight as that of a Ubar,
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 35

"If a Ubar does not respect the law of the Home Stone, what man shall?"
"None," said I. "It is hard to be Ubar."
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 407

"His hand on the hilt of his sword," said Mira, "and his other hand on the medallion of Ar, his daughter was disowned."
I gasped, stunned.
"Yes," laughed Verna, "according to the codes of the warriors and by the rites of the city of Ar, no longer is Talena kin or daughter of Marlenus of Ar."
I lay, stunned. According to irreversible ceremonies, both of the warriors and of the city of Ar, Talena was no longer the daughter of Marlenus. In her shame she had been put outside his house. She was cut off. In law, and in the eyes of Goreans, Talena was now without family. No longer did she have kin. She was now, in her shame, alone, completely. She was now only slave, that and nothing more.
Hunters of Gor   Book 8   Page 131

"Ubar," said I, "if the girl Verna had not cried out for mercy, if she had not wept and yielded herself, completely and utterly, to you as slave, would you have truly done what you threatened?"
"I do not understand," said Marlenus.
"Would you truly have hamstrung her?" I asked.
"Of course," said Marlenus. "I am a Ubar."
Hunters of Gor   Book 8   Pages 163 - 164

Only a Ubar, it is said, may sit upon the throne of a Ubar. Only when a true Ubar sits upon the throne is it said the pledge of sword loyalty is binding.
Slave Girl of Gor   Book 11   Page 114

"To truly see a Ubar," I said, "to look into his heart can be a fearful thing."
. . .
"He who sits upon the throne, it is said," said Msaliti, "is the most alone of men."
. . .
It is not always desirable to look deeply into the eyes of a Ubar.
Explorers of Gor   Book 13   Page 237

I then, truly, for the first time looked into the eyes of Bila Huruma.
He sat upon the high platform, above the others, solitary and isolated, the necklace of panther teeth about his neck, the lamps below him.
I sensed then, for a moment, what it must be to be a Ubar. It was then, in that instant, that I first truly saw him, as he was, and as he must be. I looked then on loneliness and decision, and power. The Ubar must contain within himself dark strengths. He must be capable of doing, as many men are not; what is necessary.
Only one can sit upon the throne, as it is said. And, as it is said, he who sits upon the throne is the most alone of men.
It is he who must be a stranger to all men, and to whom all men must be strangers.
The throne indeed is a lonely country.
Many men desire to live there but few, I think, could bear its burdens.
Let us continue to think of our Ubars as men much like ourselves, only perhaps a bit wiser, or stronger, or more fortunate. That way we may continue to be comfortable with them, and, to some extent, feel ourselves their superior. But let us not look into their eyes too closely, for we might see there that which sets them apart from us.
It is not always desirable to look deeply into the eyes of a Ubar.
Explorers of Gor   Book 13   Pages 242 - 243

"Ubars," I pointed out to Kisu, "seldom see much point in engaging in single combat with common soldiers."
Explorers of Gor   Book 13   Page 428

"To a Ubar a friend is precious," he said. "We have so few."
Explorers of Gor   Book 13   Page 446

"Ubars, and Ubaras, have no friends," said Alcinoë.
Mariners of Gor   Book 30   Page 399

[35] I had little difficulty making out the tallest tower in Ar, the cylinder of the Ubar Marlenus.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 77

[36] Before them had been placed large golden dishes heaped with delicacies prepared by the kitchens of the Ubar,
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 253

[37] Cernus, upon occasion, though Ubar of Ar, would return to sit table in his own house,
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 237

[38] I had never tasted ka-la-na but I had gathered there were a great many varieties, differing much in quality. Some Ubars might barter a city or a hundred slaves for a given flask of the beverage.
Smugglers of Gor   Book 32   Page 295

[39] "The personal physicians of Ubars do well," said Mrs. Rawlinson.
Conspirators of Gor   Book 31   Page 26

[40] Soon we had emerged in the great domed chamber set with lights and stones in which, on a high, stepped dais, sits the marble throne of the Ubar of Ar.
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 395

[41] "His wagon," smiled Kamchak, "is the First Wagon and it is Kutaituchik who sits upon the gray robe."
"The gray robe?" I asked.
"That robe," said Kamchak, "which is the throne of the Ubars of the Tuchuks."
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 32

We mounted the dais and approached the seemingly somnolent figure seated upon it. Although the dais was resplendent, and the rugs upon it even more resplendent, I saw that beneath Kutaituchik, over these rugs, had been spread a simple, worn, tattered robe of gray boskhide. It was upon this simple robe that he sat. It was undoubtedly that of which Kamchak had spoken, the robe upon which sits the Ubar of the Tuchuks, that simple robe which is his throne.
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Pages 42 - 43

[42] the palace of a Ubar is also the mint of a city,
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 251

[43] I was jostled in the crowds, and twice nearly knocked down by officers in the guard of Phanius Turmus, Ubar of Turia.
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 234

[44] Then to my surprise I saw, with us, fighting, a common Warrior, not a Taurentian, one whose helmet was not laced with gold nor his shield bound with silver, nor his shoulders covered with the purple of the Ubar's guard.
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 347

[45] Two warriors passed, proud in their red.
They were probably mercenaries. Their speech reminded me of that of Ar.
They did not wear, in silver, the medallion of the Ubar.
Hunters of Gor   Book 8   Page 45

[46] The palace guard, I had learned from Hup, would be, on a staggered basis, rotated, in order that the honor of serving the Ubar would be more broadly distributed, and, further, presumably, that no given faction of men could come, in time, to dominate the guards; the pay of the guards, incidentally, was substantially reduced, perhaps in order that, in virtue of this sacrifice, the honor of the post might be more clear, and that fewer invidious distinctions might grow up between the palace guard and the military generally, from which it was now composed.
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 393

[47] Further, the Kassars, the Kataii and the Paravaci did not reveal their true Ubars with any greater willingness than the Tuchuks had. Each people, as the Tuchuks had, had its false Ubar, its decoy to protect the true Ubar from danger or assassination.
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 257

[48] Twice earlier, on the great road to Ar, Tup Ladletender had pointed out tarnsmen in flight, presumably messengers. Marlenus of Ar, and other Ubars, commonly employed such couriers.
Slave Girl of Gor   Book 11   Page 248

[49] Sometimes special sales, well-publicized, are held, in which as few as fifteen or twenty girls, of great quality or interest, are sold. All Ar, it is said, tries to fill the house upon such occasions. If a Ubara of a conquered city, for example, were to be sold, it would, customarily, be in such a special sale, unless the victorious Ubar, he who had conquered her city and captured her, chose to have her sold, for his amusement, in a common sale and from an unimportant block. Normally, of course, the conquering Ubar would keep such a regal wench, now collared and debased to slavery, in his own pleasure gardens, as a delicious memento of his victory, and as a woman.
Slave Girl of Gor   Book 11   Pages 431 - 432

[50] That night we brought the caravan into the palisade keep prepared for Mintar by Pa-Kur, the Master Assassin, who was the Ubar of this vast, scarcely organized, predatory horde.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 131

[51] It is near Turia, in the spring, that the Omen Year is completed, when the omens are taken, usually over several days by hundreds of haruspexes, mostly readers of bosk blood and verr livers, to determine if they are favorable for a choosing of a Ubar San, a One Ubar, a Ubar who would be High Ubar, a Ubar of all the Wagons, a Ubar of all the Peoples, one who could lead them as one people.
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Pages 11 - 12

There had not been, I knew, a Ubar San in more than a hundred years. It did not seem likely, either, that one would be elected in the spring. Even in the time I had been with the wagons I had gathered that it was only the implicit truce of the Omen Year which kept these four fierce, warring peoples from lunging at one another's throats, or more exactly put, at one another's bosk. Naturally, as a Koroban, and one with a certain affection for the cities of Gor, particularly those of the north, particularly Ko-ro-ba, Ar, Thentis and Tharna, I was not disappointed at the likelihood that a Ubar San would not be elected. Indeed, I found few who wished a Ubar San to be chosen. The Tuchuks, like the other Wagon Peoples, are intensely independent. Yet, each ten years, the omens are taken.
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 56

[52] Politically, Port Kar is a chaos, ruled by several conflicting Ubars, each with his own following, each attempting to terrorize, to govern and tax to the extent of his power. Nominally beneath these Ubars, but in fact much independent of them, is an oligarchy of merchant princes, Captains, as they call themselves, who, hold council, maintain and manage the great arsenal, building and renting ships and fittings, themselves controlling the grain fleet, the oil fleet, the slave fleet, and others.
Raiders of Gor   Book 6   Page 104

In the council, in effect, was vested the stability and administration of Port Kar.
Above it, nominally, stood five Ubars, each refusing to recognize the authority of the others, Chung, Eteocles, Nigel, Sullius Maximus and Henrius Sevarius, claiming to be the fifth of his line.
The Ubars were represented on the council, to which they belonged as being themselves Captains, by five empty thrones, sitting before the semicircles of curule chairs on which reposed the captains. Beside each empty throne there was a stool from which a Scribe, speaking in the name of his Ubar, participated in the proceedings of the council. The Ubars themselves remained aloof, seldom showing themselves for fear of assassination.
Raiders of Gor   Book 6   Page 126

[53] As rumor has it, Clearchus was a famous brigand of some two centuries ago who decided to legitimize and regularize his brigandage. He proclaimed his area of operations a Ubarate, proclaimed himself its Ubar, and then proceeded to impose taxes and levy tolls. Interestingly enough, in time, several cities accorded this Ubarate diplomatic recognition, generally in return for concessions on the taxes and tolls. Finally a large force of mercenaries, in the hire of the merchant caste, in a campaign that lasted several months, put an end to the spurious reign of Clearchus, driving him from the forest and scattering his men. It is generally conceded, however, that had Clearchus had more men he might have turned out to be the founder of a state.
Players of Gor   Book 20   Page 100

[54] "Within the circle of each man's sword," say the codes of the warrior, "therein is each man a Ubar"
Marauders of Gor   Book 9   Page 10

[55] Much power I knew could reside within a collar. Have not Ubars succumbed to the smile of a kajira?
Conspirators of Gor   Book 31   Page 302
"Some slaves," she said, "have entangled the hearts of Ubars in their meshes."
"Even a Ubar," I said, "may be a fool."
Smugglers of Gor   Book 32   Page 179

[56] Surely the sparkling eyes of a free woman, and the hint of lips beneath a veil, had brought more than one general to defeat, more than one Ubar to ruin.
Conspirators of Gor   Book 31   Page 502

[57] The pleasure gardens of Ubars and high merchants might house innumerable slaves, even slaves purchased by agents, slaves of whom their masters might not even be aware.
Smugglers of Gor   Book 32   Page 470

[58] "A message from Pa-Kur," I said, "for the ears of Talena, his Ubara-to-be."
"I will carry the message," said one of the guards, a large man, his eyes suspicious. He regarded me closely. Obviously, I was not anyone he knew.
"The message is for the Ubara-to-be, and for her alone," I said angrily. "Do you deny admittance to the messenger of Pa-Kur?"
"I do not know you," he growled.
"Give me your name," I demanded, "so that I may report to Pa-Kur who it is that denies his message to his future Ubara.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Pages 182 - 183

Harold looked at me. "Yes," he said, "she had been a Turian girl taken as slave by Kutaituchik - but he cared for her and freed her. She remained with him in the wagons until her death, the Ubara of the Tuchuks."
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 339

"This woman," said Kamchak of the Tuchuks, brusquely, his voice stem but almost breaking, "is called Aphris - know her - she is Ubara of the Tuchuks, she is Ubara Sana, of my heart Ubara Sana!"
Nomads of Gor   Book 4   Page 340

Raised as she had been, in the sequestered quarters of high-born women in the palace of Tyros in Kasra, I supposed it was perhaps the first time that the lips of a man had touched hers. Doubtless she had expected to receive that kiss standing in the swirling love silks of the Free Companion, beneath golden love lamps, beside the couch of the Ubar of Cos; but it was not in the white, marbled palace of the Ubar of Cos that that kiss was to take place; and it was not to be received as a Ubara from the lips of a Ubar; that kiss was to take place in Port Kar, in the holding of her enemies, under barbaric torchlight, before the table of her master; and she was not to wear the love silks of a Free Companion and Ubara but the brief, wretched garment of a Kettle Slave,
Raiders of Gor   Book 6   Page 235

[59] "A Ubar, a great lord, a potentate," said the beast, "does not companion casually or lightly.
. . .
A Ubar might companion a Ubara from another city, a coveted city, one of wealth and power, or companion the daughter of another Ubar, of such a city, such things."
"I see," she said, not pleased.
As I knelt in the background, inconspicuous but at hand, I saw that the Lady Bina was not so much dissuaded of her astonishing ambition, as convinced that its realization might be less easily achieved than hitherto anticipated.
"Occasionally," said the beast, "a Ubar may companion the Ubara of a captured city, forcing companionship however unwelcome, upon her, making of her free spoils, so to speak, thereby, as she is then companioned, entitling himself legally to the wealth of her treasury and the allegiance of her subjects. In such a case she may sit beside him, on a throne, within her fine robes, chained."
"I suppose," said the Lady Bina "he may do this severally."
"No," said the beast, "for one may have but one companion, at one time."
I had no doubt, of course that a Ubar, or, indeed, any person of means, might have several slaves.
"What if a second Ubara is conquered?" asked the Lady Bina.
"You are thinking of companioning?" asked the beast.
"Yes," she said.
"Then the Ubara of less consequence," he said, "will be demoted to bondage, and then kept, or put up for sale, or such."
"But surely," she said, "companioning is not always involved in such matters."
"Certainly not," he said. "The conqueror holds rights to all in virtue of the right of conquest, in virtue of war rights. The usual ensuance in such matters is that the conquered Ubara will be marched naked in the triumph, chained to the stirrup of the victor's tharlarion or kaiila after which she, and the women of her court, similarly paraded, will serve naked at the victory feast, during which they will be enjoyed, and after which, in the morning, they will be lashed and fitted with their collars."
Conspirators of Gor   Book 31   Pages 228 - 230

[60] "How could this Talena become Ubara of Ar?" I asked. "I thought she was sworn from the line of Marlenus."
"She can be given legal entitlement to the succession," said a fellow. "I have heard it discussed."
"Not as of the line of Marlenus," I said.
"No," he said. "But one need not be of the line of Marlenus, surely, to rule in Ar."
"Minus Tentius Hinrabius and Cernus, both, ruled in Ar," said a man. "Neither was of his line."
"That is true," I said.
"She is a free citizen," said a man. "Accordingly, she could be given such entitlement."
Mercenaries of Gor   Book 21   Page 271

[61] "I have chosen my name," she said. "I call myself 'Ubara'."
"That is not a name," he said. "It is a title."
Kur of Gor   Book 28   Page 267

[62] She wore the concealing robes and veils, the full regalia of a Ubara.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 184

[63] "What is the crown she wears?" asked the slave.
"A tiara," said Cabot.
"A tiara?"
"That of a Ubara," said Cabot.
Kur of Gor   Book 28   Page 415

[64] The pendant had been the medallion of the Ubara of Ar.
Swordsmen of Gor   Book 29   Page 526

[65] To be Ubara of Ar was the most glorious thing to which a woman might aspire. It meant that she would be the richest and most powerful woman on Gor, that armies and navies, and tarn cavalries, could move upon her very word, that the taxes of an empire the wealthiest on Gor could be laid at her feet, that the most precious of gems and jewelries might be hers, that she would be the most envied woman on the planet.
Hunters of Gor   Book 8   Pages 300 - 301

[66] Had she had true power in Ar, had she been a true Ubara, and not a puppet of the occupation, her word might have created and destroyed fortunes, humbled generals and exalted common armsmen; armies might have been marched at her word, and tarn cavalries launched, wars begun and wars ended, but she had had, for the most part, only the trappings of power, not power itself.
Mariners of Gor   Book 30   Page 378

[67] The power of Marlenus, or much of it, lay in the mystique of victory that had never ceased to attend him, acting like a magic spell on his soldiers and the people of his city. Never defeated in combat, Ubar of Ubars, he had boldly refused to relinquish his title after a Valley War some twelve years ago, and his men had refused to withdraw from him, refused to abandon him to the traditional fate of the overambitious Ubar. The soldiers, and the Council of his city, had succumbed to his blandishments, his promises of wealth and power for Ar.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 65

[68] "The High Castes in a given city," said my father, "elect an administrator and council for stated terms. In times of crisis, a war chief, or Ubar, is named, who rules without check and by decree until, in his judgment, the crisis is passed."
"In his judgment?" I asked skeptically.
"Normally the office is surrendered after the passing of the crisis," said my father. "It is part of the Warrior's Code."
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 42

[69] "But what if he does not give up the office" I asked. I had learned enough of Gor by how to know that one could not always count on the Caste Codes being observed.
"Those who do not desire to surrender their power," said my father, "are usually deserted by their men. The offending war chief is simply abandoned, left alone in his palace to be impaled by the citizens of the city he has tried to usurp."
I nodded, imagining a palace, empty save for one man sitting alone on his throne, clad in his robes of state, waiting for the angry people outside the gates to break through and work their wrath.
"But," said my father, "sometimes such a war chief, or Ubar, wins the hearts of his men, and they refuse to withdraw their allegiance."
"What happens then?" I asked.
"He becomes a tyrant," said my father, "and rules until eventually, in one way or another, he is ruthlessly deposed." My father's eyes were hard and seemed fixed in thought. It was not mere political theory he spoke to me. I gathered that he knew of such a man. "Until," he repeated slowly, "he is ruthlessly deposed."
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Pages 42 - 43

[70] "Marlenus has fled," said the officer. "The city is in chaos. The Initiates have assumed command and have ordered that Marlenus and all members of his household and family are to be publicly impaled on the walls of Ar."
A moan escaped the girl.
The officer continued; "Marlenus lost the Home Stone, the Luck of Ar. He, with fifty tarnsmen disloyal to the city, seized what they could of the treasury and escaped. In the streets there is civil war, fighting between the factions that would master Ar. There is looting and pillaging. The city is under martial law."
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 102

when its Home Stone had been stolen and its Ubar forced to flee.
Assassin of Gor   Book 5   Page 6

[71] Marlenus, in spite of his heroic role in the victory, submitted himself to the judgment of Ar's Council of High Castes. The sentence of death passed upon him by the usurping government of the Initiates was rescinded, but because his imperialistic ambition was feared, he was exiled from his beloved city. Such a man as Marlenus can never be second in a city, and the men of Ar were determined that he should never again be first. Accordingly, the Ubar, tears in his eyes, was publicly refused bread and salt, and, under penalty of death, was ordered to leave Ar by sundown, never again to come within ten pasangs of the city.
Tarnsman of Gor   Book 1   Page 216

[72] When the Ubar is thought to be unfit, it is thought, too, he has dishonored the pledge of sword loyalty. It is not then uncommon for him to die beneath the steel of his outraged men.
Slave Girl of Gor   Book 11   Page 114