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{{Ahn'Qiraj wings}}
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[[File:Ahn'Qiraj bosses.jpg|thumb|300px|Ahn'Qiraj bosses]]
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[[File:Ahn'Quiraj Gates.jpg|thumb|The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj]]
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| name = Thalia Amberhide
 
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| image = Thalia_Amberhide.jpg
 
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| title =
 
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| level = 30
 
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| type =
 
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| faction = Horde
 
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| city = Thunder Bluff
 
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| race = Tauren
 
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| creature = Humanoid
 
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| sex = Female
 
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| location = [[Thousand Needles]]
 
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}}
 
   
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'''Ahn'Qiraj''' is the city-kingdom of the [[Qiraji]] found in the southern part of [[Silithus]]. It was originally a [[titan]] research station which housed the [[old god]] [[C'Thun]] before being commandeered by the [[Aqir]], who would become the [[Qiraji]].<ref>http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=25626575587&pageNo=1&sid=1#0</ref> Following the [[War of the Shifting Sands]], the kingdom was contained from the rest of the world by the [[Scarab Wall]], until it was opened again recently.
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'''Thalia Amberhide''' is a female [[tauren]] residing in the inn of [[Freewind Post]] in [[Thousand Needles]]. She is a close friend of [[Lakota Windsong]], the tauren who was kidnapped by [[Arnak Grimtotem]].
 
   
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== History ==
[[Category:Tauren]]
 
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[[File:WorldMap-AhnQirajTheFallenKingdom.jpg|thumb|Ahn'Qiraj from above]]
[[Category:NPCs]]
 
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[[File:aqpreview1.jpg|thumb]]
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[[File:aqpreview2.jpg|thumb]]
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[[File:aqpreview3.jpg|thumb]]
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"Little is known of the ancient kingdom of Ahn'Qiraj, save for scattered legends concerning its creators - the enigmatic sorcerers known as the Qiraji. [[Night Elf]] tales abound of the Qiraji's strange hold over the insect like [[Silithid]] - and their symbiotic link with the terrifying race. It has become clear that the Qiraji are stirring once again behind the sand-blasted walls of their kingdom. The [[Silithid]] have begun to amass in the southern regions of [[Kalimdor]]. None know what vast evil might spew forth if the gates of Ahn'Qiraj were ever breached."
  +
  +
* More information on the ancient conflict between the night elves and the Qiraji can be found on [[War of the Shifting Sands]].
  +
  +
'''''From [[Geologist Larksbane]] in Silithus'''''
  +
  +
"It is history ... A history of Silithus ... of Ahn'Qiraj ... of Titans and [[Old Gods]] ... I read from the prophecy of [[C'Thun]] as written by the Qiraji [[Prophet Skeram]]. A prophecy that portends a cataclysm ...
  +
  +
In the time before time, when the world was still in its infancy, a battle between a Titan and a being of unimaginable evil and power raged on this very soil. The prophecy is unclear about whether or not the [[Titan]] was vanquished in this battle but it illustrates that a Titan fell. An Old God had also fallen - or so it was thought.
  +
  +
The land of eternal starlight, Kalimdor, was a nurturing mother to all of its creatures. The magic of the [[Well of Eternity]] permeated the land and empowered the multitude of flora and fauna that would make the world their home. From this magical ether were born the [[silithid]]. It was through the silithid that the brooding Old God would reach and attempt to sunder the world that it once held in its unmerciful grasp.
  +
  +
The Old God would create avatars from the silithid in its own image. These [[avatar]]s were to be known as [[Qiraji]]. Sapient and with purpose, the Qiraji would name their creator: C'Thun was born ... For many thousands of years the Qiraji worked feverishly to build a force capable of laying waste to the world that would betray their god. The great fortress city of Ahn'Qiraj was created to house their growing armies and prepare for the coming of C'Thun. This can't be right. An Old God could never be allowed to enter this world. The results would be ... Oh dear!
  +
  +
There is more. The moment that C'Thun had so patiently waited for had finally arrived. His children had spent thousands of years building an army capable of exacting revenge upon the whole of Kalimdor and now the prize was within their grasp.
  +
  +
The Titans had long since vacated this world. Only the night elves that once inhabited this area were here to defend. A mighty Qiraji known as [[General Rajaxx]] would command the initial incursion into Silithus. Only one would stand in his way: A night elf known as Staghelm. They refer to him as [[Khar'sis]] or "hand of the earth" in the native Qiraji tongue.
  +
  +
[[Staghelm]] and his armies were clearly overwhelmed as the endless flow of Rajaxx's troops poured into Silithus. It would seem as if Staghelm, however, was more than just a nuisance to the Qiraji. Under Staghelm, the whole of the night elf armies had come together to defend Kalimdor, greatly slowing the Qiraji forces.
  +
  +
Unfortunately, the night elf defense was untenable and Rajaxx knew that they could not hold out much longer. Their tenacity, however, was causing great frustration to Rajaxx and causing even more frustration to his king.
  +
  +
[[Vek'nilash]] and [[Vek'lor]], known as the Twin Emperors of Ahn'Qiraj, watched the war from the sanctuary of their temple. The clever brothers devised a plan to demoralize and divide Staghelm's forces. [[Valstann Staghelm]] served as the right hand of [[Fandral Staghelm|Fandral]]. A proud and noble warrior, his dedication and adoration for his father unyielding ... and the Twin Emperors sensed this as weakness. A weakness that could be exploited.
  +
  +
The Qiraji forces were commanded to fall back and hide the bulk of their numbers beneath the sands of the desert. A small attack was ordered upon Southwind Village while the front lines of Staghelm's army were kept occupied.
  +
  +
Valstann, eager to please his father, convinced Fandral to allow him to take a small battalion to the defense of Southwind. Surely with the tide of battle turning their way, no harm could come to his beloved child. The trap was missed. [[Valstann]] was captured by the hiding Qiraji and [[Southwind Village]] obliterated. Rajaxx himself would take the captive Valstann to the front lines of the battle where - in front of Staghelm and the night elf forces - he would brutally execute the young night elf. The war continued but the will of the great leader was sapped. The whole of Silithus was soon engulfed by the silithid and their Qiraji hosts.
  +
  +
The night elf army was pushed back through [[Un'Goro Crater]], to the borders of the [[Tanaris]] desert. Something in Un'Goro prevented the Qiraji from being able to take the land. I do not quite understand this word but I believe it to mean 'God Lands'. It is stated that they could not 'take the God Lands'.
  +
  +
Fascinating, this coincides with theories of Un'Goro being the home of the Titans when they inhabited Kalimdor. Perhaps [[Aman'Thul]] himself watched over 'The God Lands'. In Tanaris the Qiraji document facing a bronze dragon. Surely they are planning to invade Kalimdor once more!"
  +
  +
'''''From the book "The Two Empires"'''''
  +
  +
"The [[Gurubashi Empire|Gurabashi]] and [[Amani Empire|Amani]] Empires had little love for one another, but rarely warred against each other. At the time, their greatest common enemy was a third empire -- the civilization of [[Azj'Aqir]]. The Aqir were intelligent insectoids who ruled the lands of the far west. These clever insectoids were greatly expansionistic and incredibly evil. The Aqir were obsessed with eradicating all non-insect life from the fields of Kalimdor.
  +
  +
The trolls fought them for many thousands of years, but never succeeded in winning a true victory over the [[Aqir]]. Eventually, due to the troll's persistence, the Aqiri Kingdom split in half as its citizens fled to separate colonies in the far northern and southern regions of the continent.
  +
  +
Two [[Aqiri]] city-states emerged -- [[Azjol-Nerub]] in the northern wastes, and Ahn'Qiraj in the southern desert. Though the trolls suspected that there were other Aqiri colonies beneath Kalimdor, their existence was never verified."
  +
  +
== In World of Warcraft ==
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  +
Ahn'Qiraj comprised two [[raid]] instances in pre-expansion ''World of Warcraft'': The [[Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj]] (20 person) and the [[Temple of Ahn'Qiraj]] (40 person). The [[Gates of Ahn'Qiraj]] could only be opened by a series of player-driven quests (part of which was the [[Ahn'Qiraj War Effort]]). When completed, this triggered a [[World Event]], and the gates opened. Once the gates were open, the spoils of the kingdom would be available for anyone on the server who could rise to the challenge.
  +
  +
Although the instance was not activated until [[1.9]], the [[Scarab Wall]] (the gate to Ahn'Qiraj) has been present since early on in the game's release. Prior to ''[[World of Warcraft: Cataclysm]]'', the area where Ahn'Qiraj is physically located beyond the portal gates was inaccessible and there was a "dead zone" on the world map south of Silithus.
  +
  +
With [[Patch 4.0.3a]] and the introduction of flying in Azeroth, the outdoor, uninstanced part of Ahn'Qiraj became a zone named [[Ahn'Qiraj: The Fallen Kingdom]]. It consists of a facsimile of the raid instances with no mobs or quests, similar to what was once [[Zul'Gurub]]. It currently serves no purpose. Accompanying these changes, the Ahn'Qiraj instances were tweaked to accommodate half of the previous number of players, though the enemies located inside are still level 60.
  +
  +
With C'Thun playing a role in ''Cataclysm'' and for example [[Cho'gall (tactics)|Cho'gall]] dropping an item called {{item|Membrane of C'Thun}}, it remains to be seen what will happen to Ahn'Qiraj.
  +
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== Factions ==
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*[[Brood of Nozdormu]]
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*[[Cenarion Circle]]
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== Population ==
  +
The city of Ahn'Qiraj is populated by the remaining forces of the Qiraji Empire. These include various forms of Silithus Bugs.
  +
Some main Qiraji Bugs are:
  +
*[[Qiraji Gladiator]] - a huge bug with a massive pincer on its right arm.
  +
*[[Anubisath]] - this looks like the Ancient Egyptian god Anubis, a jackal-headed man.
  +
  +
== Armor Rewards ==
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*[[Temple of Ahn'Qiraj Quest Loot]]
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*[[Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj Quest Loot]]
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  +
==References==
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{{Reflist}}
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== See also ==
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* [[Gates of Ahn'Qiraj]]
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* One of the [[realm]]s in [[World of Warcraft]] is named after Ahn'Qiraj. See [[Realm Name Lore|Realm Names and their place in Warcraft Lore]]
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==External links==
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<!-- Read http://www.wowpedia.org/Wowpedia:External_links before posting your links here.
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Links that do not conform to the rules will be DELETED.
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Repeat violations may result in a BAN.
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Have a nice day. :) -->
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{{Elinks-zone|3429|al=94|}}
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{{Elink|type=wowus|link=http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/downloads/wallpapers/wallpaper52.html|desc=Ahn'Qiraj wallpaper}}
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{{Silithus}}
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{{Kalimdor}}
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{{Instancefooter|World of Warcraft}}
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{{Old Gods}}
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[[Category:Qiraji]]
 
[[Category:Nations]]

Revision as of 12:48, 15 January 2011

Ahn'Qiraj
Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj (10)

Kurinnaxx
General Rajaxx
Moam
Buru the Gorger
Ayamiss the Hunter
Ossirian the Unscarred

Temple of Ahn'Qiraj (40)

The Prophet Skeram
Silithid Royalty
Battleguard Sartura
Fankriss the Unyielding
Viscidus
Princess Huhuran
Twin Emperors
Ouro
C'Thun

File:Ahn'Qiraj bosses.jpg

Ahn'Qiraj bosses

File:Ahn'Quiraj Gates.jpg

The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj

Ahn'Qiraj is the city-kingdom of the Qiraji found in the southern part of Silithus. It was originally a titan research station which housed the old god C'Thun before being commandeered by the Aqir, who would become the Qiraji.[1] Following the War of the Shifting Sands, the kingdom was contained from the rest of the world by the Scarab Wall, until it was opened again recently.

History

WorldMap-AhnQirajTheFallenKingdom

Ahn'Qiraj from above

Aqpreview1
Aqpreview2
Aqpreview3

"Little is known of the ancient kingdom of Ahn'Qiraj, save for scattered legends concerning its creators - the enigmatic sorcerers known as the Qiraji. Night Elf tales abound of the Qiraji's strange hold over the insect like Silithid - and their symbiotic link with the terrifying race. It has become clear that the Qiraji are stirring once again behind the sand-blasted walls of their kingdom. The Silithid have begun to amass in the southern regions of Kalimdor. None know what vast evil might spew forth if the gates of Ahn'Qiraj were ever breached."

From Geologist Larksbane in Silithus

"It is history ... A history of Silithus ... of Ahn'Qiraj ... of Titans and Old Gods ... I read from the prophecy of C'Thun as written by the Qiraji Prophet Skeram. A prophecy that portends a cataclysm ...

In the time before time, when the world was still in its infancy, a battle between a Titan and a being of unimaginable evil and power raged on this very soil. The prophecy is unclear about whether or not the Titan was vanquished in this battle but it illustrates that a Titan fell. An Old God had also fallen - or so it was thought.

The land of eternal starlight, Kalimdor, was a nurturing mother to all of its creatures. The magic of the Well of Eternity permeated the land and empowered the multitude of flora and fauna that would make the world their home. From this magical ether were born the silithid. It was through the silithid that the brooding Old God would reach and attempt to sunder the world that it once held in its unmerciful grasp.

The Old God would create avatars from the silithid in its own image. These avatars were to be known as Qiraji. Sapient and with purpose, the Qiraji would name their creator: C'Thun was born ... For many thousands of years the Qiraji worked feverishly to build a force capable of laying waste to the world that would betray their god. The great fortress city of Ahn'Qiraj was created to house their growing armies and prepare for the coming of C'Thun. This can't be right. An Old God could never be allowed to enter this world. The results would be ... Oh dear!

There is more. The moment that C'Thun had so patiently waited for had finally arrived. His children had spent thousands of years building an army capable of exacting revenge upon the whole of Kalimdor and now the prize was within their grasp.

The Titans had long since vacated this world. Only the night elves that once inhabited this area were here to defend. A mighty Qiraji known as General Rajaxx would command the initial incursion into Silithus. Only one would stand in his way: A night elf known as Staghelm. They refer to him as Khar'sis or "hand of the earth" in the native Qiraji tongue.

Staghelm and his armies were clearly overwhelmed as the endless flow of Rajaxx's troops poured into Silithus. It would seem as if Staghelm, however, was more than just a nuisance to the Qiraji. Under Staghelm, the whole of the night elf armies had come together to defend Kalimdor, greatly slowing the Qiraji forces.

Unfortunately, the night elf defense was untenable and Rajaxx knew that they could not hold out much longer. Their tenacity, however, was causing great frustration to Rajaxx and causing even more frustration to his king.

Vek'nilash and Vek'lor, known as the Twin Emperors of Ahn'Qiraj, watched the war from the sanctuary of their temple. The clever brothers devised a plan to demoralize and divide Staghelm's forces. Valstann Staghelm served as the right hand of Fandral. A proud and noble warrior, his dedication and adoration for his father unyielding ... and the Twin Emperors sensed this as weakness. A weakness that could be exploited.

The Qiraji forces were commanded to fall back and hide the bulk of their numbers beneath the sands of the desert. A small attack was ordered upon Southwind Village while the front lines of Staghelm's army were kept occupied.

Valstann, eager to please his father, convinced Fandral to allow him to take a small battalion to the defense of Southwind. Surely with the tide of battle turning their way, no harm could come to his beloved child. The trap was missed. Valstann was captured by the hiding Qiraji and Southwind Village obliterated. Rajaxx himself would take the captive Valstann to the front lines of the battle where - in front of Staghelm and the night elf forces - he would brutally execute the young night elf. The war continued but the will of the great leader was sapped. The whole of Silithus was soon engulfed by the silithid and their Qiraji hosts.

The night elf army was pushed back through Un'Goro Crater, to the borders of the Tanaris desert. Something in Un'Goro prevented the Qiraji from being able to take the land. I do not quite understand this word but I believe it to mean 'God Lands'. It is stated that they could not 'take the God Lands'.

Fascinating, this coincides with theories of Un'Goro being the home of the Titans when they inhabited Kalimdor. Perhaps Aman'Thul himself watched over 'The God Lands'. In Tanaris the Qiraji document facing a bronze dragon. Surely they are planning to invade Kalimdor once more!"

From the book "The Two Empires"

"The Gurabashi and Amani Empires had little love for one another, but rarely warred against each other. At the time, their greatest common enemy was a third empire -- the civilization of Azj'Aqir. The Aqir were intelligent insectoids who ruled the lands of the far west. These clever insectoids were greatly expansionistic and incredibly evil. The Aqir were obsessed with eradicating all non-insect life from the fields of Kalimdor.

The trolls fought them for many thousands of years, but never succeeded in winning a true victory over the Aqir. Eventually, due to the troll's persistence, the Aqiri Kingdom split in half as its citizens fled to separate colonies in the far northern and southern regions of the continent.

Two Aqiri city-states emerged -- Azjol-Nerub in the northern wastes, and Ahn'Qiraj in the southern desert. Though the trolls suspected that there were other Aqiri colonies beneath Kalimdor, their existence was never verified."

In World of Warcraft

Ahn'Qiraj comprised two raid instances in pre-expansion World of Warcraft: The Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj (20 person) and the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj (40 person). The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj could only be opened by a series of player-driven quests (part of which was the Ahn'Qiraj War Effort). When completed, this triggered a World Event, and the gates opened. Once the gates were open, the spoils of the kingdom would be available for anyone on the server who could rise to the challenge.

Although the instance was not activated until 1.9, the Scarab Wall (the gate to Ahn'Qiraj) has been present since early on in the game's release. Prior to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the area where Ahn'Qiraj is physically located beyond the portal gates was inaccessible and there was a "dead zone" on the world map south of Silithus.

With Patch 4.0.3a and the introduction of flying in Azeroth, the outdoor, uninstanced part of Ahn'Qiraj became a zone named Ahn'Qiraj: The Fallen Kingdom. It consists of a facsimile of the raid instances with no mobs or quests, similar to what was once Zul'Gurub. It currently serves no purpose. Accompanying these changes, the Ahn'Qiraj instances were tweaked to accommodate half of the previous number of players, though the enemies located inside are still level 60.

With C'Thun playing a role in Cataclysm and for example Cho'gall dropping an item called Inv helmet leatherraidrogue i 01 [Membrane of C'Thun], it remains to be seen what will happen to Ahn'Qiraj.

Factions

Population

The city of Ahn'Qiraj is populated by the remaining forces of the Qiraji Empire. These include various forms of Silithus Bugs. Some main Qiraji Bugs are:

  • Qiraji Gladiator - a huge bug with a massive pincer on its right arm.
  • Anubisath - this looks like the Ancient Egyptian god Anubis, a jackal-headed man.

Armor Rewards

References

See also

External links

Template:Instancefooter