It has been speculated that the Tallarn Desert Raiders are influenced by the depiction of Middle Eastern or Arabian warriors from the 1960s movie, Lawrence of Arabia. Of course, this is fan speculation, based on the aesthetics and appearance of the Tallarn Desert Raiders themselves. There are also clear visual cues from Dune, so yeah. Desert planet? Shemagh? Cloaks? Not to mentioned the curved ceremonial daggers they carry, called Khaligs.
If you've watched the Indiana Jones movie, you'll also know what I'm talking about. Anyway, before I get too ahead of myself, let's take a step back. The Tallarn Desert Raiders were introduced as far back as the 2nd edition, when the Imperial Guard codex was released in 1995 and they had their metal miniatures, just like all the other Imperial Guard regiments did. Despite the desert planet and Middle Eastern influences, as early as 2nd edition when they were first introduced, we already had the infamous Battle of Tallarn where their once-fertile homeworld was virus-bombed to oblivion by the Iron Warriors during the Horus Heresy. So this isn't a new thing. This lore has been around since 1995, and over 30 years! Now they're only starting to expand upon it. Incredible.
Funnily enough, though, the Khaligs were introduced in the 2005 Imperial Armor volume 3: The Taros Campaign. There were also Desert Raiders by Lucien Soulban and The Traitor Hand by Sandy Mitchell, featuring Ciaphas Cain. These novels portrayed the Tallarn Desert Raiders as spiritual and...quite frankly, they were based on the stereotypes of Middle Eastern Muslims, with tribes, conflicting sects, religious fanaticism...you know, the typical portrayal of Middle Eastern Muslims in the 2000s, which was particularly affected by the whole 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers and the guerilla warfare in Afghanistan...wait, that sounds familiar. Now, I'm not blaming either author because we are the products of our time, and...let's just say there have been political and social shifts since the 2000s, so Games Workshop appears to be moving away from these Middle Eastern Muslim stereotypes when writing about Tallarn Desert Raiders.
I think that's why we have the emphasis on the Horus Heresy era Tallarn, focusing on the largest armored conflict in the Horus Heresy. It's far more interesting than the whole Dune-inspired desert planet with clearly Middle Eastern Muslim warriors thing. I mean, look at this cutscene from the 1997 game, Final Liberation! So awesome.
Love the voice acting and the attempt at a Middle Eastern accent. And the headscarf, called Shemagth in Warhammer 40,000, or to be specific, in Tallarn.
That said, it's worth observing how these early stories tend to depict the Tallarn Desert Raiders because of how fascinating history is. In The Traitor Hand, the Tallarn Desert Raiders were so taken with Ciaphas's heroics that they began worshipping him, with a prominent Tallarn character, Alem Mahat, writing The Book of Cain, which contains his aphorisms. They view Ciaphas as the Prophet of the Emperor and the conduit through which His divine will is enacted. Of course, this is clearly a reference to the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad. In Desert Raiders, the central conflict - aside from the Tyranids, of course - stems from the differing faiths of two regiments, who have a conflicting interpretation of the Imperial Truth. Again, this is clearly inspired by the Sunni and Shia faiths in Islam.
The Tallarn Desert Raiders had more expansion on their lore and forces in the Taros Campaign, alongside the Elysian Drop Troops, who had their own Forge World line. Rest in peace, Elyisan Drop Troops. I wonder if they'll ever get a plastic refresh. It would be awesome. During that Imperial Armor volume, they even received a Rough Rider variant where Tallarn soldiers rode on Mukaali, and Forge World released the models in resin.
The Mukaali are xenos mounts, herbivores known as "Sand Pacers" indigenous to the Desert World of Goru-Prime. Imported to Tallarn because these xenos adapt well to arid climates and environments, they unfortunately can't deal with the cold. They are pretty good at bearing loads and traveling across sandy terrain, so that's their advantage.
Tallarn officers also wear sashes adorned with gems and treasures. Anyway, even after over 30 years, the doctrine of the Tallarn Desert Raiders have remained consistent. They are mobile guerilla fighters, a doctrine inherited from the days of the Horus Heresy where they would avoid meeting the Iron Warriors in open battle and instead struck at the flanks and launching ambushes before fading back into the sands. Their tribes live in domed towns or caverns hollowed out of Tallarn's crust, and their settlements are linked by a complex system of tunnels, enabling them to move between them without exposing themselves to desert environment.
The Tallarn infantry regiments are very mobile, as are their famed armored regiments, who fight differently from most armored squadrons across the Imperium. Instead of a slow moving wall of steel, Tallarn armored regiments - of which there are a lot, and you can even see in the Final Liberation cutscene above that the Tallarn Desert Raiders move across the desert in Leman Russ tanks! - coordinate lightning fast spearhead assaults, their swift-moving tanks striking unexpectedly at the foe's weak flanks before disappearing. The infantry also excel in tunnel-fighting because of the subterranean tunnels mentioned above.
The current lore mentions how Tallarn was caught in a warp storm following the opening of the Great Rift and they were almost overrun by daemons. Fortunately, Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade Fleets appeared and saved them, and newly raised Tallarn regiments pledged themselves to his Crusade, usually fighting as diversionary forces who assault lightly defended outposts behind enemy lines. This forces the enemy to deploy reinforcements to these locations, but by then, the Tallarn have withdrawn to strike elsewhere. Called Siroccos, their objective is to spread the enemy army thinly, but the Tallarn guerilla warriors are so effective they end up crippling their targets permanently anyway.
Anyway, rather than the current core, I'm going to do a retrospective and talk about a very interesting account that was in the 2nd edition Imperial Guard codex, but not picked up again for a long time. Interestingly, while the lore on the Battle of Tallarn during the Horus Heresy has been expanded upon through John French's Horus Heresy Tallarn novels, novellas and short stories, and the newly published campaign books by Games Workshop - Legions Imperialis The Devastation of Tallarn and the Journal Tactica for Horus Heresy 3rd edition, The Battle of Tallarn Part 1, what is lesser known is the aftermath of the Battle of Tallarn, and what exactly is this Black Occulus or Cursus that the Iron Warriors were seeking.
The answer lies in the 2nd edition Imperial Guard codex.
Let me type everything out. It's a couple of pages long, but I think it's worth it. I'll just retype the story in the 1995 codex, to ensure it's not lost to the sands of time. In a way, I'm performing like one of Guilliman's historitors. Maybe he'll recruit me into the Logos Historica Verita...if I'm somehow still alive in the 41st millennium. Anyway...
TALLARN
The world of Tallarn was once a fertile planet bathed in the gentle orange light of its twin suns. Oceans, plains and lush jungles covered its surface, and its people prospered. All of this ended during the Horus Heresy.
CHAOS ATTACK!
In a devastating surprising attack, the Iron Warriors Chaos Space Marines struck the planet. Thousands of virus bombs rained down on Tallarn and the people ran to the enviro-shelters deep beneath the surface. As they hid, safe from the devastating bio-infestation, the deadly coils of DNA mutated as they were programmed to do. Animals, plants, even insects died as the virus did its work, destroying the planet's eco-system and leaving an empty shell.
After seven weeks of isolation, the virus had run its course and the remaining people of Tallarn emerged upon the surface. They found a world covered with the acrid slime of plants and corpses not yet decayed — for the world was completely sterile, without even bacteria to aid the decomposition of its dead.
The Iron Warriors sent their task-force to repossess the world for the Dark Gods of Chaos. From underground bunkers the Tallarn forces emerged to do battle with the invaders. Soon, reinforcements from both sides arrived, rival space fleets bringing vast armies to fight over the worthless remnants of the dead planet.
The Battle of Tallarn raged for many months and was the largest armored conflict of the Horus Heresy. Outbreaks of viral infection from rogue DNA residue made it almost impossible for infantry to operate outside their protective shelters. The battle was finally decided by armies of tanks. When the fighting ended, the empty, putrid wastes of Tallarn were littered with the wreckage of more than a million shattered vehicles.
A HOLLOW VICTORY
Chaos was driven from Tallarn at great cost, yet for all the millions that died there seemed little gained from the fight. The planet was destroyed and rendered useless for large scale habitation, industry or agriculture. The armies of the Imperium might well have given up Tallarn had their commanders realized the extent of the devastation, but once the armies were in motion there was no going back.
At the time, the Chaos attack made little sense. It seemed insane that even the fickle Gods of Chaos should expend such energy fighting over a devastated world of no particular strategic significance. But in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy, there were few left to ponder such questions. Amongst the evil of the times, it was just another demonstration of the random destruction of Chaos.
TALLARN SURVIVES
Within a thousand years of the Horus Heresy, Tallarn evolved into a very different world from the prosperous planet of former times. Deserts of sulfurous sand stretched from pole to pole and all water disappeared, except for a thin residue in the atmosphere. No vegetation remained on the surface exposed to the blistering, wind-blown sands. All that grew was the carefully husbanded crops of the Tallarn themselves, sheltered in their protective horticultural domes.
The surviving Tallarn now lived in domed towns or in natural caverns hollowed out in the planet's rock. Fierce winds drove the Tallarn into their shelters, corrosive sulfur storms made all travel risky, and eventually, a system of tunnels was built to facilitate travel beneath the surface.
Above their settlements, the Tallarn built vapor traps to catch water from the thin atmosphere. The tall towers still stand above their domes to this day, and all the water they use is caught by these cunning devices and channeled into subterranean holding tanks.
A SECRET UNCOVERED
During the construction of an arterial tunnel, Tallarn miners struck an outcrop of hard black rock. They were unable to break through this strange substance, which was quite unlike any other they had encountered. After some days, they decided to divert their tunnel to go around it. As they did so, they discovered something very strange. At first, the black wall seemed like a natural formation, but soon, they realized they had uncovered a deliberate construction.
The initial excavations revealed a huge wall of strange, black rock carved over its entire surface with weird, entwined figures. The figures were human sized yet not entirely human, possessing a grace and beauty which rendered their grotesquely inscribed cavorting all the more perverse. Giant earth movers were brought in to dig out the layer of sulfur sand in which the wall was buried, and bit by bit, it was slowly and painstakingly exposed to the daylight.
The Tallarn soon discovered the wall was not straight but curved, in fact, part of a huge circle. Carefully, their most skilled technicians worked to uncover the entire thing, a huge ring-shaped mound almost half a mile across.
THE DANGER AWAKES
It was not until the whole circle was exposed that the disaster happened. With a blast of power, the circle screamed and writhed, its inert form turned suddenly to moaning flesh. Where before there had been carvings, now there were the creatures themselves, Eldar creatures, yet twisted with an uncanny evil, locked together by some sorcerous bond into a sickening embrace of depraved passion.
Within the circle itself, blackness boiled and stars wheeled — stars that belonged in another part of the galaxy altogether.
THE DARK LIBRARY
In the Dark Library of the Eldar, a custodian shivered as he felt an unaccustomed surge of power. Adrift from time and space, his mind searched the endless strands of probabilities and found the thread that led to Tallarn. After so long, it had been discovered: the Cursus of Alganar, legend of evil from before the Fall, vortex of unimaginable power, one of the three mythical Gateways of the Gods.
His mind shifted into synchronicity with the Farseers of his race, tracing the paths that linked his mind to the Craftworlds of the Eldar. When that knowledge touched the Farseers, the Avatars of Khaine would wake. And Khaine would recognize the work of his ancient destroyer, Slaanesh — Bane of the Eldar, Prince of the Chaos Gods.
ELDAR ATTACK
The Eldar struck from the skies without warning or explanation. To the Tallarn, it was an unwarranted act of aggression. Little could they imagine that the fate of the entire Eldar race was bound up with their strange discovery. To the Eldar, there was no time for explanation or discussion. They couldn't know whether the Tallarn were in league with Chaos or whether the fierce desert people were unwitting pawns in the Dark Gods' game. As far as they were concerned, the only option was to attack, to destroy the Cursus if they could, before it was too late.
The Tallarn fought back with characteristic ferocity. Years of living upon the burning sulfurous deserts had honed them into resilient fighters. To the Eldar, the deserts were an unknown quantity. Even the hardy Aspect Warriors died under the heat of the sun, whilst the Eldar Guardians fell to the lightning raids of the human fighters. But the Eldar did not give up. They could not afford to abandon their attack. The survival of the galaxy depended on it.
THE DARK GODS AWAKE
But it was already too late. The gateway that was the Cursus grew in power by the minute. Its screams and wails filled the desert as the dark light brightened and fluxed within its core. Lights and stars swirled and clashed, fountains of spinning incandescence spat into the night sky. The laughter of gods rebounded across the sulfur dunes and Eldar and humans alike shuddered in terror.
From the Cursus poured the minions of Chaos. There were things indescribable to men. Things that awakened primal terrors in Eldar hearts — horrors of slime and flame that cackled and bounded into battle, transparent bodies of pure energy dividing and reuniting in a cascade of colors, vile fleshy things that pulsed with inner power and sucked at the air with poisonous lips. Long-legged abominations carried slender and elegant creatures upon their backs, beautiful and yet sickening to look upon. It was as if all the daemons of hell had fallen upon Tallarn.
THE BATTLE FOR THE CURSUS
The human commander called a truce and hurried to the Eldar lines where the alien Seers sat waiting. Knowledge had finally opened their eyes. The runestones lay cast upon the desert floor. Hope in union was predicted. Division would lead to damnation, darkness and death. With their fates so clearly predicted, the Eldar and Tallarn joined forces.
The two races fell back before the Chaos onslaught. Many were caught and destroyed in the early confusion, but the Chaos advance was slowed by the merciless hit and run tactics of the desert raiders. Humans led Eldar jet-bike riders into the attack, and soon the Tallarn and Eldar were able to regroup.
As the daemon hordes advanced beyond the Cursus, their power waned, as if they were dependent upon its proximity for their power. And so it was, for the tendrils of Chaos — though long — are very tenuous, and only blood-letting and victory can sustain the link between the Dark Gods and their minions.
CHAOS DEFEATED
With skill and cunning, the Tallarn drew out the Chaos battle lines. Choosing their targets carefully, the Tallarn launched one attack after another, always retreating before the Chaos hordes could turn to meet their fire. It was a tactic calculated to drain the power of the horde, and it worked better than even the wily sons of the sulfur desert could have hoped.
The Eldar Seers saw the runes change, saw the opportunity develop. The daemons were fading fast, their glittering bodies growing ever more transparent, their cries ever weaker. Now was the time to hit them hard.
With a furious charge, the Eldar and Tallarn threw their remaining strength against the gibbering horde. It was a last effort that would result in absolute victory or utter defeat. The Chaos hordes shuddered and the bodies of the daemons seemed to fade and dull. The crackle of energy died and the spark of life vaporized into the oily air.
Many lay dead, human and Eldar, gored by monstrous claws, crushed by the sensual caress of a poisoned tongue, or torn apart by razor sharp teeth. Many Eldar waystones were collected from the field, and many Tallarn taken back to their domes to surrender the water from their bodies to they hydro-tanks. But it was a victory nonetheless.
THE CURSUS
Once the Eldar had departed in peace, and the people of both races had exchanged their promises of friendship, the Tallarn returned to the Cursus. They found the black stone cold and lifeless once more, just as it was when they had first uncovered it. However, they knew now that the stone was not dead but merely sleeping, awaiting its time again, waiting for the call of its evil masters.
The Tallarn buried the Cursus beneath the sulfur sands once more and placed within its circle the mysterious devices that the Eldar had given them for that purpose. Then they sealed the surface with plascrete and turned their backs upon it.
That's from the Imperial Guard codex, second edition. That was kind of fun. It has all sorts of Imperial Guard lore and origins written in there, and if you guys are interested, I can also write articles based on the stories in here. There's one about Mordian Iron Guard, very interesting. Cadians have a short story too, and I also like the Valhallans. Obviously, there's the Catachan, who are the cover boys for this edition, but rather than story, it's more about their world - though I might talk about that Ork story, ha ha. Attilan Rough Riders too, who also have their cavalry metal miniatures in this edition, also have a description, but not much in the way of their feats and war stories.
Back to the Tallarn, though. You can see that while there has been a lot of familiar references that continue to today, over thirty years later, there have been more than a few changes and expansion. For example, the Iron Warriors attack that "made little sense" has been expanded in John French's Horus Heresy novels - the Tallarn books - as well as the campaign books for Legions Imperialis and Horus Heresy 3rd edition. We learn that Perturabo is seeking the Black Occulus, or the Cursus if you read the Tactica Journal The Battle of Tallarn Part 1. They're the same thing. As you can tell from this account, the Cursus is made from black rock. I almost thought they were blackstone, but that's a Necron thing, and it nullifies Chaos, so...I dunno.
It's also kind of weird, because the Iron Warriors are not a mono-God Legion, yet the Cursus is clearly Slaanesh. This has more to do with the Eldar jumping in than the Iron Warriors, but I'm surprised the Emperor's Children didn't show up. I think the Chaos Astartes Legions weren't as fully fleshed out in 2nd edition as now, so maybe that's why, and the Iron Warriors would be the most approrpiate Traitor Legion for a tank battle and armored conflict anyway.
The Black Library is mentioned here - clearly, the Dark Library is meant to be the Black Library. I'm not sure which Eldar Craftworld showed up, but I assume it's Biel-Tan, the most warlike of the Craftworlds, or Saim-Hann, who use jet-bikes heavily, and they mentioned jet-bikes. They're also the most similar to the Tallarn in terms of mobility, swift attacks and guerilla warfare, so thematically, the Saim-Hann makes more sense. Besides, Biel-Tan might be too aggressive and warlike to accept the Tallarns' truce.
They also expanded further on Tallarn's role during the Great Crusade. Originally, it was just a prosperous, fertile planet that happened to have enviro-shelters. In the new, updated lore, they explain that Tallarn served as a muster world, then as a supply hub, during the Horus Heresy, which justifies why there were so many enviro-shelters. They constructed subterranean shelters and facilities to house munitions, vehicles and machines, while simultaneously avoiding destroying the rich and vibrant biodiversity that Tallarn was famed for. As the Great Crusade moved on, it was too far from the frontlines to serve as a mustering world for the armies of the Imperium, and so instead the subterranean bunkers and facilities were used to store damaged Imperial Army assets and allowing those regiments who had been through brutal campaigns to rest and recover.
There's also a cute Dune reference in there (2nd edition), regarding how the Tallarns had to bring the bodies of their dead back to extract whatever water they could. Hah! Also, the seven weeks made it back here. In 2nd edition, the surviving Tallarn emerged from their enviro-shelters after seven weeks to find a dead world. In the most recent The Battle of Tallarn Part 1, the Iron Warriors spent eight weeks searching the toxic surface and got complacent before the Leman Russ tanks they thought were wrecks came to life and ambushed them. Lots of things made it to modern lore, and were expanded upon!
Despite the Horus Heresy background in 2nd edition, up until the 2010s, Tallarn was always depicted as a monolith. That is to say, like Lucien Soulban and Sandy Mitchell's novels, and even in official Games Workshop artwork, they were essentially the stereotypical guerilla Middle Eastern warriors as popularly portrayed by 2000s media in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Afghanistan war, and taking references as far back as the 1960s Lawrence of Arabia, and Gulf War (this probably is what happened with 1997's Final Liberation). I mean, they aren't alone, just watch Indiana Jones...
Tallarn characters would have clearly Arabian or Middle Eastern or Muslim inspired names, if you read the novels. Jal-Gada of the Tallarn, in Final Liberation. Alem Mahat, from The Traitor's Hand. General Akkir. General Hasso Ras-Aziz. Sabaak. Nisri Dakar. Hell, we even had rules for a character named Captain Al'Rahem of Tallarn in the 2nd edition codex. He has a plasma pistol and a Claw of the Desert Tigers power sword. I mean, c'mon...
I do like the part where the victorious Al'rahem and his regiment were given the rights to settle on Thoth and rule it. This ties into the rights of conquest or settlement, where successful Imperial Guard regiments are allowed to retire and garrison a world, thus effectively becoming the rulers of that world. Very cool.
Anyway, the good news is that current Games Workshop is moving away from the stereotypical Middle Eastern/Arabian/Muslim characters for Tallarn in Horus Heresy. While you still have Susada Syn and Jasira Sannoval, who could...yet at the same time, aren't typical Middle Eastern names, you also have many different ethnicities and cultures from many different worlds and regiments congregating in Tallarn for the Horus Heresy battle, such as the Cinder Born who formed the core of the Tallarn Reborn Cohort. Tallarn has become more multicultural, and a mustering world for many different people to show up, not just the hooded desert warriors that dominated their image during the late 1990s and 2000s. I do like this, though at the same time, I feel like there's an effort to preserve that cultural direction while not reducing them to stereotypes for modern 40K. But it does mean the modern Tallarn receives less of a spotlight than their Horus Heresy counterparts.
I am unsure if Tallarn is one of the more popular regiments - most people prefer Armageddon Steel Legion, Mordian Iron Guard, Praetorians, maybe Valhallans and Vostroyan Firstborn, and even the Elysians. However, the Horus Heresy solves that by saying, there's no monoculture in Tallarn, and Heresy-era Tallarn is multicultural because you have musters of regiments from many different worlds all coming together to fight for a single purpose - to drive the Iron Warriors from an Imperium-held planet. Plus, if you're all fighting in tanks, the whole stereotypical image is less visible. Hence the direction toward Heresy-era Tallarn instead.
That said, I do think there's a high possibility that Games Workshop will revisit Tallarn at some point. With Pertarubo emerging from the Eye of Terror and constructing his Infinite Citadel to choke the Imperium, there's no reason he wouldn't return to Tallarn to settle his grudge to a world he believes he could have conquered if Horus Lupercal hadn't ordered him to withdraw for pursuing his own agenda. He will want to finish what he started back in the Horus Heresy and claim the Cursus/Black Occulus once and for all. Eldrad Ulthran is also wary of Perturabo's plans, and seeks to stop them, so this might set up another Tallarn-Eldar alliance against Chaos. Maybe the Craftworld from back then was neither Biel-Tan nor Saim-Hann, but Ulthwe? That makes sense.
And also, just like Armageddon, the Tallarn Desert Raiders (though they'll receive a plastic refresh and be featured in animated trailers and artwork, unlike the poor Armageddon Steel Legion, who get sidelined in their own planet and didn't get featured much in the Return of Yarrick books, 11th edition, and the CGI trailer, instead being replaced by Krieg and Cadians) will probably not fight alone, but receive tons of reinforcements from across the Imperium. Just like The Battle of Tallarn, where regiments and Space Marine Chapters (instead of Astartes Legions) show up piecemeal to oppose the Iron Warriors. Wouldn't be surprised if a new Tallarn campaign for 40K is released in the future.
That will both avoid the whole Arabian/Middle Eastern stereotypes complaints, as well as bring back a fan-favorite storyline. While I don't know about the Desert Raiders being a popular miniature line, I do know that the Battle of Tallarn is popular among a lot of Imperial Army and Solar Auxilia in the Horus Heresy. I mean, it is the largest armored conflict in the Heresy, so of course everyone will be enamored with it. Or perhaps Games Workshop will keep Tallarn in the Heresy spotlight and avoid returning to it in the 41st Millennium, aside from Tallarn regiments fighting in the Indomitus Crusade. Who knows?
...I just realized that for some reason, I did not write an article on The Devastation of Tallarn. I don't know what happened, but I assume I was too busy back then...which, I think I was, as I was preparing to return home from the US and everything when the book was released back in August 2024. I think I was too busily packing up stuff and shipping them home, and there was a time when I panicked because they didn't arrive for a while. I apologize for the oversight, and the next article will cover the lore in The Devastation of Tallarn.
Honestly, though...I don't know why I'm writing these articles. Actually, wouldn't it be better if someone like Arbitor Ian or a Warhammer 40,000 Youtuber cover all these Battle of Tallarn lore and history? I can imagine Arbitor Ian tracking down the history of Tallarn Desert Raiders and how their lore and origins evolved over the last 3 decades, and he'll do a much better job than me. Sigh.
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