Horde

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Horde (部落)
Alias(es)	New Horde 163
Occupation/Role	Multiracial political, economic, and military coalition centered on Orgrimmar 437 757
Status	Active; remains a major power in Azeroth and forms strategic alliances against the Axis coalition 776

Background / History

The Horde emerged from the defeat of the Old Horde, whose surviving Orcs were confined in internment camps after the Alliance’s victory. Thrall reunited scattered Orcs, accepted Orgrim Doomhammer’s mission to liberate the camps, and became Warchief after Orgrim deliberately yielded the position during the Arathi campaign. 126 134 141

Under Thrall, the Horde expanded beyond its Orcish core. The Amani formally entered an alliance with the Orcs, provided refuge for vulnerable Orc civilians at Jintha'Alor, and began integrating the next generation of both peoples. 145 146 By the time the Orcs established Hammerfall, Witherbark Farm, Go'Shek Farm, and Wolfhowl Valley in the Arathi Highlands, the New Horde fielded roughly 17,000–20,000 Orcs in the region. 163

After reaching Kalimdor, the Horde developed Orgrimmar while pursuing a peace treaty and timber agreement with the Kaldorei. Thrall and Zul'ra defined survival, agriculture, administration, and long-term development as priorities over immediate war with the Alliance. 240 241

Peoples and Territory

Founding and member peoples

The Glory Law identifies the Orcs, Amani'lai, Darkspear Trolls, and Shu'halo as the Horde’s founding peoples, while explicitly stating that Horde membership is not limited to those four races. 437

People / group	Documented position within the Horde
Amani'lai	Founding people; the most populous Horde race, with influence on both continents 437 469
Orcs	Founding people and the Horde’s original core; their population expanded substantially after the Mag'har migration 437 720
Darkspear Trolls	Founding people whose original accession followed Sen'jin’s request to Thrall 241 437
Shu'halo	Founding people centered on Thunder Bluff; retain certain local autonomy despite centralization 437 735
Sin'dorei	Joined with protected autonomous rights alongside Quel'Thalas 379 437
Forsaken	Later represented within Horde institutions and granted autonomous rights alongside Undercity 437 438
Goblins	Recruited as citizens, workers, farmers, and technicians; initially lacked a unified Horde-recognized government 464 469
Mag'har Orcs	Their migration raised the Orc population to over 251,000 people 720

Population

Census point	Population	Notes
Preliminary census	592,128 people across nearly 260,000 households	Completed during the early industrial expansion 469
Amani'lai population	314,674 people in over 140,000 households	Largest Horde people after absorbing Ice Troll refugees 720
Orc population	251,203 people in over 100,000 households	Increased after the Mag'har arrival from Outland 720
Goblin population	Over 180,000 people in over 60,000 households	Most work as farmers, laborers, or technicians 720
Shu'halo population	80,400 people in over 40,000 households	Fourth-largest documented Horde people 720

Administered territories

The Horde’s early administrable territory included Zul'Aman and Jintha'Alor in the Eastern Kingdoms; Durotar, Mulgore, the Darkspear Islands, and part of Ashenvale in Kalimdor. Quel'Thalas and Undercity retained autonomous rights within the wider Horde structure. 437

Governance

Glory Law

The Horde adopted the Glory Law, described as the world’s first written constitution. Its nine articles establish the Horde’s founding peoples, the inviolability of Horde honor, Warchief authority, racial equality, protection of public and private property, legal equality, social obligations, and the duty to defend the Horde. 437

Key constitutional principles include:

• The Horde is not limited to its four founding peoples. 437
• All Horde races are equal, and autonomous states’ rights and interests are to be protected. 437
• Public property, personal honor, and private property are protected. 437
• Every member has a duty to defend the Horde. 437

Secretariat and Privy Council

The central government was expanded through the creation of the Secretariat and the Privy Council. The Secretariat handled administrative work through literate clerks, while the Privy Council advised the Warchief on threats, military affairs, and strategic decisions. 438

The Privy Council consisted of a Warchief-centered Core Council and regional councils led by the Horde’s racial leaders. Its members were expected to execute Warchief decisions against hostile forces. 438

A chancellor and seven ministers were later appointed to oversee major state functions, including industry, criminal affairs, agriculture, religion, military affairs, taxation, and foreign affairs. 438

Glory People’s Congress

As Thrall grew weary of sole leadership, he proposed a council to secure the Horde’s future and select later Warchiefs. Zul'ra reshaped this concept into the Glory People’s Congress, intended to hold legislative, appointment, decision-making, and supervisory powers. 637

The proposed Congress would include representatives from every race and social group, deliberate on major questions such as war, and guide the Horde’s broader direction while preserving the Warchief’s authority. 637 638 Its first representatives’ conference drew interest from Horde peoples, neutral groups, and Alliance observers. 698 711

Economy and Development

Agriculture and population policy

The Horde initially relied heavily on Tauren food production, then established farms around Orgrimmar and trained Orcs in cultivation. By the time of military centralization, five Orc farms in Durotar had produced two grain harvests, while livestock breeding, hunting, and mining also expanded. 241 286

To address labor shortages, the Horde recruited orderly peoples—including free Goblins, former slaves, and some Centaurs—by offering land, wages, and citizenship. 464

Industrialization

Under Zul'ra’s direction, the Horde constructed steelworks, textile factories, power plants, and steam-tractor production facilities. It also began manufacturing firearms, gunpowder, artillery, and defensive weapons for farmers. 469

Later infrastructure included Orgrimmar streetlights, a radio communications network, train planning, aircraft development, and the transition from wooden armored vessels toward steel broadside warships. 470 580 698

Resource agreements

The Horde contracted Un'Goro Crater’s oil bogs to Ratchet rather than developing them independently. Ratchet received mining rights, while the Horde retained half of extracted oil, priority purchase rights for the remainder, and authority over outside sales. 492

Military Organization

Period	Organization and capability
Early Horde	Orc military strength remained tied to clan structures, including the Shattered Hand Clan as a principal land force and the Roaring Clan as a naval force 286
Second War of the Shifting Sands	The Horde committed 9,000 troops: over 2,400 Kor'kron, 6,000 Goblin mercenaries, and over 500 Witch Doctors, Shamans, and Druids 496
Burning Legion campaign	More than 20,000 combat-ready Horde troops included over 13,000 warriors, 4,000 spiritual practitioners, 4,000 Headhunters, artillery, Bat Riders, Shadow Hunters, fel-iron weapons, grenades, and 58 Warhammer Type I cannons 553
Reformed military	Ten standing brigades, five independent regiments, and thirty reserve brigades were established; the Kor'kron and Giant Deer Army became town-level honorary formations 757

The reformed army used brigade-level formations with infantry, cavalry, artillery, supply, communications, and medical companies. Standing units trained full-time, while reserves combined military service with farming. 757

External Relations

• Kaldorei — The Horde secured a peace treaty, Kaldorei neutrality, and timber access; the two later cooperated in Felwood and formed a strategic alliance during the Pandaria conflict. 240 260 776
• Alliance — Relations alternate between mistrust, diplomacy, joint wars against world-threatening enemies, and competition over territory and influence. 546 612 615 776
• Ratchet — A Goblin partner granted development rights to Un'Goro oil bogs under Horde-controlled terms. 492
• Darnassus — Worked alongside the Horde in the Second War of the Shifting Sands and later joined the Horde-Pandaria alliance against the Axis coalition. 494 776
• Zandalar — Relations deteriorated into open hostility after Zandalar demanded that the Horde avoid interference in Pandaria. 776

Major Arcs

• Rebuilding after the Old Horde’s fall — Thrall succeeds Orgrim, liberates Orc prisoners, allies with the Amani, and gathers Orc settlements in the Arathi Highlands. 141 145 163
• Settlement in Kalimdor — Orgrimmar is built, farms are established, and the Horde prioritizes survival, development, and non-aggression toward the Alliance. 240 241
• Centralization and industrial growth — The Glory Law, Secretariat, Privy Council, ministries, factories, firearms, communications, and population programs reshape the Horde into a centralized industrial power. 437 438 469 470
• Coalition wars — The Horde repeatedly joins wider campaigns against the Qiraji, Burning Legion, Scourge, and other global threats while competing politically and economically with the Alliance. 494 546 617
• Political succession — Thrall delegates authority to Zul'ra, later abdicates, and Zul'ra becomes Warchief while continuing to centralize the Horde’s government. 718 731
• Pandaria and the Axis conflict — The Horde allies with Pandaria and Darnassus against the Alliance–Mogu–Zandalar Axis coalition; the Alliance later withdraws and enters peace talks. 776