Ahn ' Qiraj Ahn ' Qiraj is the city - kingdom of the Qiraji found in the southern part of Silithus . Until recently it was isolated from the outside by the sealed Scarab Wall . After the war with the Old Gods and the subsequent imprisonment of C ' Thun beneath the sands of Silithus , Highkeeper Ra and his allies expanded the prison , ultimately resulting in the fortress of Ahn ' Qiraj . It was later taken over by the Aqir that would become the Qiraji . The history of Ahn ' Qiraj is also connected to Arch Druid Fandral Staghelm , as his own son , Valstann Staghelm led a campaign against the Qiraji which ultimately failed and resulted in his public execution at the hands of Rajaxx , a Qiraji general . Instances . Ahn ' Qiraj can refer to either the Ruins of Ahn ' Qiraj ( 20 - man instance ) or the Temple of Ahn ' Qiraj ( 40 - man instance ) The Gates of Ahn ' Qiraj can only be opened by a series of player - driven quests ( part of which is the Ahn ' Qiraj War Effort . When completed , this triggers a World Event , and the gates open . Once the gates are open , the spoils of the kingdom will be available for anyone on the server that can 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 . History . " 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 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 . 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 . " During the Cataclysm World Event , it is revealed that some Qiraji led by Prince Sarsarun still reside in Ahn ' Qiraj and some worship Cho ' Gall . Alliance adventurers led by Varian Wrynn or Horde led by Cairne Bloodhoof defeated these Qiraji before they could invade Stormwind and Thunderbluff . World of Warcraft : Cataclysm . The outdoor Ahn ' Qiraj area became a zone named . What purpose it may serve is yet to be seen . 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 :