I honestly don't know where the inspiration for the Peshwa came from, but I know that they were present earlier then 1975. It could have simply been reading the history of the American Indians.

More seriously, Adams definitely published some stuff BEFORE 1975; but mind you that my original quote was from 2011.
That was two computers, four (not kidding) house moves, and one operating system ago.

Now, judging from how US publishing worked by then, if in doubt, I'd look for in-house magazines from Pinnacle Books, or Signet Publishing
(which is kind of a misnomer), because that's how people gave sneak peaks of possible book projects, back then.


In another sort of retrospect, I would assume that the quote by Arneson is unreliable: What people today do not know is that Robert Adams,
until his untimely death, like Robert Asprin, was considered one of the most progressive and creative writers in his field.

"Horse Clans" was one of the best-selling series of the time, virtually the only even remotely popular Swords & Planets series around:
That Arneson named him is more of a general statement that shows that he was really into the genre. Gygax, and that is not a jab,
never goes this deep when asked for his fantasy reading.



As to the name "peshwa", well, I think the Asian name origin is the most probable option. Why?

Because the term is used in context with Napoleonic war gaming. India-based scenarios like the Maratha Wars, concerning a territory where the term "peshwah" was used for headpeople of horserider clans (!!!),
were played out with the same rules, and drew on the same resources that Europe-based campaigns did. Someone more into it than me can
pinpoint you directly to a couple of sources Arneson likely had access to. - That, plus the proximity to Tekumel, plus the relative popularity
of colonial Indian fiction in the late 60s.

Now, where Adams comes in with the Horseclans again: The series, which I read in part, mind you, has a plot about an immortal, IIRC, in search for a spaceship, or something alike.

I never specifically cared about DA3, and the whole City of Gods arc, but, hey, St Stephen and the spaceship, not that of a far call. :)
Was CoG not something post-FFC? At least in the parts that were published, and in the way the scenario was run for Kuntz and Gygax?

Yes, indeed, it's 3 AM here. I think I need to cut on coffee, and on working hours.
Three hours more to go, expect more increasingly crazy ramblings. :)