Chapter 49: A Brief Introduction to the History and Geography of Game of Thrones

I. Historical Section

The original inhabitants of Westeros were strange creatures such as giants and the Children of the Forest.

The Children of the Forest are small, humanoid creatures with dark skin and beautiful faces (if you dye them white-haired, they become dark-skinned with white hair; the "Sheep-Herder" thinks that's great).

("Conqueror" Aegon I conquered the Six Kingdoms in the year 1 AC; this was 12,000 years ago, when the first humans crossed the Narrow Sea and arrived on the continent of Westeros.)

The conquest took place two years after the landing, and all eras are calculated from 1 AC, which begins with Aegon I's coronation at the Starry Sept in Oldtown.

Because they were the first to arrive on this continent, these humans were called the First Men.

Most houses in The North, the Blackwood and Bracken houses in the Riverlands, and the Royce house in The Vale are the more famous First Men houses.

After the First Men and the Children of the Forest fought for two thousand years, both sides made peace, and the Dawn Age began.

8,000 years before the Conquest, the Others invaded from the north of Westeros; the First Men and the Children of the Forest joined forces to resist them, and the Age of Heroes began.

Winterfell and The Wall were built by "Brandon the Builder" Brandon Stark, and the Night's Watch was established at the same time.

Around 6,000 years before the Conquest, the Andals crossed the Narrow Sea and arrived in Westeros. They quickly conquered the regions south of Moat Cailin, established the Six Kingdoms, and together with the Kingdom of The North, they are known as the Seven Kingdoms.

Around 5,000 years before the Conquest, the Valyrians tamed dragons and conquered the continents of Essos and Sothoryos, establishing the Valyrian Freehold.

1,700 years before the Conquest, the Rhoynar fled to Dorne, and after intermarrying with House Martell, they conquered all of Dorne; their leaders were honored with the title of Prince.

200 years before the Conquest, Valyria occupied Dragonstone; 100 years before, the Valyrian noble house Targaryen migrated to Dragonstone to escape the catastrophe in the prophecy.

Not long after the Targaryens arrived at Dragonstone, the Doom of Valyria occurred, destroying the Valyrian Peninsula and nearly wiping out all dragons and Valyrians.

(Later, I will mention my conjecture: the Valyrians might not be naturally born humans, but magical creatures just like dragons.)

2 years before the Conquest, Aegon Targaryen led his followers to land on the continent of Westeros from the Blackwater River, quickly conquered the Six Kingdoms, and established the Targaryen Dynasty, known in history as Aegon I.

King's Landing was subsequently built at the site of Aegon's landing.

During the reign of Aegon I (who reigned for over thirty years), Aegon was crowned by the High Septon at the Starry Sept in Oldtown, and the dynasty was stabilized.

During the reign of Aenys I Targaryen, the church claimed he was the product of incest, and the Faith Militant uprising broke out; the mediocre Aenys appointed his brother Maegor I Targaryen as Hand to suppress the uprising.

During the reign of Maegor I Targaryen, after King Aenys died, Maegor succeeded to the throne and continued to bloodily suppress the uprising, but the situation became increasingly severe; King Maegor had no heirs.

During the reign of Jaehaerys I, the son of Aenys succeeded to the throne, reached a reconciliation with the church, granted amnesty for its crimes, and the church was thereafter protected by the royal family; the church army was disbanded, and the church no longer exercised judicial power. He is known in history as "The Conciliator" Jaehaerys. The long peace of the dynasty began from this point.

During the reign of Viserys I Targaryen (103-129 AC), the "Dance of the Dragons" civil war broke out, the Targaryen Dynasty suffered heavy losses, and dragons were nearly extinct.

During the period of Aegon II Targaryen, the Dance of the Dragons ended, but Aegon II also died soon after; the throne was inherited by Aegon, the son of Aegon II's rival Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, who married Aegon II's daughter, known in history as Aegon III.

During the reign of Aegon III (131-157 AC), the kingdom recovered from the war, but the last dragon died during this time, and Aegon III is known in history as "Dragonbane".

During the period of Daeron I Targaryen (157-161 AC), Dorne was conquered by him, but it was soon counterattacked, and Dorne regained its independence; he is known in history as the "Young Dragon".

During the reign of Baelor I Targaryen (161-171 AC), peace was negotiated with Dorne, and the grandson of Hand Viserys married into Dorne; Baelor I was a devout follower of the Seven and eventually died during a fast, known in history as "Baelor the Blessed".

During the reign of Viserys II Targaryen (171-172 AC), the elderly King Viserys succeeded to the throne and passed away after one year; the throne passed to his eldest son, Aegon.

Aegon IV (172-184 AC), "The Unworthy" Aegon IV had many bastards, the most famous of whom were Daemon Blackfyre, "Bittersteel" Aegor Rivers, "Bloodraven" Brynden Rivers, and Shiera Seastar. He bestowed the Targaryen family sword "Blackfyre" upon Daemon Blackfyre and legitimized his descendants.

Daeron II Targaryen (184-209 AC), "The Good" Daeron II married the Dornish Princess Myriah Martell and married Princess Daenerys to the Prince of Dorne, formally incorporating Dorne into the territory of the Targaryen Dynasty. Daenerys's lover, Daemon Blackfyre, could not stop her marriage and launched the "Blackfyre Rebellion", which lasted two years and ended at the Battle of the Redgrass Field; "Bloodraven" killed Daemon Blackfyre, and "Bittersteel" led the Blackfyre descendants across the Narrow Sea and established the Golden Company.

Daeron II's eldest son, "Breakspear" Baelor, served as Hand with excellent political achievements, but died at the Tourney of Ashford while saving the mercenary knight Duncan the Tall. The following year, a great plague broke out; Daeron II and the sons of Hand Baelor all died in this plague, and Daeron II's second son, Aerys I, succeeded to the throne.

Aerys I (209-221 AC), Aerys was addicted to reading and not good at governing, handing over power to Duke "Bloodraven"; internal and external troubles continued, and the Blackfyre family constantly harassed the kingdom. Aerys I had no heirs, and after his death, his fourth brother, Maekar I Targaryen, succeeded to the throne.

During the reign of Maekar I Targaryen (221-233 AC), natural disasters still occurred frequently, and Duke "Bloodraven" was imprisoned due to Maekar I's jealousy. In 233 AC, Maekar I died while suppressing rebels. After Maekar I's death, the succession was in doubt; his third son, Maester Aemon, could have succeeded but yielded to his fourth brother, Aegon, and to prevent being used to attack his fourth brother, he voluntarily went to The Wall and took Duke "Bloodraven" with him; "The Unlikely" Aegon succeeded to the throne.

During the reign of Aegon V (233-259 AC), the country got back on track. In 259 AC, Aegon V's attempt to hatch a dragon egg at Summerhall triggered a great fire; the King himself, his old friend and guard Duncan the Tall, and Prince Duncan Targaryen all perished, known in history as the "Tragedy of Summerhall".

During the reign of Jaehaerys II Targaryen (259-262 AC), Maelys Blackfyre led a group to launch the War of the Ninepenny Kings, but was quickly defeated and killed; the Blackfyre family line ended. Jaehaerys II was very wise but sickly, and he passed away after only three years on the throne; his son Aerys II succeeded to the throne.

During the reign of "Mad King" Aerys II (262-283 AC), in the early and middle stages of his reign, he joined forces with Hand Duke Tywin Lannister to make the Seven Kingdoms prosperous, and his son Rhaegar was hailed as the rising star of the dynasty. After the Defiance of Duskendale, Aerys II became suspicious and cruel, often using wildfire to burn dissidents, and broke with Duke Tywin, eventually leading to tragedy.

Robert I (283-298 AC) reigned for fifteen years; note this timeline: in 282 AC, the usurper raised an army to rebel, in 283 AC Robert was proclaimed king, and in 284 AC, the war finally ended. (Eddard had a big argument with Robert over Rhaegar's children, then led troops to the Stormlands to lift the siege of Storm's End, after which the Battle of the Tower of Joy took place.)

Eddard: How can one govern a country well when staying with vermin like Robert?

II. Geographical Section

First, let's provide some concepts: the official size of Westeros is about the same as South America, but considering the existence of The North, the core area where people are mainly active is actually much smaller.

South America is about 17 million square kilometers; subtracting the area occupied by one-half to one-third of The North, there are about 9 million left.

Regarding the population, Martin did not give a clear figure, but according to side information, the total population of Westeros is around 20 million.

An area of over 9 million square kilometers and a population of over 20 million—does everyone have a concept of this now?

That's right, it's roughly equivalent to the Three Kingdoms period.

However, the weapons and armor are at the level of the late Western European Middle Ages, and the daily necessities are from the Renaissance period.

There are many mismatched things in the books and the show, for example, the equipment of The Mountain at the tourney in the first season, that square helmet—did that remind anyone of other historical events?

For example, the Crusades.

This was at the latest 1291, and there is still some time until the late 1400s.

The following is a serious geographical introduction.

The entire Game of Thrones world has four continents: Westeros, Essos, Sothoryos, and an unknown continent (I really couldn't find its name; book friends who know can speak up).

The geographical distribution of these four continents refers to the British Isles, the Eurasian continent, and the African continent; the unknown continent is in the far east.

Let's start with the large continent of Essos.

The sea between Westeros and the continent of Essos is called the Narrow Sea; Essos has nine Free Cities near the Narrow Sea:

Volantis, Braavos, Pentos, Myr, Lys, Tyrosh, Norvos, Lorath, Qohor.

Among them, Volantis and Braavos (prototyped on Venice) are the strongest.

Pentos, Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh belong to the second tier.

Norvos, Qohor, and Lorath belong to the third tier; the first two are inland cities with no ports and no fleets, so their strength is naturally weaker.

Lorath is an island city-state, and its presence is very low in both the books and the show; I suspect Martin just used it to make up the numbers.

Most of the Free Cities are located between the west coast of Essos and the eastern mountains, and can be considered remnants of Valyria (except for Braavos), all established as colonies of Valyria.

From the eastern mountains of the continent of Essos (this mountain range is actually in the west of Essos) to the east is the vast grassland, known as the Dothraki Sea (the prototype is very clear: it is the Mongol Empire).

Directly south of the Dothraki Sea lies Slaver's Bay, which contains three large slave city-states: Yunkai, Meereen, and Astapor, as well as many smaller city-states.

These cities were built upon the ruins of the Old Ghis empire, characterized by pyramids and harpies (the prototype is also quite clear; Old Ghis is ancient Egypt, and as for the practice of selling slaves, it is clearly a satire of the Europeans on the African continent during the era of the triangular trade).

East of Slaver's Bay is Lhazar, located in the pasture and hilly regions south of the Dothraki Sea (the prototype is also quite clear, so I won't say it; if I did, this chapter wouldn't be able to be published).

West of Slaver's Bay are the Lands of the Long Summer and Valyria; the once-glorious capital of Valyria is now nothing but smoking ruins.

Qarth is a city-state in the southeast of the continent of Essos, situated at a node connecting the East and the West, known as the wealthiest city-state, controlled by the royal family, the Thirteen, the Spicers, the Tourmaline Brotherhood, and others.

The home of the wealthy Xaro Xhoan Daxos is as large as a marketplace, and compared to it, the home of Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Zongdu Illyrio in Pentos is as shabby as an outhouse.

The Thirteen have a total of one thousand ships, the Tourmaline Brotherhood has over one thousand two hundred ships, and the Spicers have eight or nine hundred ships.

By comparison, the navy of Westeros is quite shabby: the Royal Fleet has two hundred ships, the Redwyne fleet has two hundred, and the Iron Fleet has one hundred; added together, they are only just over half of the Spicers' fleet.

Next is the continent of Westeros, which everyone is familiar with.

From north to south, they are: The North, the Riverlands and the Vale, the Westerlands, the Reach, the Stormlands, and Dorne.

According to the compilation by the big V Li Tiefu on a certain platform, I will briefly mention the major elements of Westeros here.

Five rivers: Blackwater River, Trident, White Knife, Mander River, and Greenblood.

Five major passes: Moat Cailin, Golden Tooth, Bloody Gate, Bone Way, and Prince's Pass.

Five major roads: Kingsroad, Roseroad, Golden Road, River Road, and Ocean Road.

Five islands: Dragonstone, Iron Islands, Shield Islands, Three Sisters, and Stepstones.

Four mountain ranges: the Mountains of the Moon in the Vale, the Gold Tooth mountains in the Westerlands, the mountains of the North, and the Red Mountains.

Three forests: the Wolfswood in the North, the Kingswood in the Crownlands, and the Cockleswift Forest in the Westerlands.

Five of the most fortified castles: The Twins, Harrenhal, the Eyrie, Casterly Rock, and Storm's End.

Perhaps introducing them simply like this doesn't give everyone much of a concept, so I will use my own method to deepen your impression.

It was mentioned above that Westeros can be compared to the Three Kingdoms, and the geography of the Seven Kingdoms can also be analogized.

The Riverlands are roughly equivalent to the Central Plains around the Yellow River and the Huai River, though the area percentage is significantly smaller.

The Vale is roughly equivalent to the land of Shandong surrounded by Mount Tai and the Yimeng Mountains, where agriculture, handicrafts, and maritime trade are all very developed.

The Westerlands are roughly equivalent to the land of the Three Qin shifted southward, only with strengthened mining and reduced agriculture.

The Reach is the major grain-producing area of the Nanyang Basin plus the Jing-Xiang Plain and the Suizao Corridor; naturally, it also has the largest population.

The Crownlands are that chunk of plain area around Song Jiang Prefecture; coincidentally, Song Jiang Prefecture is the river mouth, and King's Landing is also the mouth of the Blackwater River.

The Stormlands are a combination of the area occupied by the State of Yue, including Kuaiji Mountain and the southeastern hills.

For Dorne, everyone should imagine the Jiaozhou and Guangzhou regions; it is sparsely populated and backward, but has high strategic value, so the leader is a Prince.

For the North, imagine the land of Yan and Zhao, a region of bitter cold, so the local people mostly value promises and take life and death lightly (The North Remembers is not just a saying).

Of course, this analogy is inappropriate, but as long as everyone can understand it, that is fine.

Since I have used the Three Kingdoms as an analogy, I suppose the readers can also see the protagonist's setup.

It is the geographical positioning of Cao Cao plus the benevolent persona of Liu Bei.

PS: In consideration of this chapter being over four thousand words, can the readers please cast some votes? Recommendation votes and monthly votes are both fine; I am not picky.

(End of this chapter)