Seven Kingdoms
From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
The Seven Kingdoms is a nation comprised of seven formerly independent kingdoms on the continent of Westeros. It is ruled by a king who sits on the Iron Throne in the captial city, King's Landing.
[edit] Origins
The Seven Kingdoms takes its origins from the War of Conquest, in which the Valyrian Aegon I invaded Westeros with his dragons, conquering six of the seven independent nations and consolidating them under the singular rule of House Targaryen. These kingdoms were:
- The North
- The Vale
- The Stormlands
- The Reach
- The Westerlands
- The Iron Islands consisting at that time of the Iron Islands themselves proper and the Riverlands, conquered by the Iron born.
Aegon built the new nation's capital on the spot of his landing. The final kingdom, Dorne, permanently joined the nation two centuries later by marriage pact.
[edit] Territory
The nation's territory includes all but the northernmost tip of the continent, where the Wall defines its northern border. The nation also controls the many islands off the coast of Westeros, such as Tarth and the Iron Islands. It is occasionally drawn into conflicts over the Stepstones off its southeastern coast, but it has rarely controled a significant portion of them.
[edit] Culture
The nation's culture is an amalgamation of the many different peoples that have taken residence on the continent, and each kingdom retains its unique flavor. The influence of the Andals is strongest in the south, while the North still follows many customs of the First Men. Dorne is heavily influenced by the mass immigration of the Rhoynar. Small groups, such as the ironmen and the mountain clans, maintain very different cultures from the rest of the nation.
The Targaryen monarchs primarily favored the Andal customs of the southern six kingdoms. It is a feudal society, with each kingdom ruled by a high lord that answers only to the King. The Faith of the Seven is the official religion of the nation, though other gods, such as the Old Gods in the North and the Drowned God in the Iron Islands, are also followed.
