Difference between revisions of "Triarchy"

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:''"Triarchy" redirects here. For the Triarch of Volantis, see [[Triarch of Volantis]].''
 
:''"Triarchy" redirects here. For the Triarch of Volantis, see [[Triarch of Volantis]].''
 
{{Infobox Realm
 
{{Infobox Realm
| name = Triarchy<br>Kingdom of the Three Daughters
+
| name = Triarchy/Kingdom of the Three Daughters
 
| image = [[File:Triarchy.jpg|350px]]
 
| image = [[File:Triarchy.jpg|350px]]
 
| image_caption = A council of the Triarchy, as depicted by Jordi Gonzales Escamilla in ''[[The World of Ice and Fire]]'' (Myrman to the left, Tyroshi in the middle, and Lysene to the right)
 
| image_caption = A council of the Triarchy, as depicted by Jordi Gonzales Escamilla in ''[[The World of Ice and Fire]]'' (Myrman to the left, Tyroshi in the middle, and Lysene to the right)

Revision as of 04:10, 1 August 2018

"Triarchy" redirects here. For the Triarch of Volantis, see Triarch of Volantis.
Triarchy/Kingdom of the Three Daughters
Oligarchy
Triarchy.jpg
A council of the Triarchy, as depicted by Jordi Gonzales Escamilla in The World of Ice and Fire (Myrman to the left, Tyroshi in the middle, and Lysene to the right)
Type of Government Oligarchy
Ruler High Council of the Triarchy
Religion Mixed
Founded 96 AC
Preceded by Lys
Myr
Tyrosh
Destroyed 130 AC
Succeeded by Lys
Myr
Tyrosh

The Triarchy was an alliance of the Free Cities of Myr, Lys and Tyrosh, three colonial daughters of the Valyrian Freehold. In Westeros the Triarchy was known as the Kingdom of the Three Daughters, or simply as the Three Daughters or Three Whores.[1] The "kingdom" of the narrow sea had no king, but was instead governed by the High Council of the Triarchy, a group of thirty-three magisters. The Triarchy existed from 96 AC until its dissolution from a civil war which began in 130 AC.

History

Origin

In 92 AC, "Myrish pirates" seized the eastern half of Tarth and Prince Aemon Targaryen died in the fighting,[2] but whether these were pirates working for Myr or simply pirates of the Stepstones originally from Myr is unclear.

In 96 AC, Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr ended their strife and drove Volantis from the Disputed Lands, defeating the Volantenes in the Battle of the Borderland and forging the "eternal alliance" of the Triarchy. The Myrish prince-admiral Craghas Drahar then led an invasion of the Stepstones, clearing out the pirate dens of the islands and making safe the trade lanes of the narrow sea. Craghas and his co-admirals were greedy with their tolls, however, with the Lyseni enslaving women, girls, and comely boys to bring back to their pillow houses, including Lady Johanna Swann, niece to the Lord of Stonehelm.[1]

War for the Stepstones

In 106 AC, Westerosi forces led by Lord Corlys Velaryon and Prince Daemon Targaryen invaded the Stepstones in retaliation, Daemon hoping to make himself a kingdom. Despite inferior numbers, they inflicted a string of defeats on the Triarchy for two years before Daemon slew Craghas Drahar in single combat. By 109 AC, Daemon's armies controlled all but two of the Stepstones, and the Corlys the Sea Snake's fleets had naval supremacy. Corlys crowned Daemon the King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea.

In 110 AC, however, the Triarchy dispatched a counterattack led by Racallio Ryndoon, supported by newly-acquired Dornish allies, who were wary of the new Targaryen-backed sellsword kingdom controlling the sea lanes. Fighting still continued in 111 AC, when "King" Daemon withdrew to court at King's Landing for several months, and even still raged beyond 115 AC, when Daemon returned to the Vale of Arryn after the death of his first wife, Rhea Royce. Five other men followed him as King of the Narrow Sea before the Triarchy-Dornish alliance ended his sellsword kingdom.[1]

Pentos, bordering Myr to the north, was wary of this rising new power to their south, and often welcomed Daemon as an ally. Volantis similarly welcomed Daemon warmly when he visited, though it was in less of a position to fight back against its rivals to the west. The Three Daughters were not, however, so powerful that their influence spread to the northeast, where Norvos and Qohor remained little concerned about them.[1]

Dance of the Dragons

In the Westerosi civil war called the Dance of the Dragons (129131 AC), Prince Daemon and Lord Corlys supported the blacks of Rhaenyra Targaryen. Early in the fighting, the Velaryon fleet blockaded the Gullet and Blackwater Bay. Ser Otto Hightower, Hand of the King to Aegon II Targaryen and a leader of the greens, reached across the narrow sea to the Kingdom of the Three Daughters whom he knew to be an enemy of Daemon. Otto hoped to persuade them to move against the Sea Snake and break the blockade. The High Council of the Triarchy eventually met in Tyrosh and chose to accept Otto's offer of alliance.[3]

A combined fleet of ninety Myrish, Lysene and Tyroshi warships under the banners of the Three Daughters, commanded by the Triarchy's admiral Sharako Lohar of Lys, swept from the Stepstones, bending their oars for the Gullet. En route they intercepted the Gay Abandon, which was carrying two of Rhaenyra Targaryen's sons, Prince's Aegon and Viserys. Aegon escaped atop Stormcloud, but Viserys was taken as a captive to Sharako Lohar.[3]

Once the news of the fleet's presence in the Gullet reached Dragonstone, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon swept down on Vermax and was soon joined by four other dragons. The resulting Battle of the Gullet eventually ended in defeat for the blacks. The victorious fleet of the Three Daughters avoided Dragonstone and sacked Spicetown and High Tide on the Velaryon isle of Driftmark. Although the Three Daughters won the battle they too suffered tremendous losses. Sharako Lohar took a combined fleet of ninety warships from the Stepstones but only twenty-eight survived to return home.[3]

Fall of the Triarchy

The reaction of the Triarchy to this pyrrhic victory is unknown, but by the time of Maiden's Day the next year (130 AC) the Triarchy had begun to tear itself to pieces.[3] Apparently, amid the turmoil surrounding the loss of so much of their fleets after the Battle of the Gullet, the direct cause of the breakup of the Triarchy was when a Lyseni admiral was assassinated by a rival over the affections of the Black Swann, Johanna Swann. A rival alliance then formed between Pentos, Braavos, and the normally-isolationist Lorath which helped bring down the Triarchy.[4] This rival alliance did not last long, as several decades later Braavos once again fought Pentos in wars over slavery.[5]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Rogue Prince.
  2. The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Princess and the Queen.
  4. The World of Ice & Fire, The Free Cities: The Quarrelsome Daughters: Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh.
  5. The World of Ice & Fire, The Free Cities: Pentos.