Editing Essos (section)

==Regions==
Essos is divided into several regions, each of which are home to distinct cultural groups. 

===The Free Cities===
{{Main|Free Cities}}
{{See also|A Dance with Dragons-Map of the Free Cities|l1=Map of the Free Cities from A Dance with Dragons}}
The Free Cities are nine independent city-states located on the western coast of Essos. Seven of the cities are coastal ([[Braavos]], [[Myr]], [[Pentos]] and [[Volantis]]) or island ports ([[Lorath]], [[Lys]] and [[Tyrosh]]), lying on the narrow sea, whilst two others ([[Norvos]] and [[Qohor]]) are located inland. Except for Braavos, which was founded by refugee slaves, these cities are former colonies of the destroyed [[Valyrian Freehold]]; as such they retain elements of its culture. They are more developed and mercantile than the cities of Westeros, even [[King's Landing]]. Each of the Free Cities controls a certain amount of territory surrounding it, including smaller towns and villages. The region of the Free Cities extends from the western coastline to the [[Forest of Qohor]] and the mighty [[Rhoyne|River Rhoyne]] in the east, which separate them from the Dothraki sea and the [[Kingdom of Sarnor]]. 

In the northwestern corner of this region, between [[Braavos]] and [[Pentos]], are the hills of [[Andalos]], the ancient homeland of the [[Andals]] and, according to legends, the source of the [[Faith of the Seven]]. In the southwest, the [[Disputed Lands]] are fought over by Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh.

===Kingdom of Sarnor===
{{Main|Kingdom of Sarnor}}
East of the [[Forest of Qohor]] and north of the [[Dothraki sea]] are the grasslands of the [[Kingdom of Sarnor]], which are watered by the great [[Sarne|River Sarne]] and its tributaries. Most of the kingdom has been left in ruins by the [[Dothraki]].{{Ref|AWOIAF|Kingdom of Sarnor}}

===The Dothraki Sea===
{{Main|Dothraki sea}}
East of the Free Cities and Sarnor, the vast grassland plain known as the Dothraki sea covers much of inland Essos. It is inhabited by the [[Dothraki]] people, a [[copper]]-skinned race of warlike nomads with their own language and unique equestrian culture. While the Dothraki do not trade, their slave raids are a driving force of Essos's economy. There are numerous ruined cities of older cultures in and near the Dothraki sea.

===The Shivering Sea===
{{Main|Shivering Sea}}
North of the Dothraki sea along the shores of the [[Shivering Sea]] are the [[Kingdom of Sarnor]], [[Omber]], and the forested [[Kingdom of the Ifequevron]]. North of mainland Essos are the islands of [[Ibben]].{{Ref|TLOIAF|Central Essos}}{{Ref|TLOIAF|The Known World}}

===Valyrian Peninsula===
{{Main|Valyrian peninsula}}
The Valyrian peninsula is a large headland extending south from Essos into the [[Summer Sea]]. Once the heartland of the [[Valyrian Freehold]] and the location of the city of [[Valyria]], it was partially destroyed in the [[Doom of Valyria]], during which many islands formed, low-lying areas flooded, and Valyria fell into ruin. The peninsula and the [[Smoking Sea]] that surround its remnants are considered to be demon-haunted and rife with poisonous fumes; with few exceptions, those who travel there seeking the ruins of Valyria or its treasures never return.

===Slaver's Bay and Ghiscar===
{{Main|Slaver's Bay|Ghiscar}}
South of the Dothraki sea, east of Valyria, and west of [[Lhazar]] are Slaver's Bay and Ghiscar. The region holds many small city-states and the three great slaver port cities of [[Yunkai]], [[Meereen]], and [[Astapor]]. The cities were built from the rubble of [[Old Ghis]] and the [[Ghiscari Empire]], an ancient rival of the [[Valyrian Freehold]] which crushed and superseded it thousands of years ago. The slaver cities are still connected to the Free Cities by the [[Valyrian road]] network. The city of [[New Ghis]] sits on an island south of Ghiscar, but the novels reveal little about it. The [[Skahazadhan]] is the largest river of the region.

===Lhazar===
{{Main|Lhazar}}
Lhazar is located southeast of the Dothraki sea and northeast of [[Slaver's Bay]]. It is a semi-arid land of pastures and hills. The horselords consider the [[Lhazareen]], its shepherding people, easy targets and good slaves, calling them ''haesh rakhi'' ("Lamb Men").

===Qarth===
{{Main|Qarth}}
Qarth is an ancient city in the distant east, beyond the [[red waste]], on the shores of the [[Jade Sea]]. It is home to [[warlocks]] and merchant princes. Its position at the [[Jade Gates]] makes it the gateway of commerce and culture between the east and west (such as the Free Cities and Slaver's Bay), and more eastern lands (such as [[Asshai]], the [[Shadow Lands]], and [[Yi Ti]]). Brimming with wealth, and priding themselves on their sophistication, the Qartheen engage in unending intrigue between the many powerful factions of their society.

South of Qarth is the large island [[Great Moraq]], located between the [[Summer Sea]] and the Jade Sea.{{Ref|TLOIAF|Central Essos}}

===Eastern Essos===
Little is known of the [[Further East|lands of Essos found east]] of the [[Bone Mountains]] and the [[Krazaaj Zasqa]]. The southern lands along the [[Jade Sea]] include [[Yi Ti]], [[Asshai]], and the [[Shadow Lands]]. North of Yi Ti are trading cities encircling the [[Great Sand Sea]], as well as the [[Plains of the Jogos Nhai]]. Farther east are even more exotic lands - the [[Thousand Islands]] in the [[Shivering Sea]], [[Mossovy]], the [[Grey Waste]], the [[Land of the Shrykes]], the [[Mountains of the Morn]], the [[Cities of the Bloodless Men]], the [[Hidden Sea]] with [[Carcosa]] and the [[City of the Winged Men]], the [[Five Forts]], etc.{{Ref|TLOIAF|The East}}