Astapor
Astapor is a city on Slaver's Bay. It is renowned for the special slaves that it produces, called the Unsullied. Their emblem is a harpy: a woman's torso, wings of a bat instead of arms, legs of an eagle and a scorpion's tail. In its talons hangs a chain with open manacles at either end.[1] An old crumbling statue portraying it, is located atop the harbour gate. Until the coming of Daenaerys Targaryean city was ruled by the Good Masters. It lies near the mouth of the Worm River.[2]
History
Astapor was a Ghiscari colony that survived the destruction of Old Ghis at the hands of Valyria. It was conquered by the Valyrians, who made it a center for slave trade. The Ghiscari tongue is largely forgotten now.[1] An old saying describes Astapor;
- Bricks and blood built Astapor, and bricks and blood her people.[1]
The Sack of Astapor
Daenerys Targaryen lands near Astapor and purchases all the Unsullied within its walls. After the Unsullied have been transferred to her ownership, Daenerys sacks the city, releasing all the slaves and killing the majority of the senior Good Masters.
Upon Daenerys's departure from the city, she leaves a council of three men, a healer, a scholar and a priest to rule. They are deposed by Cleon, a former butcher, who leads the people to believe that the three intendto return the Good Masters to their positions of power. Naming himself king after he has the council executed, he has all the highborn boys seized to begin training new Unsullied. Each pyramid within Astapor is now an armed camp and the dead lie in the streets and the markets of devoid of food and slaves to purchase.[3]
The Siege of Astapor
Yunkai besieges Astapor and Cleon is killed by a rival who called himself Cleon the Second. Cleon the Second in turn is killed and a civil war eruptes between Cleon the Second's murderer, King Cutthroat, and his concubine, Queen Whore. [4]
In an attempt to break the seige Astapor's new and vastly inferior Unsullied marches against the forces of Yunkai and its allies and sellswords but are defeated.[5] The Bloody Flux breaks out in the city and when people open the gates to escape, the Yunkai'i and their armies are able to get in. Queen Whore dies fighting, King Cutthroat is ripped apart by dogs. To prevent the dead and dying, and the flux they carried, from escaping the Yunkai'i have sealed Astapor's gates [6]
Quentyn Martell reflects to himself that the sights he saw riding down the red brick streets of Astapor would haunt him forever and that the Red City was closest thing to hell he ever hoped to know.
Customs
Astapori women veil their faces to keep the brick dust from their eyes, as it stings worse than sand [1]. Free Astapori of high station wear Tokar as a mark of high station. Their hairs teased, oiled, and twisted into fantastic shapes, and they have copper disks sewn to their cloaks of yellow silk, denoting their status. Their tunics are embroidered linen and below the waist they wear sandals and pleated linen skirts. [7]
City
The bay shore is dominated by great stepped brick pyramids. The largest is four hundred feet high. All manner of trees, vines and flowers grow on the pyramid terraces. At dusk the Good Masters light silk lanterns and the pyramdis glow with colored lights. Pleasure barges sail up and down the Worm. Within the city are fighting pits, dug deep and surrounded by descending rings of seats. The streets, stepped pyramids, the ancient walls are all made of the same red brick, old and crumbling, There is red dust everywhere, dancing down the gutters at each gust of wind. [1]
- Plaza of Pride, The Plaza of Pride is an open market where the slavers take their customers to view their purchases. In the center of the plaza stands a red brick fountain with the a hammered bronze version of the Astapori harpy standing in its center.[1]
- Plaza of Punishment, Located inside the main gate of Astapor, the Plaza of Punishment is where new slaves are brought into the city. There they go past rebellious slaves who have been punished or executed.[7]
- Fighting Pits, is where all manner of entertainments are held, including putting girls up against bulls and small boys rolled in honey and other foods against a bear so that viewers may wager on which child the bear will eat first. The pits are named after their owners.[1]
References and Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 23, Daenerys II.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Map of Valyria
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 71, Daenerys VI.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 23, Daenerys IV.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 25, The Windblown.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 32, Reek III.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 27, Daenerys III.