Difference between revisions of "Sack of King's Landing"
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Revision as of 11:46, 4 February 2013
Sack of King's Landing | |||||||||||||||||
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Lannister forces sack the city | |||||||||||||||||
Conflict | Robert's Rebellion | ||||||||||||||||
Date | 283 AC | ||||||||||||||||
Place | King's Landing | ||||||||||||||||
Result | Rebel victory | ||||||||||||||||
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The Sack of King’s Landing occurred one year into Robert's Rebellion.
The Battle
Lord Tywin Lannister, who had remained neutral until the Battle of the Trident, marched to the gates of King's Landing with a force of 12,000 men, claiming loyalty to King Aerys II and asking to be let in. It was Grand Maester Pycelle who convinced the Mad King to open his gates to the Lannisters, which was done over the objections of his spymaster Varys. Pycelle felt the realm needed a new king after Rhaegar's death, and hoped it would have been Tywin.[1][2] The Lannister forces then began to sack the city in Robert's name. Aerys ordered his most recent Hand, the pyromancer Rossart, to ignite the wildfire caches throughout the city, saying, "Let him [Robert] be king over charred bones and cooked meat. Let him be the king of ashes."
Aerys then ordered Jaime Lannister, one of his Kingsguard and Tywin's own son, to kill his father. Instead, Jaime slew Lord Rossart and then murdered Aerys himself on the Iron Throne. Tywin sent his knights Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch to scale Maegor's Holdfast and deal with the rest of the royal family, securing the throne for Robert and proving that House Lannister had forsaken the Targaryens forever. Gregor killed the infant crown prince Aegon Targaryen while his mother watched, and then proceeded to rape and murder Princess Elia herself. Amory dragged Princess Rhaenys from under her father's bed and stabbed her half a hundred times. When Eddard Stark arrived shortly thereafter at the head of the main rebel army, he found Jaime seated on the Iron Throne and Aerys' corpse slumped below it. Tywin Lannister presented the bodies of Rhaegar's wife Elia and the children Aegon and Rhaenys, as tokens of his fealty, laid out beneath the Iron Throne, wrapped in crimson cloaks.[3] The resulting argument between Ned and Robert, led to Ned riding out alone to finish the war in the south.[1]
Aftermath
Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon argued over the killing of Rhaegar's family, Eddard believing it unjustified murder, Robert satisfied with the deaths of Rhaegar's children; even Jon Arryn couldn't calm their anger. Eddard Stark went south and lifted the Siege of Storm's End and finally to the Tower of Joy, and they were only reconciled by shared grief over the death of Lyanna. [1]
Survivors of the sack, such as Ser Jaremy Rykker and Ser Alliser Thorne were given by Tywin the choice of joining the Night's Watch or death.[4]
Quotes about the Sack
"I saw King's Landing after the sack. Babes were butchered that day as well, and old men, and children at play. More women were raped than you can count."[5]
"There was no honour in that conquest."[1]
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References and Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 12, Eddard II.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 25, Tyrion VI.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 45, Eddard XII.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 21, Tyrion
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 23, Daenerys