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[[File:T Jedruszek GreyWormStrongest.jpg|350px|thumb|right|A column of Unsullied soldiers, headed by [[Grey Worm]] – by Tomasz Jedruszek. © Fantasy Flight Games]]
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The '''Unsullied''' are [[eunuch]] slave soldiers, trained from a young age in [[Astapor]] to unquestioning obedience and martial prowess. They are used as guards all over the [[Free Cities]]. They are sold by the century or the thousand. They make excellent guards, do not loot, and will never rape.{{Ref|ASOS|23}} They worship a goddess of their own, whose name is kept in secret among them but is known as the [[Lady of Spears]], the Bride of Battle, and the Mother of Hosts.{{Ref|ADWD|36}}
[[File:David Horne Loyal to the Last.JPG|350px|thumb|right|Daenerys with her Unsullied. © Fantasy Flight Games]]
 
The '''Unsullied''' are [[eunuch]] slave soldiers, trained from a young age in [[Astapor]] to unquestioning obedience and martial prowess. They are used as guards all over the [[Free Cities]]. They are sold by the century or the thousand. They make excellent guards, do not loot and will never rape.{{Ref|aSoS|23}} They also worship a goddess of their own, whose name is kept in secret among them but is known as the [[Lady of Spears]], the Bride of Battle and the Mother of Hosts.
 
  
They were most famously used in the [[Battle of Qohor]], where three thousand Unsullied held back a [[Dothraki]] khalasar over fifty thousand strong. Only 600 of the Unsullied survived, having killed 12,000 of the Dothraki. To honor the Unsullied, the Dothraki rode in before the Unsullied line, throwing their cut braids down in front of them {{Ref|aSoS|8}}
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==Recruitment and training==
 
 
==Training==
 
 
[[File:T Jedruszek SpearBrigade.jpg|350px|thumb|right|A line of disciplined unsullied spearman routing a cavalry charge – by Tomasz Jedruszek. © Fantasy Flight Games]]
 
[[File:T Jedruszek SpearBrigade.jpg|350px|thumb|right|A line of disciplined unsullied spearman routing a cavalry charge – by Tomasz Jedruszek. © Fantasy Flight Games]]
Unsullied are all former male [[slave]]s chosen young, for their size, speed and strength.  
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Unsullied begin as young male [[slave]]s chosen for their size, speed, and strength. Every day they choose new names at random by drawing tokens from a bucket, each consisting of a color and a type of vermin, such as "[[Grey Worm]]".{{Ref|ASOS|23}}
  
Their training starts a age 5 and is from dawn to dusk. It is brutal, designed not only to teach them how to fight, but to strip away all individuality, empathy, and self-worth. Only one in three survive, and those that fail at any stage are killed.  
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Their training starts at age five and is from dawn to dusk. It is brutal, designed not only to teach them how to fight, but to strip away all individuality, empathy, and self-worth. Slaves that fail any aspect of their training are killed. Only a third of the slaves to enter training survive to become Unsullied.{{Ref|ASOS|23}}
  
They are [[eunuch|fully castrated - penis and testicles cut]] - and their manhoods burned at the altar of the [[Lady of Spears]]. This means that they cannot be a strong as whole men, but this is more than made up for by discipline. They regularly consume an elixir called the [[Wine of Courage]] to deaden their sensitivity to pain. They drink it with every meal, and every year feel less and less pain.  
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The [[eunuch]]s are fully castrated, with their penis and testicles cut, and their manhoods are burned at the altar of the [[Lady of Spears]]. This means that they cannot be as strong as whole men, but this is more than made up for by discipline. They regularly consume an elixir called the [[wine of courage]] to deaden their sensitivity to pain. They drink it with every meal, and every year feel less and less pain.{{Ref|ASOS|23}}{{Ref|ASOS|27}}
  
Every day they choose new names at random by drawing tokens from a bucket, each consisting of a colour and a type of vermin, such as "[[Grey Worm]]". Slaves that fail any aspect of their training are killed. Only a third of the slaves to enter training survive to become Unsullied.{{Ref|aSoS|23}}
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On the day a boy is cut, he is given a puppy to take care of. At the end of the first year, the boy is made to strangle the puppy. Should he fail to do so, he is killed and fed to the surviving dogs. During training boys are culled whenever they fail a task, be it running all day in full pack, scaling a mountain at night or walking across a bed of coals. To win their spiked cap they must take a silver mark go to the slave markets and buy a newborn slave child and kill it before its mother and pay the slave's owner for his loss.{{Ref|ASOS|23}}
  
On the day a boy is cut, he is given a puppy to take care of. At the end of the first year, the boy is made to strangle the puppy. Should he fail to do so, he is killed and fed to the surviving dogs. During training boys are culled whenever they fail a task, be it running all day in full pack, scaling a mountain at night or walking across a bed of coals. To win their spiked cap they must take a silver mark go to the slave markets and buy a newborn slave child and kill it before its mother and pay the slave's owner for his loss.{{Ref|aSoS|23}}
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The [[Good Masters]], the slavers of Astapor, used to sell Unsullied in groups of ten for household guards, but that proved unsound since they mingle with others, and forget who they are. Now they are sold only in groups of a century or thousand.{{Ref|ASOS|23}} The only vice left for the Unsullied is food, so Unsullied serving as household guards often grow fat.{{Ref|ASOS|8}}
  
The slavers used to sell Unsullied in groups of 10 for household guards, but that proved unsound since they mingle with others, and forget who they are. Now they are sold only in groups of a century or thousand. {{Ref|aSoS|23}}
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==Military Tactics==
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The Unsullied are inspired by the [[lockstep legions]] of the [[Old Empire of Ghis]], who were free men.{{Ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Rise of Valyria}} The Unsullied fight in formation as light infantry, equipped with short spears, swords, round shields, and distinctive spiked caps. They fight fearlessly and obey without question. Their elite, highly specialized training makes them most effective in their phalanx formation. They do not ride horses.{{Ref|ASOS|8}}  
  
The only vice left for the Unsullied is food, so they often grow fat.
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Unsullied uniform are plain and without ornament, quilted tunic, a short sword, three spears and spiked bronze caps. One spike indicates a low rank, while three spikes going from front to back represent an officer.<ref>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/1247/ Concerning Grey Worm (July 31, 2003)]</ref>
  
==Military Tactics==  
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==History==
[[Image:Unsullied.jpg|400px|thumb|Unsullied in the TV series]]
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The most famous Unsullied were the [[Three Thousand of Qohor]], who held back a [[Dothraki]] ''[[khalasar]]'' over fifty thousand strong. Only six hundred Unsullied survived, having killed twelve thousand of the Dothraki. To honor the Unsullied, the surviving Dothraki rode in before the Unsullied line, throwing their cut braids down in front of them.{{Ref|ASOS|8}}
They fight in formation as light infantry, equipped with short spears, swords, round shields, and distinctive spiked caps. They fight fearlessly and obey without question. Their elite, highly specialized training makes them most effective in their phalanx formation.
 
They do not ride horses. {{Ref|aSoS|8}}  
 
  
Unsullied uniform are plain and without ornament, quilted tunic, a short sword, three spears and spiked bronze caps. One spike indicates a low rank, while three spikes going from front to back represent an officer.<ref>[http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/1247/ SSM]</ref>
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[[Lysaro Rogare]] bought a thousand Unsullied from Astapor in {{Date|135}} after the death of [[Lysandro Rogare|his father]]. When he fled [[Lys]], he surrounded himself with one hundred of them. Lysaro was later caught in [[Volon Therys]] with only twenty Unsullied, as he had been forced to sell the rest along the way. The twenty Unsullied fought to the end on the docks of the town and perished. Lysaro was captured and sent back to Lys in chains.{{Ref|FAB|The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency}}
  
 
==Recent Events==
 
==Recent Events==
===A Storm of Swords===
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===''A Storm of Swords''===
While becalmed during the voyage to [[Pentos]] to join up with Magister [[Illyrio Mopatis]], [[Jorah|Ser Jorah]] convinces [[Daenerys Targaryen]] to change their destination to [[Astapor]] to buy Unsullied. Dany is initially sceptical since the Unsullied do not ride horses and all the Unsullied she had seen were fat. Ser Jorah tells her she should not judge all Unsullied against some old household guards. He further explains that food is the only vice allowed them. He then tells her about the [[Battle of Qohor]]. This would be a great test of Magister [[Illyrio Mopatis]] dedication to her cause. To buy the Unsullied they could use the trade goods being carried by the ship.{{Ref|aSoS|8}}
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[[File:Unsullied Amok.jpg|400px|thumb|Unsullied - by Amok ©]]
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During the voyage to [[Pentos]] to join up with Magister [[Illyrio Mopatis]], Ser [[Jorah Mormont]] convinces [[Daenerys Targaryen]] to change their destination to [[Astapor]] to buy Unsullied. He tells her about the [[Three Thousand of Qohor]], and to buy the Unsullied they could use the trade goods being carried onboard.{{Ref|ASOS|8}}
  
Dany is shown the Unsullied by the slaver [[Kraznys mo Nakloz]] in the Plaza of Pride in [[Astapor]] where 10 ranks of 100 Unsullied stand. Their eyes are fixed straight ahead, as they have been for a day and a night. The slaver tells her that they will stand there unmoving until the last had died. This demonstrates their obedience. Dany asks about the castration since un-castrated are said to be stronger. The slaver admits this, but states that they have discipline instead. They fight in fashion of the old empire (like the lock-step legions of old Ghis); they are absolutely obedient, absolutely loyal, and without fear.
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Dany is shown Unsullied by [[Kraznys mo Nakloz]], one of the [[Good Masters]], in the Astapori [[Plaza of Pride]], where ten ranks of a hundred Unsullied stand. More than half are of [[Dothraki]] stock, while others appear to be from [[Lys]] and [[Qarth]] and even the same ethnicity as their slavers, while others are from peoples she does not recognize.{{Ref|ASOS|23}}
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[[File:Pike PhalanxGoran Delic.png|400px|thumb|right|Unsullied pike phalanx. © Fantasy Flight Games]]
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After [[Arstan Whitebeard]] tells Kraznys that even brave men show fear when faced with death or maiming, the slaver whips and mutilates Unsullied who do not react. Daenerys is horrified by the training regime which the Unsullied endure. Dany is told eight thousand Unsullied are available, but they are not cheap because their training takes years. Arstan tells her that [[slavery]] is held to be an abomination in [[Westeros]], and using slave soldiers would do great dishonor to [[House Targaryen]]. Kraznys says that a [[corsair king]] was also recently interested in purchasing Unsullied.{{Ref|ASOS|23}}
  
After Whitebeard tells the slaver that even brave men show fear when faced with death or maiming, the slaver whips one of the Unsullied across the face, the man does not move. Dany stops him from whipping another. Then the slaver cuts another eunuch, following this he cuts off a nipple. The Unsullied does not move, and when handed back his sword, states he was pleased to serve. Afterwards it is shown they show no fear because of the [[Wine of Courage]].  
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Dany later tells Kraznys through the translating slave [[Missandei]] that she wants all the Unsullied, including six centuries, the eight thousand, and those still in training. Eight slavers are hesitant to sell those in training since if they fail in battle they will shame them, and they would not have any to sell to the next buyer. Dany tells them that she will pay the same for those in training. This provokes an argument among the slavers, some liking having the gold now instead of the future, and others worried about the reputation of the Unsullied if they fail. The eldest of the slavers, [[Grazdan mo Ullhor|Grazdan]], agrees to sell Daenerys all the Unsullied for her black [[dragon]], [[Drogon]], her trade goods, and her ships. Dany is given Missandei as a token. Missandei tells Dany of the Unsullied's unflinching discipline, and the slave girl reveals that three were her brothers.{{Ref|ASOS|27}}
  
The slave then tells how in other slave cities a eunuch is made by just removing the testicles but leaving the penis, but only trouble can come of this. The slave then asks Whitebeard about those in [[Westeros]] that have sworn to celibacy. Whitebeard confirms this, and the slaver states that there is still temptation, but the Unsullied have no such temptation. Next the slaver tells them that they have no name, only that which they get at the beginning of the day from a name disk taken from a barrel. Whitebeard then exclaims that there is no way a man can remember a new name every day.
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[[File:T Jedruszek GreyWormsElite.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Unsullied soldiers in action – by Tomasz Jedruszek. © Fantasy Flight Games]]
  
Dany is told that an Unsullied graduates by killing a baby in front of its slave mother which is paid to the child’s owner, and that few fail this test. Dany is horrified. Then the slaver reveals that dogs are harder. Each boy is given a puppy when they are cut, and must strangle the puppy at the end of the first year. Any that fail are killed and fed to the other dogs. Next Dany asks whether they can be tempted by freedom. The slave states they cannot be tempted because they have no life outside their duty. Dany then states that it is soldiers she needs. Dany asks how many are available, and is told 8,000, but they are not cheap because their training takes years. They are like [[Valyrian steel]], hammered and folded over and over. They are only trained to fight so officers would have to be provided. Each comes with swords, shield, spear, sandals, quilted tunic, and spiked caps.  
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When Dany brings her whole company to the Plaza of Pride for the transaction, Kraznys advises her that her Unsullied are inexperienced. They exchange Drogon's chain and a whip with nine ends, the harpy's fingers. Daenerys, however, then has Drogon kill the slaver with [[dragonfire]]. During the ensuing [[fall of Astapor]], the Unsullied refuse the slavers' orders to defend their masters. Dany commands the Unsullied to slay the Good Masters, their soldiers, and any man that wears a ''[[tokar]]'' or holds a whip, and to strike the chains off every slave.{{Ref|ASOS|27}}
  
Finally, when Dany has no more questions for the slaver, she asks Whitebeard for his opinion in front of the slave girl that is serving as interpreter so the response will get back to the slaver. He says no because there have been no slaves in [[Westeros]] for thousands of years; [[slave]]ry is held to be an abomination, and for this many good men would not support her for this reason. It would also do great dishonor to her house. Dany and Whitebeard continue to discuss where she is to acquire an army to conquer [[Westeros]].  
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When Dany later arrives outside [[Yunkai]], it is the Unsullied under [[Grey Worm]] that will attack the Yunkai'i from right and left while her horse attack the center. The [[battle near Yunkai]] is won with less than a dozen losses in part because the [[Stormcrows]] defect to Dany and the [[Second Sons]] are drunk.{{Ref|ASOS|42}}
  
Dany tells the slaver that she will have to have some time to consider. The slaver tells her there is another potential buyer (a [[Pirates|Corsair]] king) that is interested in them all. Dany hears the interpreter (a slave girl) tell the slaver that the Corsair only wanted a hundred (Dany had been pretending she did not understand the slaver’s language so information like this might slip).{{Ref|aSoS|23}}
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The Unsullied commander, [[Grey Worm]], is among those present during planning for the [[siege of Meereen]]. Daenerys tells him she will not throw away Unsullied lives in storming the city walls. When a plan is presented to invade [[Meereen]] through the sewers, Daenerys thinks it would not make use of the Unsullied's discipline.{{Ref|ASOS|57}} Some Unsullied are among those that invade Meereen through the sewers and free [[pit fighters]] in an uprising of slaves.{{Ref|ASOS|71}} The Unsullied crush Meereenese resistance and punish murderers, looters, and rapers.{{Ref|ASOS|71}}
  
When she gets back to the ship, Ser [[Jorah]] is waiting for her and tells her that the several slavers had come and gone with many scribes; they had come from the slaver and gone over every inch of the ships. Then when Ser Jorah asks how many men they had to sell, she responds with a slap and angry words that they had no men to sell, but eunuchs made of bricks. She wants to sail immediate from the vile sty that is Astapor, but she needs to by 8,000 brick eunuchs and she must find some way to buy them.{{Ref|aSoS|23}}
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The [[Qarth]]een master of the ''[[Indigo Star]]'' tells Daenerys that [[Cleon]], the new king in Astapor, is training new Unsullied from the highborn boys in Astapor.{{Ref|ASOS|71}}  
Later Ser Jorah follows her, asking to speak to her. She does not really want to talk to him, but agrees. He tells her that she must win Westeros as [[Aegon I Targaryen|Aegon the Dragon]] with steel and dragon-fire, which will mean blood on her hands.
 
  
When she talks about the 8,000 Unsullied represent 8,000 puppies and babies, Ser Jorah points out that when [[King's Landing]] was sacked there were dead babies, rapes and burning. The Unsullied will not sack, rape or kill without her direction. When Dany asks why the [[Dothraki]] have not sacked the city given that the walls are crumbling, and there are no guards, and the [[Sons of the Harpy]] that guard the city are weak. Ser Jorah reveals that the Sons of the Harpy are all officers, it is the Unsullied that die, and there are two reasons [[Astapor]] has not been attacked: the attackers would know that they would be facing the Unsullied, and the Sons of the Harpy give gifts to those that might attack).{{Ref|aSoS|23}}
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===''A Dance with Dragons''===
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In [[Volantis]], [[Quentyn Martell]] sees Unsullied spearmen in ornate armor and [[tiger]]-skin cloaks guarding the [[triarchs of Volantis]].{{Ref|ADWD|6}}
  
Dany tells the slaver [[Kraznys mo Nakloz]] through the slave girl serving as translator that she wants all the Unsullied. There are 8 greatest slavers in front of her. When asked she wants the 6 centuries, and the 8,000 and those in training. The slavers are hesitant to sell those in training since if they fail in battle they will shame them. There is also the issue that they will not have any to sell to the next buyer. Finally Dany is told she can only have the 8,600 if her gold is sufficient. She tells them that she will pay the same for those in training. This provoked an argument among the slavers, some liking having the gold now instead of the future, and others worried about the reputation of the Unsullied if they fail.  
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Cleon marches against Yunkai with his new Unsullied, but they are defeated in a [[battle at the Horns of Hazzat]].{{Ref|ADWD|16}} During the [[siege of Astapor]], these Unsullied are butchered by the [[Windblown]], the [[Company of the Cat]], and a [[Ghiscari legion]] from [[New Ghis]].{{Ref|ADWD|25}}
[[File:T Jedruszek GreyWormsElite.jpg|350px|thumb|right|Unsullied soldiers in action – by Tomasz Jedruszek. © Fantasy Flight Games]]
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[[File:David Horne Loyal to the Last.JPG|350px|thumb|right|Daenerys with her Unsullied. © Fantasy Flight Games]]
The lead slaver tells her that she can have the 8,600, and in a year she can buy another 2,000. She replies that she will be in Westeros in a year. Then she tells them she will pay as much for the boy with its puppy as for a full Unsullied. This does not sway the slavers, and she tells them she will pay double. Then the question of how she will pay; she has enough for a thousand (500 if she were paying double) in good in her ships, and can buy another thousand with her crown. She will not part with her crown because [[Viserys Targaryen|Viserys]] had sold their mother’s crown. She also tells them that she will not sell any of her people as slaves, but they can have the ships (she had warned the captains that she might have to sell the ships, and they were not happy).  
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Some of the Unsullied in Daenerys's service reclaim their birth names, while others choose new names. Several Unsullied, such as [[Stalwart Shield]], are murdered in Meereen by the [[Sons of the Harpy]].{{Ref|ADWD|2}} The queen assigns her Unsullied to guard the city walls and her person, and directs [[Skahaz mo Kandaq]] to create a Meereenese city watch consisting of [[freedmen]] and [[shavepates]].{{Ref|ADWD|11}}
  
With the ships the slavers agree to 2000. She then offers a dragon despite the bad taste; Whitebeard objects telling her to win her throne with dragons not slaves. She responds to Whitebeard that he should not presume to instruct her and orders Ser Jorah to remove him. The eldest of the slavers agree to sell her all the Unsullied for the black dragon, [[ Drogon]] (the largest and healthiest), trade goods and the ships. This is agreed with Dany stating ''“done”'' and then each of the slavers state ''“done”'' and the slave girl states eight times ''“done.”'' The slaver tells Dany that the Unsullied will learn her language quickly, but she will need a translator, and so she is given the slave girl, [[Missandei]], who was serving as the translator during the negotiations as a token.{{Ref|aSoS|27}}
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Grey Worm and fifty of the Unsullied aid refugees outside of Meereen's walls and help with burning the dead.{{Ref|ADWD|36}} [[Hero]], a captain of the Unsullied, is among the hostages sent to the Yunkish camp when Daenerys makes peace with the Yunkai'i.{{Ref|ADWD|50}}
  
The slave girl [[Missandei]] accompanies her when she leaves. After telling Whitebeard not to question her in front of strangers, she asks the slave girl her name in high Valyrian; the slave girl is surprised. Then Dany tells her that she is now free and can leave, but if she decides not to leave, she can serve as one of her handmaidens, but it will be dangerous and uncomfortable. Missandei tells Dany that she will stay.  
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Daenerys disappears from [[Daznak's Pit]] on [[Drogon]]'s back.{{Ref|ADWD|52}} Her new husband, King [[Hizdahr zo Loraq]], attempts to gain control of the Unsullied but they refuse to obey him.{{Ref|ADWD|55}} Ser [[Barristan Selmy]] is able to convince them to follow him if Yunkai should attack Meereen.{{Ref|ADWD|70}}
  
Dany then asks about the Unsullied. Dany asks Missandei if the Unsullied are fearless and feel no pain and is told they do. Then Dany asks if they are obedient, and Missandei tells her that if she tells them not to breath, they would not. Next Dany asks what to do with the Unsullied after she has won, and the girl tells her that there is good market for blooded Unsullied, but they also make fine guards and excellent watchmen. Then Dany asks how she would know if she sells them that the Unsullied would not be used against her. The slave girl tells her that they would do as commanded without question. Missandei tells Dany that she could command them to fall on their swords. Dany can tell that Missandei would not be happy if she commanded the Unsullied to commit suicide, and gets the slave girl to admit to her that 3 of the Unsullied were her brothers.{{Ref|aSoS|27}}
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==Known Unsullied==
 
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[[File:T Jedruszek GreyWormStrongest.jpg|350px|thumb|right|A column of Unsullied soldiers, headed by [[Grey Worm]] – by Tomasz Jedruszek. © Fantasy Flight Games]]
Dany brings her whole company with her to the plaza where the Unsullied standing straight and still with the boys in the back standing just as straight and still. Kraznys mo Nakloz tells Missandei that the slaves are here and hers if she can pay. Dany has her people stack the trade good in front of the slaver, telling him there was more that they could not carry that were still on the ships. Kraznys had told her that they are green and that she should blood them early. There are many small city along her route ripe for plunder, and the plunder will her hers alone; the Unsullied have lust for gold. Also that she can send the captives back to Astapor for good prices. Then Dany hands the slaver the end of Drogon’s chain, and then Kraznys hands her a whip with 9 ends, the Harpies’ fingers. When Kraznys announces that it is done, she raised the whip above her head and gallops in front of the Unsullied ranks announcing that it is done.
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*{[[Black Fist]]}
 
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*{[[Cetherys]]}
Drogon does not move from litter no matter how much Kraznys jerked on the chain. Dany returns asking Kraznys if he is having trouble and when he agrees, she said that there is a reason: Dragons are not slaves. Drogon’s fire takes Kraznys in the face. Soon all dragons have been released, and are in the air. The dragons take some of the Astapori soldiers, and arrows from Dany’s retinue take others. When the slavers call for the Unsullied to defend their masters, they do not move. Then Dany commands the Unsullied to slay the [[Good Masters]], the soldiers, and slay every man that wears a [[Tokar]] or holds a whip, and to strike the chains off every slave. She then cries out: "Freedom!"{{Ref|aSoS|27}}
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*[[Dogkiller]], a Captain of Daenerys Targaryen's Unsullied
 
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*{[[Duran]]}
When Dany arrives outside [[Yunkai]], the host standing against them is too great not for her forces to take significant losses. There are also cavalry which she knows the Unsullied could withstand, but not her other troops, who are mostly too weak to fight, and untrained. When she talks with each of the captains of the sell swords she tells each of them that their numbers are too small to stand against her Unsullied.{{Ref|aSoS|42}} It is the Unsullied under [[Grey Worm]] that will attack the Yunkai from right and left while the her horse attack the center. The battle is won with less than a dozen losses in part because the [[Stormcrows]] defected to Dany and the [[Second Sons]] were drunk.{{Ref|aSoS|42}}
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*{[[Eladon Goldenhair]]}
 
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*[[Grey Worm]], the Commander of Daenerys Targaryen's Unsullied
The Unsullied commander [[Grey Worm]] is among those present during planning for the attack on [[Meereen]]. [[Daario Naharis]] states that the Unsullied could take down the gates with axes since they consider boiling oil to be no more than a warm bath. Grey Worm responds that this is false; although Unsullied would not feel burns like men would, the oil would blind and kill. He then asks that the Unsullied be given a ram so that they would batter down the gate or die. [[Daenerys Targaryen]] tells Gray Worm she will not throw away Unsullied lives. Later there is a plan presented to invade the city through the sewers; Daenerys includes the Unsullied as the others she does not believe are appropriate for invading through the sewers.{{Ref|aSoS|57}}
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*[[Hero]], the Second-in-command of Daenerys Targaryen's Unsullied
Unsullied are among those that invade Meereen through the sewers.{{Ref|aSoS|71}}
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*{[[Loyal Spear]]}
 
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*[[Marselen]], Commander of the [[Mother's Men]]
===A Dance with Dragons===
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*{[[Mossador]]}
Several Unsullied soldiers are murdered by the [[Sons of the Harpy]]. When [[Daenerys Targaryen]] disappears on [[Drogon]]s back, her new husband [[Hizdahr zo Loraq]] attempts to gain control of the Unsullied but they refuse to obey him. Ser [[Barristan Selmy]] however was able to convince them to follow him if the [[Yunkai]] should attack [[Meereen]].
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*[[Red Flea]]
 
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*{[[Stalwart Shield]]}
==Notable Members==
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*[[Sure Spear]], a Captain of Daenerys Targaryen's Unsullied
===Under [[Daenerys Targaryen]]===
 
*[[Grey Worm]]
 
*[[Hero]]
 
*[[Sure Spear]]
 
*[[Dog Killer]]
 
  
 
==Quotes==
 
==Quotes==
{{Quote|They are the lockstep legions of [[Old Ghis]] come again, absolutely obedient, absolutely loyal, and utterly without fear.}} - [[Kraznys mo Nakloz]]
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{{Quote|A eunuch who is cut young will never have the brute strength of one of your [[Westeros]]i [[knight]]s, this is true. A bull is strong as well, but bulls die every day in the [[fighting pits]]. A girl of nine killed one not three days past in [[Jothiel's Pit]]. The Unsullied have something better than strength, tell her. They have discipline. We fight in the fashion of the [[Old Empire of Ghis|Old Empire]], yes. They are the [[lockstep legions]] of [[Old Ghis]] come again, absolutely obedient, absolutely loyal, and utterly without fear.{{Ref|ASOS|23}}|[[Kraznys mo Nakloz]] to [[Missandei]] and [[Daenerys Targaryen]]}}
 
 
 
 
{{Quote|That dragon queen’s got the real item, the kind that don’t break and run when you fart in their general direction.}}  - [[Beans]], on the mettle of [[Daenerys Targaryen]]’s Unsullied
 
 
 
==Real life Influence==
 
[[File:SwissPikemen.jpg|400px|thumb|right| Famed Swiss mercenary pikemen]]
 
The Unsullied are most likely fashioned after the Swiss pikemen mercenaries of the late middle ages to early European enlightenment. Swiss pikemen mercenaries reached their zenith of notoriety during the renaissance contemporary to the time of “The War of the Roses” which George R. R. Martin has previously claimed heavily influences his series “A Song of Ice and Fire”. Similar to The Unsullied, Swiss pikemen were sold for hire to most European powers as armies and personal guards however, unlike The Unsullied, were not slaves. Swiss Pikemen revitalized infantry offensive units during a time when heavy cavalry dominated the medieval battle field. This was to so much affect that the Valois Kings of France, in fact, considered it a virtual impossibility to take the field of battle without Swiss pikemen as the infantry core of their armies.
 
 
 
The history of the Swiss Pikemen Mecenary units and The Unsullied are remarkably similar as seen in the near identically of the fictional [[Battle of Qohor]] and the real life Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs. The Unsullied rose to prominence due to the battle of Qohor, and similarly the effectiveness of Swiss Pikemen started to gain rapport throughout Europe after the Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs. The Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs consisted of a small force of roughly 1,500 Swiss troops mostly young pikemen against a superior force of 20,000 Armagnac mercenary cavalry hired by France. Immediately the Swiss forces formed three pike squares of five hundred men each, and they fought well when Armagnac cavalry charged again and again and were repulsed. The fighting lasted for several hours and was of an intensity evoking awed commentary from witnesses. In the end the small force of Swiss pikemen where eventually killed to the last man. However this was just the vanguard of a larger army of Swiss nearing 20,000 men. In light of this The Dauphin (later Louis XI of France) formally made peace with the Swiss Confederacy.
 
  
In the following years the veracity of the personal Swiss Guards to various families throughout Europe was noted by the head of the Catholic Church. To this day, just as the city guard of Qohor is made up entirely of The Unsullied, the protection of the Vatican City is made up solely of Swiss Guards.
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{{Quote|This beggar queen must understand, such wonders do not come cheaply. In [[Yunkai]] and [[Meereen]], slave swordsmen can be had for less than the price of their swords, but Unsullied are the finest foot in all the world, and each represents many years of training. Tell her they are like [[Valyrian steel]], folded over and over and hammered for years on end, until they are stronger and more resilient than any metal on earth.{{Ref|ASOS|23}}|[[Kraznys mo Nakloz]] to [[Missandei]] and [[Daenerys Targaryen]]}}
  
The organization and tactics used by the Unsullied and Swiss pikemen are markedly alike. The pike square was a military tactic developed by the Swiss Confederacy, in response to the encroaching Burgandian Ordonnance army. A pike square generally consisted of about 100 men in a 10×10 formation, which held together tight while extending its pikes out ward to form a brisling offensive formation. The square had great mobility and could move directions quickly, as well as form an offensive unit. Akin to the Unsullied the tactic depended on well trained and drilled troops who could move in unison while in close formation. At the time Swiss Pikemen just like Unsullied were most valued for their extremely high levels of discipline. The 100 man pike square also corresponds to The Unsullied for the fact they are sold specifically by the hundreds.
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{{Quote|'''Ben''': Did you see them bronze heads above the gates? Rows of harpy heads with open mouths? The [[Meereen]]ese can squirt boiling oil out them mouths, and cook your axemen where they stand.<br>
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'''Daario''': Perhaps the Unsullied should wield the axes. Boiling oil feels like no more than a warm bath to you, I have heard.<br>
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'''Grey Worm''': This is false. These ones do not feel burns as men do, yet such oil blinds and kills. The Unsullied do not fear to die, though. Give these ones rams, and we will batter down these gates or die in the attempt.{{Ref|ASOS|57}}|[[Ben Plumm]], [[Daario Naharis]], and [[Grey Worm]]}}
  
Also the weapon of choice for The Unsullied, the long spear, is nearly identical to that of the Swiss mercenary units being pikes and halberds.
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{{Quote|'''Daenerys''': Do you know how Unsullied are made and trained?<br>
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'''Xaro''': Cruelly, I have no doubt. When a smith makes a sword, he thrusts the blade into the fire, beats on it with a hammer, then plunges it into iced water to temper the steel. If you would savor the sweet taste of the fruit, you must water the tree.{{Ref|ADWD|16}}|[[Daenerys Targaryen]] and [[Xaro Xhoan Daxos]]}}
  
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{{Quote|'''Archibald''': We fought the Unsullied at [[siege of Astapor|Astapor]].<br>
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'''Beans''': I said real Unsullied. Hacking off some boy's stones with a butcher's cleaver and handing him a pointy hat don't make him Unsullied. That [[Daenerys Targaryen|dragon queen's]] got the real item, the kind that don't break and run when you fart in their general direction.{{ref|ADWD|25}}|[[Archibald Yronwood]] and [[Beans]]}}
  
Additional influence may have derived from the soldiers of antiquity, Greek hoplites and Roman legionaries. The Unsullied are well equipped with spears, shortswords and shields, and are highly disciplined, drilled and trained, just like a Roman legionary. We are also told that the Unsullied build field fortifications or entrenchments while on the march, an attribute which the Roman army also had a passion for.
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{{Quote|Unsullied are brave soldiers ... but not warriors. Not [[knights]].{{Ref|ADWD|70}}|[[Barristan Selmy]] to [[Archibald Yronwood]]}}
  
They fight in either packed phalanxes, or in superior, loose cohort formations ("lockstep formations of the Old Empire"). Roman cohort-formations provided more space for maneuver and were consequently more flexible and responsive. This battle formation allowed the soldiers to take better advantage of their primary weapon, the shortsword (the Greeks relied on spears), and made them less vulnerable to flank attacks. During battle, they used to throw pilums (javelins) before closing in with [[shortsword]]s and shields.
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{{Quote|Man to man, the Unsullied are no better or worse than any other spearmen. It's their discipline that makes them dangerous, but if they cannot form up into a spear wall ...<ref>[[Tyrion II (The Winds of Winter)]]</ref>|[[Tyrion Lannister]] to [[Penny]]}}
  
The Roman army is also well known for its administrative organization, but the organization of the Unsullied seems far less sophisticated in comparison. The buyer is supposed to integrate the troops into their own military organization and doctrine, and has to set his own officers over them. But in each unit (Unsullied are sold by the hundreds or thousands) there are probably several lower-ranked officers or instructors who are sold together with their unit, in order to preserve the integrity of the group.<Ref>[http://www.digitalattic.org/home/read/asoiaf/unsullied/ Digital attic]</Ref>
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==Behind the Scenes==
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Influences may have derived from soldiers of antiquity, Greek [[w:hoplite|hoplites]] and Roman [[w:legionary|legionaries]]. The Unsullied are well equipped with spears, shortswords, and shields, and are highly disciplined, drilled and trained, just like a legionary, but they are strongest in their [[w:phalanx|phalanx]] formation with their spears and shields as well, just like the hoplites. The Unsullied build field fortifications or entrenchments while on the march, an attribute which the [[w:Roman army|Roman army]] also had a passion for.
  
The [[Battle of Qohor]] bears a few similarities to the famous Battle of Thermopylae during the Greco-Persian War.
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The [[Three Thousand of Qohor]] bears similarities to the [[w:Battle of Thermopylae|Battle of Thermopylaee]] during the [[w:Greco-Persian Wars|Greco-Persian Wars]].
  
==References and Notes==
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==References==
{{references|2}}
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{{References|2}}
  
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[[Category:Astapor]]
 
[[Category:Eunuchs]]
 
[[Category:Eunuchs]]
[[Category:Mercenaries]]
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[[Category:Slave soldiers]]
 
[[Category:Slaves and freedmen]]
 
[[Category:Slaves and freedmen]]
 
[[Category:Unsullied| ]]
 
[[Category:Unsullied| ]]
  
[[es:Inmaculados]][[fr:Immaculés]][[ru:Безупречные]][[zh:无垢者]]
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[[es:Inmaculados]]
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[[fr:Immaculés]]
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[[ru:Безупречные]]
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[[zh:无垢者]]

Revision as of 15:30, 22 August 2019

The Unsullied are eunuch slave soldiers, trained from a young age in Astapor to unquestioning obedience and martial prowess. They are used as guards all over the Free Cities. They are sold by the century or the thousand. They make excellent guards, do not loot, and will never rape.[1] They worship a goddess of their own, whose name is kept in secret among them but is known as the Lady of Spears, the Bride of Battle, and the Mother of Hosts.[2]

Recruitment and training

A line of disciplined unsullied spearman routing a cavalry charge – by Tomasz Jedruszek. © Fantasy Flight Games

Unsullied begin as young male slaves chosen for their size, speed, and strength. Every day they choose new names at random by drawing tokens from a bucket, each consisting of a color and a type of vermin, such as "Grey Worm".[1]

Their training starts at age five and is from dawn to dusk. It is brutal, designed not only to teach them how to fight, but to strip away all individuality, empathy, and self-worth. Slaves that fail any aspect of their training are killed. Only a third of the slaves to enter training survive to become Unsullied.[1]

The eunuchs are fully castrated, with their penis and testicles cut, and their manhoods are burned at the altar of the Lady of Spears. This means that they cannot be as strong as whole men, but this is more than made up for by discipline. They regularly consume an elixir called the wine of courage to deaden their sensitivity to pain. They drink it with every meal, and every year feel less and less pain.[1][3]

On the day a boy is cut, he is given a puppy to take care of. At the end of the first year, the boy is made to strangle the puppy. Should he fail to do so, he is killed and fed to the surviving dogs. During training boys are culled whenever they fail a task, be it running all day in full pack, scaling a mountain at night or walking across a bed of coals. To win their spiked cap they must take a silver mark go to the slave markets and buy a newborn slave child and kill it before its mother and pay the slave's owner for his loss.[1]

The Good Masters, the slavers of Astapor, used to sell Unsullied in groups of ten for household guards, but that proved unsound since they mingle with others, and forget who they are. Now they are sold only in groups of a century or thousand.[1] The only vice left for the Unsullied is food, so Unsullied serving as household guards often grow fat.[4]

Military Tactics

The Unsullied are inspired by the lockstep legions of the Old Empire of Ghis, who were free men.[5] The Unsullied fight in formation as light infantry, equipped with short spears, swords, round shields, and distinctive spiked caps. They fight fearlessly and obey without question. Their elite, highly specialized training makes them most effective in their phalanx formation. They do not ride horses.[4]

Unsullied uniform are plain and without ornament, quilted tunic, a short sword, three spears and spiked bronze caps. One spike indicates a low rank, while three spikes going from front to back represent an officer.[6]

History

The most famous Unsullied were the Three Thousand of Qohor, who held back a Dothraki khalasar over fifty thousand strong. Only six hundred Unsullied survived, having killed twelve thousand of the Dothraki. To honor the Unsullied, the surviving Dothraki rode in before the Unsullied line, throwing their cut braids down in front of them.[4]

Lysaro Rogare bought a thousand Unsullied from Astapor in 135 AC after the death of his father. When he fled Lys, he surrounded himself with one hundred of them. Lysaro was later caught in Volon Therys with only twenty Unsullied, as he had been forced to sell the rest along the way. The twenty Unsullied fought to the end on the docks of the town and perished. Lysaro was captured and sent back to Lys in chains.[7]

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Unsullied - by Amok ©

During the voyage to Pentos to join up with Magister Illyrio Mopatis, Ser Jorah Mormont convinces Daenerys Targaryen to change their destination to Astapor to buy Unsullied. He tells her about the Three Thousand of Qohor, and to buy the Unsullied they could use the trade goods being carried onboard.[4]

Dany is shown Unsullied by Kraznys mo Nakloz, one of the Good Masters, in the Astapori Plaza of Pride, where ten ranks of a hundred Unsullied stand. More than half are of Dothraki stock, while others appear to be from Lys and Qarth and even the same ethnicity as their slavers, while others are from peoples she does not recognize.[1]

Unsullied pike phalanx. © Fantasy Flight Games

After Arstan Whitebeard tells Kraznys that even brave men show fear when faced with death or maiming, the slaver whips and mutilates Unsullied who do not react. Daenerys is horrified by the training regime which the Unsullied endure. Dany is told eight thousand Unsullied are available, but they are not cheap because their training takes years. Arstan tells her that slavery is held to be an abomination in Westeros, and using slave soldiers would do great dishonor to House Targaryen. Kraznys says that a corsair king was also recently interested in purchasing Unsullied.[1]

Dany later tells Kraznys through the translating slave Missandei that she wants all the Unsullied, including six centuries, the eight thousand, and those still in training. Eight slavers are hesitant to sell those in training since if they fail in battle they will shame them, and they would not have any to sell to the next buyer. Dany tells them that she will pay the same for those in training. This provokes an argument among the slavers, some liking having the gold now instead of the future, and others worried about the reputation of the Unsullied if they fail. The eldest of the slavers, Grazdan, agrees to sell Daenerys all the Unsullied for her black dragon, Drogon, her trade goods, and her ships. Dany is given Missandei as a token. Missandei tells Dany of the Unsullied's unflinching discipline, and the slave girl reveals that three were her brothers.[3]

Unsullied soldiers in action – by Tomasz Jedruszek. © Fantasy Flight Games

When Dany brings her whole company to the Plaza of Pride for the transaction, Kraznys advises her that her Unsullied are inexperienced. They exchange Drogon's chain and a whip with nine ends, the harpy's fingers. Daenerys, however, then has Drogon kill the slaver with dragonfire. During the ensuing fall of Astapor, the Unsullied refuse the slavers' orders to defend their masters. Dany commands the Unsullied to slay the Good Masters, their soldiers, and any man that wears a tokar or holds a whip, and to strike the chains off every slave.[3]

When Dany later arrives outside Yunkai, it is the Unsullied under Grey Worm that will attack the Yunkai'i from right and left while her horse attack the center. The battle near Yunkai is won with less than a dozen losses in part because the Stormcrows defect to Dany and the Second Sons are drunk.[8]

The Unsullied commander, Grey Worm, is among those present during planning for the siege of Meereen. Daenerys tells him she will not throw away Unsullied lives in storming the city walls. When a plan is presented to invade Meereen through the sewers, Daenerys thinks it would not make use of the Unsullied's discipline.[9] Some Unsullied are among those that invade Meereen through the sewers and free pit fighters in an uprising of slaves.[10] The Unsullied crush Meereenese resistance and punish murderers, looters, and rapers.[10]

The Qartheen master of the Indigo Star tells Daenerys that Cleon, the new king in Astapor, is training new Unsullied from the highborn boys in Astapor.[10]

A Dance with Dragons

In Volantis, Quentyn Martell sees Unsullied spearmen in ornate armor and tiger-skin cloaks guarding the triarchs of Volantis.[11]

Cleon marches against Yunkai with his new Unsullied, but they are defeated in a battle at the Horns of Hazzat.[12] During the siege of Astapor, these Unsullied are butchered by the Windblown, the Company of the Cat, and a Ghiscari legion from New Ghis.[13]

Daenerys with her Unsullied. © Fantasy Flight Games

Some of the Unsullied in Daenerys's service reclaim their birth names, while others choose new names. Several Unsullied, such as Stalwart Shield, are murdered in Meereen by the Sons of the Harpy.[14] The queen assigns her Unsullied to guard the city walls and her person, and directs Skahaz mo Kandaq to create a Meereenese city watch consisting of freedmen and shavepates.[15]

Grey Worm and fifty of the Unsullied aid refugees outside of Meereen's walls and help with burning the dead.[2] Hero, a captain of the Unsullied, is among the hostages sent to the Yunkish camp when Daenerys makes peace with the Yunkai'i.[16]

Daenerys disappears from Daznak's Pit on Drogon's back.[17] Her new husband, King Hizdahr zo Loraq, attempts to gain control of the Unsullied but they refuse to obey him.[18] Ser Barristan Selmy is able to convince them to follow him if Yunkai should attack Meereen.[19]

Known Unsullied

A column of Unsullied soldiers, headed by Grey Worm – by Tomasz Jedruszek. © Fantasy Flight Games

Quotes

A eunuch who is cut young will never have the brute strength of one of your Westerosi knights, this is true. A bull is strong as well, but bulls die every day in the fighting pits. A girl of nine killed one not three days past in Jothiel's Pit. The Unsullied have something better than strength, tell her. They have discipline. We fight in the fashion of the Old Empire, yes. They are the lockstep legions of Old Ghis come again, absolutely obedient, absolutely loyal, and utterly without fear.[1]

This beggar queen must understand, such wonders do not come cheaply. In Yunkai and Meereen, slave swordsmen can be had for less than the price of their swords, but Unsullied are the finest foot in all the world, and each represents many years of training. Tell her they are like Valyrian steel, folded over and over and hammered for years on end, until they are stronger and more resilient than any metal on earth.[1]

Ben: Did you see them bronze heads above the gates? Rows of harpy heads with open mouths? The Meereenese can squirt boiling oil out them mouths, and cook your axemen where they stand.

Daario: Perhaps the Unsullied should wield the axes. Boiling oil feels like no more than a warm bath to you, I have heard.

Grey Worm: This is false. These ones do not feel burns as men do, yet such oil blinds and kills. The Unsullied do not fear to die, though. Give these ones rams, and we will batter down these gates or die in the attempt.[9]

Daenerys: Do you know how Unsullied are made and trained?
Xaro: Cruelly, I have no doubt. When a smith makes a sword, he thrusts the blade into the fire, beats on it with a hammer, then plunges it into iced water to temper the steel. If you would savor the sweet taste of the fruit, you must water the tree.[12]

Archibald: We fought the Unsullied at Astapor.
Beans: I said real Unsullied. Hacking off some boy's stones with a butcher's cleaver and handing him a pointy hat don't make him Unsullied. That dragon queen's got the real item, the kind that don't break and run when you fart in their general direction.[13]

Unsullied are brave soldiers ... but not warriors. Not knights.[19]

Man to man, the Unsullied are no better or worse than any other spearmen. It's their discipline that makes them dangerous, but if they cannot form up into a spear wall ...[20]

Behind the Scenes

Influences may have derived from soldiers of antiquity, Greek hoplites and Roman legionaries. The Unsullied are well equipped with spears, shortswords, and shields, and are highly disciplined, drilled and trained, just like a legionary, but they are strongest in their phalanx formation with their spears and shields as well, just like the hoplites. The Unsullied build field fortifications or entrenchments while on the march, an attribute which the Roman army also had a passion for.

The Three Thousand of Qohor bears similarities to the Battle of Thermopylaee during the Greco-Persian Wars.

References