Difference between revisions of "First Dornish War"

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| conflict_name          = First Dornish War
 
| conflict_name          = First Dornish War
 
| part_of                = [[Wars of Conquest]]
 
| part_of                = [[Wars of Conquest]]
| image                  =[[File:Dragon's Wroth.png|350px]]
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| image                  = [[File:Dragon's Wroth.png|350px]]
| caption                =Dragon's Wroth, as depicted by Michael Komarck in ''[[The World of Ice and Fire]]''
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| caption                = Dragon's Wroth, as depicted by Michael Komarck in ''[[The World of Ice & Fire]]''
| date                  = {{Date|4}}–{{Date|13}}
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| date                  = {{Date|4|13}}
 
| battles                =
 
| battles                =
 
| location              = [[Dorne]]
 
| location              = [[Dorne]]
| result                = [[House Targaryen]] withdrawal from Dorne
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| result                = [[House Targaryen|Targaryen]] withdrawal from Dorne
 
<!-- combatant 1 -->  
 
<!-- combatant 1 -->  
| combatant1            = [[House Targaryen]]
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| combatant1            = {{coa|Targaryen|m}} '''[[Iron Throne]]'''/[[House Targaryen]]:
| commander1            = King [[Aegon I Targaryen]]<br>Queen [[Visenya Targaryen]]<br>Queen [[Rhaenys Targaryen]]<br>Lord [[Orys Baratheon]]<br>Lord [[Harlen Tyrell]]
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: {{coa|Rosby|s}} [[House Rosby]]
| strength1              = Forces of the [[Iron Throne]].
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*{{coa|Baratheon|s}} The [[Stormlands]], led by [[House Baratheon]]
| losses1                =Queen [[Rhaenys Targaryen]]†<br>[[Meraxes]]†<br>Lord [[Harlen Tyrell]]†<br>[[Lord Rosby (Warden of the Sands)|Lord Rosby]]†
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: {{coa|Cafferen|s}} [[House Cafferen]]
 +
: {{coa|Caron|s}} [[House Caron]]
 +
: {{coa|Connington|s}} [[House Connington]]
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: {{coa|Fell|s}} [[House Fell]]
 +
: {{coa|Mertyns|s}} [[House Mertyns]]
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*{{coa|Tyrell|s}} The [[Reach]], led by [[House Tyrell]]
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: {{coa|Hightower|s}} [[House Hightower]]
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: {{coa|Oakheart|s}} [[House Oakheart]]
 +
| commander1            = {{coa|Targaryen|s}} King [[Aegon I Targaryen]]<br>{{coa|Targaryen|s}} Queen [[Visenya Targaryen]]<br>{{coa|Targaryen|s}} Queen [[Rhaenys Targaryen]]<br>{{coa|Baratheon|s}} Lord [[Orys Baratheon]]<br>{{coa|Tyrell|s}} Lord [[Harlen Tyrell]]†<br>{{coa|Hightower|s}} Ser [[Addam Hightower]]
 +
| strength1              = Forces of the [[Iron Throne]]:
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* 1,000 knights led by Lord Orys Baratheon
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* 2,000 knights, 300 lords and 27,700 men-at-arms led by King Aegon I Targaryen
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* Reach host led by Lord Harlen Tyrell
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* [[Balerion]]
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* [[Vhagar]]
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* [[Meraxes]]†
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| losses1                = Queen [[Rhaenys Targaryen]]†<br>[[Meraxes]]†<br>Lord [[Harlen Tyrell]]†<br>Lord [[Jon Rosby]]†<br>[[Garmon Hightower]]†<br>Lord [[House Oakheart|Oakheart]]†<br>Lord [[House Connington|Connington]]†<br>Lord [[House Mertyns|Mertyns]]†<br>Lord [[House Fell|Fell]]†
 
<!-- combatant 2 -->  
 
<!-- combatant 2 -->  
| combatant2            = [[House Martell]]
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| combatant2            = {{coa|Martell|m}} '''[[Prince of Dorne|Principality]] of [[Dorne]]'''/[[House Martell]]
| commander2            =Princess [[Meria Martell]]<br>Prince [[Nymor Martell]]<br>Princess [[Deria Martell]]  
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: {{coa|Dalt|s}} [[House Dalt]]
 +
: {{coa|Dayne|s}} [[House Dayne]]
 +
: {{coa|Fowler|s}} [[House Fowler]]
 +
: {{coa|Jordayne|s}} [[House Jordayne]]
 +
: {{coa|Qorgyle|s}} [[House Qorgyle]]
 +
: {{coa|Santagar|s}} [[House Santagar]]
 +
: {{coa|Toland|s}} [[House Toland]]
 +
: {{coa|Vaith|s}} [[House Vaith]]
 +
: {{coa|Uller|s}} [[House Uller]]
 +
: {{coa|Wyl|s}} [[House Wyl]]
 +
: {{coa|Yronwood|s}} [[House Yronwood]]
 +
| commander2            = {{coa|Martell|s}} Princess [[Meria Martell]]<br>{{coa|Martell|s}} Prince [[Nymor Martell]]<br>{{coa|Martell|s}} Princess [[Deria Martell]]<br>[[File:WylCoA.png|20px]] Lord [[Wyl of Wyl]]<br>{{coa|Fowler|s}} Lord [[House Fowler|Fowler]]†<br>{{coa|Dayne|s}} Ser [[Joffrey Dayne]]<br>{{coa|Uller|s}} Lord [[Uthor Uller]]†
 
| strength2              = [[Dorne|Dornish Houses]]
 
| strength2              = [[Dorne|Dornish Houses]]
| losses2                = Massive losses in manpower <br> Every castle save Sunspear burnt <br> Every holdfast, village and town burnt
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| losses2                = Massive losses in manpower <br> Every castle save Sunspear burnt <br> Every holdfast, village and town burnt<br>Lord [[Uthor Uller]]†<br>3 others Lords Uller†<br>Lord [[House Fowler|Fowler]]†<br>Lord [[House Vaith|Vaith]]†<br>Lady [[House Toland|Toland]]†
 
}}
 
}}
The '''First Dornish War''' was [[House Targaryen]]'s attempt to conquer [[Dorne]], the only one of the [[Seven Kingdoms]] that successfully resisted [[Aegon's Conquest]].{{ref|twoiaf| Dorne Against the Dragons}} It was part of the [[Wars of Conquest]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Aegon I}}
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The '''First Dornish War''' was the second of the [[Wars of Conquest]]. [[House Targaryen]] began the war in an attempt to conquer [[Dorne]], the only one of the [[Seven Kingdoms]] that had successfully resisted the Targaryens during [[Aegon's Conquest]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon I}}
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==Prelude==
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During [[Aegon's Conquest]], Queen [[Rhaenys Targaryen]] was sent to conquer [[Dorne]] in [[Aegon I Targaryen|her brother's name]]. Instead of confronting the [[Dornishmen|Dornish]] spearmen guarding the [[Prince's Pass]] in the [[Red Mountains]], Rhaenys flew over the pass on her [[dragon]] [[Meraxes]] to [[Vaith]] and [[Godsgrace]]. She found the castles abandoned an continued her journey to the [[Planky Town]], where only women and children remained. At [[Sunspear]], the seat of [[House Martell]], she found [[Meria Martell]], the aged [[Princess of Dorne]], waiting in her otherwise abandoned castle. Meria defied Rhaenys, stating that they would neither fight nor kneel. Rhaenys warned the Princess of Dorne that the Targaryens would return "with fire and blood", but Meria replied simply with ''"You may burn us, my lady, but you will not bend us, break us, or make us bow. This is Dorne. You are not wanted here. Return at your peril."'' Rhaenys departed, but the Targaryens subsequent made no direct attempt to conquer the harsh deserts of Dorne, instead focusing on their main conquests in the heart of Westeros.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest}}
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As such, Dorne was the only kingdom not to be conquered by [[Aegon I Targaryen]] in his initial conquest.
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
===Initial Invasion===
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===Initial invasion===
[[Rhaenys Targaryen]] flew on [[Meraxes]] to [[Dorne]] during [[Aegon's Conquest]], but the [[Dornishmen]] vacated their castles and Princess [[Meria Martell]] warned Rhaenys that Dorne would not submit to [[Aegon I Targaryen|Aegon the Conqueror]]. Aegon was crowned in [[Oldtown]] and ruled on the [[Iron Throne]] in [[King's Landing]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Conquest}}
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In {{Date|4}}, King [[Aegon I Targaryen]] launched an invasion of [[Dorne]], intend on completing his conquest of the [[Seven Kingdoms]]. However, although [[House Wyl]] led an assault against the Targaryen forces in the Boneway, the other Dornish lords abandoned their castles, neither willing to defend them nor willing to bend the knee.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
  
Since Dorne was the only one of the Seven Kingdoms not to have fallen to the [[House Targaryen|Targaryens]], Aegon launched an invasion hoping to complete the conquest of [[Westeros]] in {{date|4}}. According to the writings of the [[maesters]], great was the Dornish valor against the forces of the [[Iron Throne]] and great was their loss and grief, for the price of freedom is steep.
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The first assault was led by Queen [[Rhaenys Targaryen]]. On her way to [[Sunspear]], she seized the Dornish seats she encountered and had her dragon [[Meraxes]] burn the [[Planky Town]]. Meanwhile, King Aegon I and Lord [[Harlan Tyrell]] fought in the [[Prince's Pass]], facing heavy resistance as their forces were ambushed by Dornish defenders who fled and hid as soon as the dragons took to the air, and Lord [[Orys Baratheon]] led a force through the [[Boneway]]. Lord Harlan Tyrell, while leading his army to [[Hellholt]], saw many of his soldiers die of thirst and due to the heat. Those who finally managed to reach Hellholt found the castle to be deserted.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
  
The Dornishmen fought no great battles against the Targaryens nor did they shelters in their castles, as they remembered the lessons of the [[Field of Fire]] and [[Harrenhal]]. The Dornish simply vanished before the [[dragon]]s rather than give battle.
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King Aegon briefly besieged [[Yronwood]], which was defended by a few handful of old men, boys, and women. He found [[Skyreach]] abandoned, but at [[Ghost Hill]] was challenged to single combat by Lord [[House Toland|Toland]]'s champion. After Aegon had killed the man with [[Blackfyre]], he discovered that the "champion" had in truth been Lord Toland's mad [[fool]]. Worse, Ghost Hill turned out to be deserted as well.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
  
Queen Rhaenys led the assault, burning the [[Planky Town]] with Meraxes on her way to [[Sunspear]] while King Aegon and Lord [[Harlen Tyrell]] led an army down the [[Prince's Pass]] against the lords of the [[Red Mountains]]. The Dornish defenders harried the Targaryen forces, performing hit and run raids and vanishing when they caught sight of the dragons. Many of the invading armies died from the sun and thirst as they marched on the [[Hellholt]]. Those who survived arrived to find the castle deserted, the [[House Uller|Ullers]] all fled.   
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Lord Orys Baratheon fared worse in his assault up the Boneway. His army was pelted with rocks, arrows, and spears from above, while his men were murdered in the night. Towards the end, the Dornishmen blocked the Boneway both in front of Orys's army and behind, and the [[Wyl of Wyl]] managed to capture Lord Orys and many of his bannermen and knights. They would remain captives of [[House Wyl]] until {{Date|7}}.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Stormlands: House Baratheon}}
  
Aegon had more success, winning the castle of [[Yronwood]] after a brief siege, but the castle was only defended by old men, boys and women, so he took little glory from that siege. [[Skyreach]], the stronghold of [[House Fowler]], was abandoned. At [[Ghost Hill]], [[House Toland]] sent a champion who challenged Aegon to single combat. The Conquerer easily slew the armored knight with [[Blackfyre]], though after he removed the helm from the corpse Aegon realized it was Lord Toland's mad [[fool]] and the Tolands were gone from the castle. In later days House Toland changed its sigil to a a dragon biting its own tail and changed their house colors to gold and green in memory of the motley colors of their brave fool.
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When the Targaryens finally arrived at Sunspear, they discovered that Princess Meria had vanished. Declaring themselves victorious, King Aegon and Queen Rhaenys placed Dorne under the rule of the [[Iron Throne]]. They returned to King's Landing, leaving Lord [[Jon Rosby]] as castellan of Sunspear and [[Warden of the Sands]], and charged Lord Harlan Tyrell with putting down any revolts that might arise.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
  
Lord [[Orys Baratheon]]'s assault on the [[Boneway]] proved a disaster. The cunning Dornishmen launched a night raid, raining rocks, arrows and spears from above. The bodies of the invading army blocked the Boneway from both ends and Orys, along with many of his bannermen and knights were captured, by the [[Wyl of Wyl]], the Lord Wyl also known as the Widow-lover.
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===Full-out war===
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[[File:Death of Meraxes.jpg|thumb|right|[[Meraxes]] and [[Rhaenys Targaryen]] are killed during the First Dornish War, as depicted by Chase Stone in ''[[The World of Ice & Fire]]''.]]
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Aegon and Rhaenys had only just returned to King's Landing when the Dornish rebelled against the Targaryens. From Sunspear's [[shadow city]] Dornishmen came forth, [[Defenestration of Sunspear|retaking the castle]]. Lord Rosby was captured, and thrown from a window atop the [[Spear Tower]] by Princess [[Meria Martell]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}} In {{Date|5}}, Lord [[Harlan Tyrell]] marched his army from [[Hellholt]], intend on taking [[Vaith]] and [[Sunspear]]. In the deserts of Dorne the entire army disappeared.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reach: House Tyrell}}
  
===Rebellion===
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Elsewhere, entire garrisons were put to the sword. The [[knight]]s who had been in charge of the garrisons were horrifically tortured and mutilated.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}} Lord Wyl, called the Wyl of Wyl and the Widow-lover, eventually agreed to ransom back Lord Orys Baratheon and the other captured lords. In {{Date|7}}, the captives were ransomed back for each man's weight in gold and set free. However, the Wyl of Wyl took off their sword hands, so they could "never take up arms against Dorne again". Orys became bitter and obsessed with revenge, and resigned his office as [[Hand of the King]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
[[File:Death of Meraxes.jpg|thumb|left|[[Meraxes]] and [[Rhaenys Targaryen]] are killed during the First Dornish War, as depicted by Chase Stone in ''[[The World of Ice and Fire]]''.]]
 
Still save for the assault on the Boneway, the Targaryens mainly came across abandoned castles and those that were not they found with only a small force who swiftly yielded rather then see their castles burned by [[dragonfire]]. [[Sunspear]] was found nearly abandoned, with the ruling [[House Martell|Martells]] gone. Aegon and his sisters gathered what courtiers remained and declared themselves the victors, leaving [[Lord Rosby (Warden of the Sands)|Lord Rosby]] in charge of [[Sunspear]] and an army under command of Harlen Tyrell to put down rebellions.  
 
  
No sooner had the Targaryens and their dragons returned to [[King's Landing]] then revolt broke out in Dorne with shocking speed, for this had been the Dornish plan the whole time. Garrisons of knights and soldiers were put to the sword. Lord Tyrell and his entire army vanished in the sands between the Hellholt and [[Vaith]], while Lord Rosby was killed in the [[Defenestration of Sunspear]].
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Intent on revenge, King Aegon I unleashed his dragons. The castles who remained defiant were burned time and time again, whereupon the Dornishmen retaliated in {{Date|8}} by setting half the [[rainwood]] on [[Cape Wrath]] ablaze and sacked half a dozen towns and villages.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
  
The Targaryens received a ransom offer for Lord Orys along with all his knights and bannermen. Aegon eventually agreed to the demands and Orys and his men were ransomed in {{date|7}} for each man's weight in gold. Once the ransom was paid each man was freed, though only after having his sword hand chopped off so he would not use them again against Dorne. This was not part of the agreement of the terms and enraged Aegon, who was intent on revenge.
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In {{Date|9}}, the dragons struck again, burning several seats. The next year, Lord [[House Fowler|Fowler]] attacked [[Nightsong]], taking its defenders hostage, while Ser [[Joffrey Dayne]] marched an army to [[Oldtown]] and razed the fields and villages nearby. The Targaryens unleashed their dragons a third time, this time upon [[Starfall]], the seat of [[House Dayne]], [[Skyreach]], the seat of [[House Fowler]], and [[Hellholt]], the seat of [[House Uller]]. At Hellholt, the dragon [[Meraxes]] was shot down from the sky, with Queen [[Rhaenys Targaryen]] upon her back, when a bolt from a scorpion pierced the dragon's eye. Although Meraxes destroyed the castle's highest tower and part of its curtain wall in its fall, the death of both dragon and queen was the greatest success the Dornish had against the Targaryens.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
  
The Targaryens' dragons burned several castles, whereupon the Dornishmen retaliated by attacking the [[rainwood]] on [[Cape Wrath]]. The dragons struck again, which led Lord [[House Fowler|Fowler]] to attack [[Nightsong]] and Ser [[Joffrey Dayne]] to threaten [[Oldtown]]. The castles of [[Starfall]], Skyreach, and Hellholt were then consumed by dragonfire. A lucky shot from a scorpion at the Hellholt sent a bolt through the eye of [[Meraxes]] in {{date|10}}, however, killing the dragon and causing her to crash from the sky along with her rider, [[Rhaenys Targaryen]].
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===The Dragon's Wroth===
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[[File:The Dragon's Wroth by Jota Saraiva.jpg|thumb|right|The Dragon's Wroth, by Jota Saraiva ©]]
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The grief Aegon and [[Visenya Targaryen|Visenya]] felt at the death of Rhaenys was great; the next two years would later be called the years of the Dragon's Wroth. The Targaryens burned every Dornish stronghold at least once, with the exception of Sunspear and its shadow city. The Dornish believed that the Targaryens refused to attack Sunspear because they were afraid that Princess Meria might have purchased a device from [[Lys]] to slay dragons with. [[Archmaester]] [[Timotty]] offers a different explanation, suggesting in his ''[[Conjectures]]'' that Aegon hoped this would instead turn the Dornish against the Martells. Indeed, letters have been discovered in which [[Dornish Marches|Marcher lords]] urge Dornish lords to surrender, while claiming that [[House Martell]] had purchased their safety from the dragons. Regardless of the truth, the Dornish lords and smallfolk remained loyal.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
  
===The Dragon's Wroth===
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Aegon and Visenya also placed bounties on the heads of Dornish lords, who, in turn, placed bounties on the Targaryens and their allies. Half a dozen Dornish lords were successfully assassinated, though only two of their killers ever lived to collect their bounties.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}} King Aegon was attacked on three occasions, and Visenya was attacked on several occasions as well. One day, when Aegon and Visenya were assaulted on the streets of [[King's Landing]], only Visenya's swift intervention saved Aegon's life. This attack led to the creation of the elite royal bodyguard known as the [[Kingsguard]] in {{Date|10}}.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon I}} Lord [[House Fell|Fell]] was killed in a brothel in King's Landing,{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}} while the [[Wyl of Wyl]] committed atrocities, particularly in [[Fawnton]] and [[Old Oak]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
Aegon's grief at the passing of Rhaenys was great; the following two years were known as the Dragon's Wroth. The Targaryens burned every Dornish stronghold at least once, with the exception of Sunspear. In Dorne it was said that the Targaryens feared that Princess Meria had cunning means of slaying dragons purchased from [[Lys]], but Archmaester [[Timotty]] in his ''[[Conjectures]]'' suggests that Aegon hoped that the Dornish would turn against the Martells. However, the Dornish lords and smallfolk remained loyal, despite the letters dispatched from the [[Dornish Marches]] to the Dornish houses claiming the Martells had bought their safety from the dragons.
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Although Dorne was a blasted, burning ruin from the Red Mountains to the mouth of the Greenblood, the Dornish continued to fight.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
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==Aftermath==
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===Peace treaty===
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The First Dornish War came to an end in {{Date|13}}, when, following the death of Princess [[Meria Martell]], her elderly son [[Nymor Martell|Nymor]], now the ruling [[Prince of Dorne]], sent his daughter [[Deria Martell|Deria]] to [[King's Landing]] with an escort as an peace envoy. She brought with her the skull of Rhaenys's dragon [[Meraxes]] and a letter from Prince Nymor. The sight of the dragon's skull angered many at the royal court, such as Queen [[Visenya Targaryen]] and Lord [[Orys Baratheon]], but Aegon refused to act against the delegation. Instead, Deria was allowed to deliver her father's terms. Prince Nymor wanted peace, but would not submit to the Iron Throne. Aegon was determined to refuse this offer, until Deria handed him her father's letter.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
  
Aegon and his remaining sister-queen, [[Visenya Targaryen|Visenya]], placed bounties on the heads of Dornish lords and in turn the Dornish put bounties on the price of the Targaryens and their allies. Half a dozen Dornish lords were successfully assassinated, though only two of their killers ever lived to collect their bounties.  Aegon and Visenya were assaulted on the streets of [[King's Landing]] and, if not for Visenya and [[Dark Sister]], they would have been killed. This attack led to the forming of the elite royal bodyguard known as the [[Kingsguard]] in {{Date|10}}. Visenya personally chose the men herself.  Lord Fell was also smothered in a brothel.{{ref|twoiaf| Aegon I}} Lord [[House Fell|Fell]] was murdered and the [[Wyl of Wyl]] committed atrocities, particularly in [[Fawnton]] and [[Old Oak]].
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Atop the Iron Throne, Aegon read the message. When he was done, he burned the letter, after which he left for [[Dragonstone]] upon [[Balerion]]'s back. He returned the next morning, agreed to the peace terms of Prince Nymor and signed a treaty. The contents of the letter are unknown, although many have speculated:  some believe it said that Rhaenys survived her fall at Hellholt, but was being kept captive in extreme torment, and the Dornish promised to end her suffering Aegon agreed to end the war; others suspect the letter stated that Nymor was willing to spend all of Dorne's gold to hire the [[Faceless Men]] of [[Braavos]] to assassinate Aegon's young son and heir, [[Aenys I Targaryen|Aenys]], if Aegon did not sign the peace.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
  
===Peace===
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Whatever had been in the letter, the result was an end to the nine-year war.
When Princess [[Meria Martell]] passed away in {{date|13}}, her elderly son, [[Nymor Martell|Nymor]], became ruling Prince of [[Sunspear]]. Having enough of war he sent his daughter, Princess [[Deria Martell]], to [[King's Landing]] with an escort as an peace envoy. She carried the skull of Rhaenys's dragon [[Meraxes]] - intended not as a threat but as a goodwill gift to Aegon - as well as a letter. The sight of the delegation's arrival angered many in the court, such as Orys and Visenya. Deria delivered her father's terms, stating Dorne wanted peace, but the peace of two sovereign kingdoms. Aegon was about to refuse this offer until Deria placed her father's letter in the Conqueror's hand.  
 
  
Atop the Iron Throne, Aegon read a message delivered from a Prince of Dorne. No one knows what was in that letter, as Aegon never spoke of it thereafter. Some say he rose from the throne clutching the letter, blood trickling from his hand. Some maesters and historians speculated that the Dornish held Rhaenys as an injured hostage and the Dornish would agree to end her suffering if Aegon ended the war; others speculate that it revealed the Dornish were willing to pay a massively expensive contract with the [[Faceless Men]], guaranteed to succeed, to assassinate Aegon's son and heir [[Aenys I Targaryen|Aenys]] (his only child by Rhaenys), which would only be called off if he agreed to peace; it may have been both, or neither.
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===Further wars===
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Although other Dornish wars would come, the peace treaty Aegon had signed lasted throughout his own reign. Aegon kept up good relations with Princess Deria, and visited [[Sunspear]] together with his eldest son, [[Aenys I Targaryen|Aenys]], on the tenth anniversary of the peace in {{Date|23}} for a "feast of friendship". Father and son came to Sunspear upon their [[dragon]]s, [[Balerion]] and [[Quicksilver]].{{Ref|FAB|The Sons of the Dragon}} Both of Aegon's sons, [[Aenys I Targaryen|Aenys I]] and [[Maegor I Targaryen|Maegor I]], made sporadic attempts to add Dorne to the realm during their reigns.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest}} Additionally, the Dornishmen opposed the Targaryens on several occasions during the peace. After the death of Aegon I, an [[outlaw]] known as the [[Vulture King (Aenys I)|Vulture King]] rose in the [[Red Mountains]] of [[Dorne]], gathering an army thirty some thousand strong. Although Princess Deria claimed the Dornish did all they could to put an end to the Vulture King, in truth they mostly ignored it. In the end, it came down to the Marcher lords to defeat the Vulture King, which they did during the [[Vulture Hunt]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}}
  
Whatever was in that letter, Aegon immediately burned it and flew to Dragonstone on Balerion.  When he returned the next day, he agreed to the peace terms and signed a treaty with Deria, after which he withdrew all of his forces from Dorne.
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In {{Date|48}}, as King [[Maegor I Targaryen]]'s tyrannical reign was falling apart, reports came in from the Dornish marches in the last months of his reign suggesting that the Dornishmen were gathering their forces in the mountain passes, preparing to invade the realm.{{Ref|FAB|The Sons of the Dragon}}
  
===Aftermath===
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During the reign of King [[Viserys I Targaryen]], King Viserys's brother [[Daemon Targaryen|Daemon]] and Lord [[Corlys Velaryon]] became involved in a struggle with the [[Triarchy]] over the [[Stepstones]]. Prince [[Qoren Martell]] gave his support to the Triarchy in this struggle.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons}}
  
The attempted conquest of Dorne ended in {{date|13}}. It was followed by other Dornish wars, and there were sporadic attempts to invade Dorne again later in the reigns of Aegon I, as well as both his sons.  After Aegon I himself died, an outlaw leader known as the [[Vulture King]] rose in the Red Mountains, amassing an army in the tens of thousands which raided into the Reach and the stormlands.  The [[Vulture Hunt]] which followed was essentially a proxy war between the Targaryens and Martells:  it was widely believed that the Martells were funding the Vulture King's activities with donations of gold, though this was never proven, and Aenys didn't want to escalate into another full-scale war. During the Vulture Hunt, Orys Baratheon avenged himself by capturing [[Walter Wyl]], son of the Wyl of Wyl, and cutting off his sword hand - and then his other hand and both his feet, which Orys claimed as his "usury".  Orys died of wounds he took in the campaign, but he died happy.{{ref|twoiaf| The Stormlands: House Baratheon}}
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Several decades later, [[Daeron I Targaryen]] decided to complete the Conquest with his own [[conquest of Dorne]]. And although he succeeded, his success did not last long, and it came at a high price.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Daeron I}}
  
Generations later, these other Dornish wars were followed by [[Daeron I Targaryen]]'s [[conquest of Dorne]], which succeeded where even Aegon I had failed - only to collapse again after only four years due to a protracted Dornish insurgency.{{ref|twoiaf| Dorne against the Dragons}}
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==References==
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{{References|2}}
  
==References and Notes==
 
{{References}}
 
 
{{Wars in Westeros}}
 
{{Wars in Westeros}}
  
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[[es:Primera guerra dorniense]]
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Revision as of 14:47, 10 February 2023

First Dornish War
Part of Wars of Conquest
Dragon's Wroth.png
Dragon's Wroth, as depicted by Michael Komarck in The World of Ice & Fire

Date 413 AC
Location Dorne
Result Targaryen withdrawal from Dorne
Belligerents
House Targaryen.svg Iron Throne/House Targaryen:
House Rosby.svg House Rosby
House Cafferen.svg House Cafferen
House Caron.svg House Caron
House Connington.svg House Connington
House Fell.svg House Fell
House Mertyns.svg House Mertyns
House Hightower.svg House Hightower
House Oakheart.svg House Oakheart
House Martell.svg Principality of Dorne/House Martell
House Dalt.svg House Dalt
House Dayne.svg House Dayne
House Fowler 2.svg House Fowler
House Jordayne.svg House Jordayne
House Qorgyle.svg House Qorgyle
House Santagar.svg House Santagar
House Toland.svg House Toland
House Vaith.svg House Vaith
House Uller.svg House Uller
Wyl.png House Wyl
House Yronwood.svg House Yronwood
Notable commanders
House Targaryen.svg King Aegon I Targaryen
House Targaryen.svg Queen Visenya Targaryen
House Targaryen.svg Queen Rhaenys Targaryen
House Baratheon.svg Lord Orys Baratheon
House Tyrell.svg Lord Harlen Tyrell
House Hightower.svg Ser Addam Hightower
House Martell.svg Princess Meria Martell
House Martell.svg Prince Nymor Martell
House Martell.svg Princess Deria Martell
WylCoA.png Lord Wyl of Wyl
House Fowler 2.svg Lord Fowler
House Dayne.svg Ser Joffrey Dayne
House Uller.svg Lord Uthor Uller
Strength
Forces of the Iron Throne:
  • 1,000 knights led by Lord Orys Baratheon
  • 2,000 knights, 300 lords and 27,700 men-at-arms led by King Aegon I Targaryen
  • Reach host led by Lord Harlen Tyrell
  • Balerion
  • Vhagar
  • Meraxes
Dornish Houses
Losses
Queen Rhaenys Targaryen
Meraxes
Lord Harlen Tyrell
Lord Jon Rosby
Garmon Hightower
Lord Oakheart
Lord Connington
Lord Mertyns
Lord Fell
Massive losses in manpower
Every castle save Sunspear burnt
Every holdfast, village and town burnt
Lord Uthor Uller
3 others Lords Uller†
Lord Fowler
Lord Vaith
Lady Toland

The First Dornish War was the second of the Wars of Conquest. House Targaryen began the war in an attempt to conquer Dorne, the only one of the Seven Kingdoms that had successfully resisted the Targaryens during Aegon's Conquest.[1][2]

Prelude

During Aegon's Conquest, Queen Rhaenys Targaryen was sent to conquer Dorne in her brother's name. Instead of confronting the Dornish spearmen guarding the Prince's Pass in the Red Mountains, Rhaenys flew over the pass on her dragon Meraxes to Vaith and Godsgrace. She found the castles abandoned an continued her journey to the Planky Town, where only women and children remained. At Sunspear, the seat of House Martell, she found Meria Martell, the aged Princess of Dorne, waiting in her otherwise abandoned castle. Meria defied Rhaenys, stating that they would neither fight nor kneel. Rhaenys warned the Princess of Dorne that the Targaryens would return "with fire and blood", but Meria replied simply with "You may burn us, my lady, but you will not bend us, break us, or make us bow. This is Dorne. You are not wanted here. Return at your peril." Rhaenys departed, but the Targaryens subsequent made no direct attempt to conquer the harsh deserts of Dorne, instead focusing on their main conquests in the heart of Westeros.[3]

As such, Dorne was the only kingdom not to be conquered by Aegon I Targaryen in his initial conquest.

History

Initial invasion

In 4 AC, King Aegon I Targaryen launched an invasion of Dorne, intend on completing his conquest of the Seven Kingdoms. However, although House Wyl led an assault against the Targaryen forces in the Boneway, the other Dornish lords abandoned their castles, neither willing to defend them nor willing to bend the knee.[1]

The first assault was led by Queen Rhaenys Targaryen. On her way to Sunspear, she seized the Dornish seats she encountered and had her dragon Meraxes burn the Planky Town. Meanwhile, King Aegon I and Lord Harlan Tyrell fought in the Prince's Pass, facing heavy resistance as their forces were ambushed by Dornish defenders who fled and hid as soon as the dragons took to the air, and Lord Orys Baratheon led a force through the Boneway. Lord Harlan Tyrell, while leading his army to Hellholt, saw many of his soldiers die of thirst and due to the heat. Those who finally managed to reach Hellholt found the castle to be deserted.[1]

King Aegon briefly besieged Yronwood, which was defended by a few handful of old men, boys, and women. He found Skyreach abandoned, but at Ghost Hill was challenged to single combat by Lord Toland's champion. After Aegon had killed the man with Blackfyre, he discovered that the "champion" had in truth been Lord Toland's mad fool. Worse, Ghost Hill turned out to be deserted as well.[1]

Lord Orys Baratheon fared worse in his assault up the Boneway. His army was pelted with rocks, arrows, and spears from above, while his men were murdered in the night. Towards the end, the Dornishmen blocked the Boneway both in front of Orys's army and behind, and the Wyl of Wyl managed to capture Lord Orys and many of his bannermen and knights. They would remain captives of House Wyl until 7 AC.[1][4]

When the Targaryens finally arrived at Sunspear, they discovered that Princess Meria had vanished. Declaring themselves victorious, King Aegon and Queen Rhaenys placed Dorne under the rule of the Iron Throne. They returned to King's Landing, leaving Lord Jon Rosby as castellan of Sunspear and Warden of the Sands, and charged Lord Harlan Tyrell with putting down any revolts that might arise.[1]

Full-out war

Meraxes and Rhaenys Targaryen are killed during the First Dornish War, as depicted by Chase Stone in The World of Ice & Fire.

Aegon and Rhaenys had only just returned to King's Landing when the Dornish rebelled against the Targaryens. From Sunspear's shadow city Dornishmen came forth, retaking the castle. Lord Rosby was captured, and thrown from a window atop the Spear Tower by Princess Meria Martell.[1] In 5 AC, Lord Harlan Tyrell marched his army from Hellholt, intend on taking Vaith and Sunspear. In the deserts of Dorne the entire army disappeared.[5]

Elsewhere, entire garrisons were put to the sword. The knights who had been in charge of the garrisons were horrifically tortured and mutilated.[1] Lord Wyl, called the Wyl of Wyl and the Widow-lover, eventually agreed to ransom back Lord Orys Baratheon and the other captured lords. In 7 AC, the captives were ransomed back for each man's weight in gold and set free. However, the Wyl of Wyl took off their sword hands, so they could "never take up arms against Dorne again". Orys became bitter and obsessed with revenge, and resigned his office as Hand of the King.[1]

Intent on revenge, King Aegon I unleashed his dragons. The castles who remained defiant were burned time and time again, whereupon the Dornishmen retaliated in 8 AC by setting half the rainwood on Cape Wrath ablaze and sacked half a dozen towns and villages.[1]

In 9 AC, the dragons struck again, burning several seats. The next year, Lord Fowler attacked Nightsong, taking its defenders hostage, while Ser Joffrey Dayne marched an army to Oldtown and razed the fields and villages nearby. The Targaryens unleashed their dragons a third time, this time upon Starfall, the seat of House Dayne, Skyreach, the seat of House Fowler, and Hellholt, the seat of House Uller. At Hellholt, the dragon Meraxes was shot down from the sky, with Queen Rhaenys Targaryen upon her back, when a bolt from a scorpion pierced the dragon's eye. Although Meraxes destroyed the castle's highest tower and part of its curtain wall in its fall, the death of both dragon and queen was the greatest success the Dornish had against the Targaryens.[1]

The Dragon's Wroth

The Dragon's Wroth, by Jota Saraiva ©

The grief Aegon and Visenya felt at the death of Rhaenys was great; the next two years would later be called the years of the Dragon's Wroth. The Targaryens burned every Dornish stronghold at least once, with the exception of Sunspear and its shadow city. The Dornish believed that the Targaryens refused to attack Sunspear because they were afraid that Princess Meria might have purchased a device from Lys to slay dragons with. Archmaester Timotty offers a different explanation, suggesting in his Conjectures that Aegon hoped this would instead turn the Dornish against the Martells. Indeed, letters have been discovered in which Marcher lords urge Dornish lords to surrender, while claiming that House Martell had purchased their safety from the dragons. Regardless of the truth, the Dornish lords and smallfolk remained loyal.[1]

Aegon and Visenya also placed bounties on the heads of Dornish lords, who, in turn, placed bounties on the Targaryens and their allies. Half a dozen Dornish lords were successfully assassinated, though only two of their killers ever lived to collect their bounties.[1] King Aegon was attacked on three occasions, and Visenya was attacked on several occasions as well. One day, when Aegon and Visenya were assaulted on the streets of King's Landing, only Visenya's swift intervention saved Aegon's life. This attack led to the creation of the elite royal bodyguard known as the Kingsguard in 10 AC.[1][2] Lord Fell was killed in a brothel in King's Landing,[1] while the Wyl of Wyl committed atrocities, particularly in Fawnton and Old Oak.[1]

Although Dorne was a blasted, burning ruin from the Red Mountains to the mouth of the Greenblood, the Dornish continued to fight.[1]

Aftermath

Peace treaty

The First Dornish War came to an end in 13 AC, when, following the death of Princess Meria Martell, her elderly son Nymor, now the ruling Prince of Dorne, sent his daughter Deria to King's Landing with an escort as an peace envoy. She brought with her the skull of Rhaenys's dragon Meraxes and a letter from Prince Nymor. The sight of the dragon's skull angered many at the royal court, such as Queen Visenya Targaryen and Lord Orys Baratheon, but Aegon refused to act against the delegation. Instead, Deria was allowed to deliver her father's terms. Prince Nymor wanted peace, but would not submit to the Iron Throne. Aegon was determined to refuse this offer, until Deria handed him her father's letter.[1]

Atop the Iron Throne, Aegon read the message. When he was done, he burned the letter, after which he left for Dragonstone upon Balerion's back. He returned the next morning, agreed to the peace terms of Prince Nymor and signed a treaty. The contents of the letter are unknown, although many have speculated: some believe it said that Rhaenys survived her fall at Hellholt, but was being kept captive in extreme torment, and the Dornish promised to end her suffering Aegon agreed to end the war; others suspect the letter stated that Nymor was willing to spend all of Dorne's gold to hire the Faceless Men of Braavos to assassinate Aegon's young son and heir, Aenys, if Aegon did not sign the peace.[1]

Whatever had been in the letter, the result was an end to the nine-year war.

Further wars

Although other Dornish wars would come, the peace treaty Aegon had signed lasted throughout his own reign. Aegon kept up good relations with Princess Deria, and visited Sunspear together with his eldest son, Aenys, on the tenth anniversary of the peace in 23 AC for a "feast of friendship". Father and son came to Sunspear upon their dragons, Balerion and Quicksilver.[6] Both of Aegon's sons, Aenys I and Maegor I, made sporadic attempts to add Dorne to the realm during their reigns.[3] Additionally, the Dornishmen opposed the Targaryens on several occasions during the peace. After the death of Aegon I, an outlaw known as the Vulture King rose in the Red Mountains of Dorne, gathering an army thirty some thousand strong. Although Princess Deria claimed the Dornish did all they could to put an end to the Vulture King, in truth they mostly ignored it. In the end, it came down to the Marcher lords to defeat the Vulture King, which they did during the Vulture Hunt.[7]

In 48 AC, as King Maegor I Targaryen's tyrannical reign was falling apart, reports came in from the Dornish marches in the last months of his reign suggesting that the Dornishmen were gathering their forces in the mountain passes, preparing to invade the realm.[6]

During the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen, King Viserys's brother Daemon and Lord Corlys Velaryon became involved in a struggle with the Triarchy over the Stepstones. Prince Qoren Martell gave his support to the Triarchy in this struggle.[1]

Several decades later, Daeron I Targaryen decided to complete the Conquest with his own conquest of Dorne. And although he succeeded, his success did not last long, and it came at a high price.[8]

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 The World of Ice & Fire, Dorne: Dorne Against the Dragons.
  2. 2.0 2.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon I.
  3. 3.0 3.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest.
  4. The World of Ice & Fire, The Stormlands: House Baratheon.
  5. The World of Ice & Fire, The Reach: House Tyrell.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Fire & Blood, The Sons of the Dragon.
  7. The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I.
  8. The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Daeron I.