Dorne

Dorne is the southernmost region of Westeros, a hot and arid land of deserts, mountains, and sun-scorched coasts, ruled by House Martell from Sunspear. The last of the Seven Kingdoms to be joined to the realm, Dorne preserves customs, laws, and a temperament markedly different from the rest of Westeros, the legacy of the Rhoynar who settled there under their warrior queen Nymeria.

Dorne is set apart from its neighbors by the great mountains of the Red Mountains and the wide deserts beyond. Dornishmen are darker, hotter-blooded, and prouder than other Westerosi in the common reckoning, and their rulers are styled Princes and Princesses rather than Lords, a title inherited from Nymeria.

Geography

Dorne is bounded by the Red Mountains to the north and west, which divide it from the Stormlands and the Reach, and by the sea to the south and east. Much of it is desert and dry mountain, though there are fertile pockets along the rivers and coasts. Sunspear, the Martell seat, lies on the eastern coast; other holdings include the Water Gardens, Yronwood, Starfall (House Dayne), Hellholt, and Ghaston Grey.

The Boneway and the Prince's Pass are the two great routes through the Red Mountains into the rest of Westeros, both easily defended, which has helped keep Dorne independent.

History

Dorne was originally settled by the First Men and Andals, but its character was transformed when Nymeria of the Rhoynar led ten thousand ships of refugees from Essos and married the Dornish lord Mors Martell, uniting Dorne under House Martell. Their Rhoynish customs, including equal inheritance regardless of sex, took root.

When Aegon the Conqueror invaded, Dorne alone resisted his dragons through guerilla war and refused to submit, remaining independent for nearly two centuries. Dorne was finally joined to the realm peacefully, by marriage, under Daeron II Targaryen, who wed the Dornish princess Myriah and gave his sister to the Prince of Dorne.

In the story

Dorne nurses a long grievance against House Lannister and the Iron Throne for the murder of Princess Elia Martell and her children during the Sack of King's Landing. Prince Doran Martell plays a patient, hidden game, while his brother Prince Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper, comes to King's Landing seeking vengeance and meets his end in a trial by combat. The schemes of the Dornish, including Oberyn's daughters the Sand Snakes, ripple through the later books.

Rulers

Dorne is held by House Martell, whose words are "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" and whose sigil is a red sun pierced by a golden spear. Its ruler bears the title Prince or Princess of Dorne.