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The '''War of the Five Kings''' was the great civil war that engulfed Westeros following the death of King [[Robert Baratheon]], named for the five men who at its height claimed kingship over all or part of the Seven Kingdoms at the same time. It is the central conflict of the early events of the realm's collapse, drawing in nearly every Great House and laying waste to the [[Riverlands]] and much of the south.

The five kings were [[Joffrey Baratheon]], who held the [[Iron Throne]] in King's Landing; [[Stannis Baratheon]] and [[Renly Baratheon]], Robert's brothers, each claiming the throne for himself; [[Robb Stark]], proclaimed King in the North and the Trident; and [[Balon Greyjoy]], who declared himself King of the Iron Islands.

== Outbreak ==
The war's spark was the death of King Robert and the secret behind his succession. [[Eddard Stark]], serving as Hand of the King, discovered that Robert's heirs -- [[Joffrey Baratheon|Joffrey]], [[Myrcella Baratheon|Myrcella]], and [[Tommen Baratheon|Tommen]] -- were not Robert's children at all, but the issue of [[Cersei Lannister]] and her twin brother [[Jaime Lannister|Jaime]]. Before Eddard could act, Robert died; Cersei seized power, and Eddard was arrested and executed for treason on Joffrey's order. His death drove the [[North]] and the [[Riverlands]] into open revolt, and the realm shattered.

== The War ==
With the Iron Throne held by the [[House Lannister|Lannisters]] in Joffrey's name, the claimants moved against it and one another. [[Robb Stark]] won a string of victories in the field and was crowned King in the North. [[Stannis Baratheon|Stannis]] and [[Renly Baratheon|Renly]] divided the loyalty of the [[Stormlands]] and [[Reach]] until Renly was slain by dark sorcery, and his strength -- and the swords of [[House Tyrell]] -- ultimately passed to the Lannister cause.

Stannis sailed against the capital and was broken at the [[Battle of the Blackwater]], where the Lannister-Tyrell alliance saved King's Landing. Meanwhile [[Balon Greyjoy]] fell upon the unguarded North, seizing [[Winterfell]] and the western coast. The Stark cause, triumphant in the field, was at last undone not in battle but by treachery: at the [[Red Wedding]], [[Robb Stark]] and his mother [[Catelyn Stark|Catelyn]] were murdered by the [[House Frey|Freys]] and [[House Bolton|Boltons]] in league with [[Tywin Lannister]].

== Aftermath ==
The deaths of Robb Stark and, soon after, Balon Greyjoy left the Lannisters and their Tyrell allies dominant, the Iron Throne secured for a time. But the war left the riverlands ruined, the North broken and resentful under Bolton rule, and the realm exhausted -- even as new threats gathered: the return of [[Daenerys Targaryen]] in the east and the stirring of the [[Others]] beyond the [[Wall]].

== Significance ==
The War of the Five Kings tore apart the order established by [[Aegon's Conquest]] and held together since [[Robert's Rebellion]]. It exhausted the great Houses against one another at the very hour the realm most needed unity, leaving Westeros divided and bleeding before the greater dangers still to come.

[[Category:Game of Thrones]]
[[Category:Events]]