In the last episode in our series on the history of Westeros, we talked about Robert’s rebellion
and how it managed to defeat the Targaryen’s ending their centuries-long reign. But not
everyone was happy to accept the reign of the new dynasty - the Baratheons. In this episode,
we will talk about the history of the Iron Isles, why the Ironborn were so
antagonistic with the mainlanders and the Ironborn rebellion of Balon Greyjoy.
The Iron Islanders, like everyone else, might have been worried about the coming apocalypse,
The Long Night, and armies of the dead. But life always finds a way, which is what happened
on the world of Arora, a tabletop fantasy rpg by Ghostfire Games, the sponsor of this video.
Planet Arora was split into five realms in the aftermath of a magical doomsday that ended an
ancient war. However now life is a battle for survival in a variety of hellscapes,
where the old allies of mankind, the dragons, have become savage and hostile.
This fifth edition D&D campaign gives you a gritty and extreme adventure, focused on survival,
wilderness, and exploration. It’s got a custom character creation system where all players have
unique ancestral abilities, and can choose a variety of abilities based on their species.
It also comes with an improved version of the fifth edition’s advantage system
with more choices for players and game masters. This game is launching on kickstarter,
and if you pledge to support it there you can get access to their special edition dragon dice,
and a gargantuan dragon model, Torishivar: The Crimson Doom.
With their All-In pledge, shipping and handling for all rewards is included, so there’ll be no
sneakily increasing shipping fees later as many Kickstarters have been doing recently.
Check it all out at arorarpg.com, link in the description.
Thousands of years before Robert's Rebellion, the Iron Isles were settled by the First Men.
As the Children of the Forest didn’t live here, they developed their own religion focusing on
the worship of the Drowned God with the Priests of the Isles claiming they were not in fact First Men
but rather had been created in the image of the Drowned God. Even at this early stage the Isles
were disorganized and warlike, with a Rock King ruling the land and a Salt King commanding at sea,
with these petty kings chosen by Kingsmoots in constant conflict. This changed when a priest of
the Drowned God Galon Whitestaff decreed that it was sinful for Ironborn to war with one another.
Other priests preached this, until each of the Kings agreed to convene the first proper Kingsmoot
on Old Wyk in order to elect a High King. It was not to be a hereditary title and the High
Kings were to be known as Driftwood Kings. This unification allowed the Ironborn to
begin conquering other lands as opposed to the disorganized raids of the past.
Under Qhored the Cruel, they were able to conquer much of the Western Coast of Westeros with Bear
Island, the Arbor and Oldtown falling under their rule. His successors would however lose much of
these lands as the Lannisters, Hightowers and Gardeners began to grow influential.
While numerous Houses would take on the role of High King,
the Greyirons began to become the preeminent rulers.
High King Urragon IV’s dying wish was that the Kingship pass to his great-nephew Urron, but
the priests insisted that a Kingsmoot be called to decide this and it was duly conducted on Old Wyk.
Here Urron slaughtered all those who attended among them Thirteen Kings and fifty Priests,
establishing the hereditary rule of House Greyiron and abolishing the title of High King. The roles
of Rock and Salt Kings were eliminated, with all other Kings lowered to the rank of Lords.
The rule of the King of the Iron Islands now depended primarily upon the strength of each
individual King. As a result, the Greyirons faced half a dozen rebellions which nearly
ended their rule. The mainland Kings used this disunity, with Garth VII Gardener, driving the
Ironborn from the Shield Islands and further fortifying the islands to prevent any raids.
With the coming of the Andals, these mainland Kings were also capable of
building far stronger ships which could now go toe to toe with the longships of the Ironborn.
The wooden stockades of the First Men were replaced by stone castles
not only in the Reach but also the Riverlands and the Westerlands with these more comprehensive
defences counteracting the lightning raids of the Ironborn effectively. The Greyirons lost
much of their strength and were replaced by House Hoare after a thousand years of hereditary rule.
The Hoares had intermarried with the Andals when they arrived upon the Isles
and the Priests of the Drowned Gods deemed them to be heretical and unworthy Kings due
to their tolerance of the Faith of the Seven and for encouraging trade in place of raiding.
This contravention of the old ways eventually led to a rebellion by the priests
led by a priest known as the Shrike, who overthrew King Harmund and mutilated his
mother Lelia Lannister leading to a long war with the Lannisters leaving the Iron Islands in an
impoverished state and unable to effectively deal with what came to be known as the Famine Winter.
It took many centuries for the Ironborns to [fall?] and they now traded freely with the
coastal cities of Westeros and Free Cities, having lost all of their mainland holdings
and lacking in the military might they once possessed. They were further forced
to raid in far more distant areas such as the Basilisk Isles, Stepstones and Disputed Lands.
Generations before the coming of the Targaryens and their conquest of the Seven Kingdoms,
King Qhorwyn the Cunning who advocated peace above all else built a large fleet in order to deter any
attacks on his Kingdom by the Great Houses of the mainland. His son King Harwyn Hardhand was however
a man of immense ambition and used this fleet to conquer the Trident from the Storm King Arrec
Durrandon, with his grandson King Harren the Black beginning construction of Harrenhal which was to
be the largest castle in all of Westeros on the North Shore of the Gods Eye in central Westeros.
The cost of its construction emptied the coffers of the Iron islands. Their conquest and the
fortifications were to prove inconsequential anyways. Aegon’s arrival prompted Lord Edmyn
Tully and the rest of the River Lords to rebel, in spite of this Harren refused to surrender to Aegon
believing his castle to be capable of weathering whatever would be thrown at him.
In response to this refusal Aegon mounted the Dragon Balerion the Black Dread and flew above
the fortifications, roasting Harren and his sons and reducing the once mighty castle to a ruin.
The majority of Harren’s supporters were killed on this day with many more being slaughtered by
the River Lords on their retreat to the Isles. In 2 AC Aegon invaded the Iron Islands defeating the
pretenders to Harren’s throne. He then allowed the defeated Ironborn to elect a new Lord of
the Iron Islands, namely Lord Vickon Greyjoy who now ruled as a vassal to the Targaryens.
The subsequent Lords of the Iron Islands took a cautious approach in order to avoid provoking the
wrath of Dragonlords. During the Dance of Dragons however the Lord Dalton Greyjoy began raiding
again even going so far as to capture some of the Westerlands, however he was murdered in 133 AC by
a concubine and a struggle for power ensued due to his two sons being in their infancy. The angered
Targaryens under lady Johanna Lannister allied with Ser Leo Costayne in 134 AC in order to invade
the Islands to claim some form of retribution for this assault although she ultimately failed
to place her son Lord Loreon Lannister upon the Seastone Chair. During Aerys I’s reign Lord Dagon
Greyjoy who came to be known as the Last Reaver led the Ironborn once more to the Western Coast
of the mainland and mercilessly raided the region. The Iron Islands would however support the Iron
Throne during the War of the Ninepenny Kings, with Lord Quellon Greyjoy himself personally leading
a hundred longships to fight in the Stepstones. Quellon would outlaw thralldom in the Isles and
wished to further integrate the Iron Islands into the broader realm, but he maintained a cautious
nature during Robert’s Rebellion initially pursuing neutrality. However, as we covered
in the last video he initially sided with Robert before being killed at the Battle at the Mander.
Quellon was succeeded by his eldest son Balon, who rejected the approach taken by his father and
wished to return to the old way of paying the Iron price and re-establishing an independent
Iron Islands for the Ironborn. This would not be feasible in the immediate aftermath of Quellon’s
death, as Robert maintained much in the way of support and strength following the end of the
Targaryens. Robert’s brother Stannis was tasked with building a new royal fleet and storming
the last Targaryen redoubt of Dragonstone where Queen Rhaella Targaryen yet remained.
The assault on the island took place nine months after the battle of the Trident in 284 AC.
Rhaella had died giving birth to Daenarys Targaryen and a vicious storm battered the
castle that same night destroying the Targaryen fleet which lay at anchor.
Stannis received news that the castle’s garrison was ready to sell out Targaryen heirs - Viserys
and Daenerys. However, right before Stannis approached Dragonstone, Ser Willem Darry and
four other Targaryen loyalists saved the children by crossing the Narrow Sea and making it to Essos.
Dragonstone was gifted to Stannis, as Robert, furious with his brother for failing to capture
the Targaryen children, gave the Baratheon seat of Storm’s End to his younger brother Renly.
The support for Robert was not universal with many referring to him as the Usurper,
among them Prince Oberyn of Dorne who planned a rebellion to install Viserys as King
in retribution for the deaths of Elia Martell and her children. However, he was dissuaded
by Jon Arryn who travelled to Dorne personally. Robert also maintained no wish to marry following
on from the death of Lyanna and as such was less than enthusiastic about marrying Cersei Lannister
in 284 AC, however he also recognised the need for Lannister support. The marriage
was successful to a certain extent stabilizing the realm further and also providing three remarkably
blonde children - Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen. Still, Balon presumed that Robert’s rule was a
weak one and that he lacked support amongst the nobility of his Kingdom,
so over the next five years the Lord of the Iron Islands constructed the Iron Fleet
consisting of one hundred war galleys. He presumed that Robert would not be able to muster a
sufficient counterattack to defeat the Ironborn in case they attack the mainland. In 289 AC some six
years into the reign of Robert Baratheon, Balon proclaimed himself King of the Iron Islands and
was crowned under Nagga’s Ribs on Old Wyk. Believing control of the Sunset Sea would be
vital in the conflict to come and the eventual success or failure of his fledgling Kingdom,
Balon placed great stock in a plan devised by his brother Euron. The Iron Fleet commanded by
another brother - Victarion made its way to Lannisport in the Westerlands. Here
Victarion threw the first torch upon the Flagship of the Warden of the West Tywin Lannister’s fleet
and the remaining thirty ships were likewise destroyed in the burning.
Balon, hearing the news, responded in a characteristically over confident manner
declaring, “The sea shall be my moat, and woe to any man who dares to cross it.”
This victory allowed King Balon to send a contingent of Longships and reavers to storm the
seat of House Mallister Seagard under his eldest son Rodrik. The battle which took place beneath
the walls was fierce, with no love lost between the mainlanders and the marauding Ironborn.
This represented the only time in three hundred years that the bronze bell housed within the
Booming Tower of Seagard was rang in order to call the townsfolk to safety within the castle
when Longships were sighted. The battle was to be a crushing defeat for the Islanders,
as Lord Jason Mallister killed Rodrik Greyjoy in single combat, crushing the morale of the raiders,
before driving them back into the Sunset Sea. This not only cost Balon his heir but
also prevented the Ironborn from taking any of the wealthy regions of the Riverlands.
The early momentum lost, the Greyjoys now braced for the inevitable counter attack by the forces
of the crown. Unfortunately, they faced one of the great tacticians of their age in Stannis
Baratheon, Lord of Dragonstone and Master of Ships. Stannis merged the royal fleet with that
of the Redwyne Fleet from the Arbor and also a number of ships coming from Oldtown and the Reach.
The battle which was to decide the war took place in the Straits of Fair Isle Victarion’s
Iron Fleet was in position within the straights with the island of Fair Isle to their West and the
Westerlands to their East. Stannis had calculated their positioning however and split his navy in
two, trapping the Iron Fleet from both the North and South, effectively surrounding the Ironborn.
The youngest Greyjoy brother Aeron’s ship Golden Storm was destroyed by Stannis’ flagship, he was
washed ashore where he was captured and brought to Casterly Rock in chains, likewise the two
sons of Rodrik Harlaw were killed in the battle. The Ironborn navy was effectively destroyed and
this ended the threat posed by the Ironborn, allowing for an invasion of the Isles proper.
Stannis subdued the island of Great Wyk in Robert’s name, while Ser Barristan Selmy Lord
Commander of the Kingsguard and widely regarded as the most effective warrior in the Seven Kingdoms
successfully smashed all resistance upon Old Wyk, likewise Harlaw and Orkmont were quickly pacified.
The final battle of the war took place upon the island of Pyke and the Crown’s forces
were commanded by King Robert Baratheon I and his Warden of the North Eddard Stark.
The force amassed by the Crown was immense, with thousands of battle-hardened warriors
from Robert’s Rebellion landing upon the island which housed the seat of the Greyjoys.
Taking stock of the situation, the decision was taken to raze Botley castle and the
town of Lordsport, prior to commencing the main attack on the Castle of Pyke.
Siege engines were assembled and a bombardment of the Southern wall ensued,
before long the main watchtower was brought down which destroyed much of the surrounding
wall. Maron Greyjoy who was the second of King Balon’s three sons was killed in this bombardment,
leaving only his youngest son Theon in the male line. The destruction of the watchtower opened
up a sizable breach in the wall, the forces of the King rushed forward, first among them a red priest
of R’hllor from the Free City of Myr named Thoros who had been sent to the Seven Kingdoms initially
in order to convert a fire obsessed King Aerys II to convert, before later joining Robert’s court.
The image of this Red Priest hefting a blade coated in wildfire rushing ahead of the rest
of the force and being first through the breach, was one all who took part in the battle that day
would never forget. Not far behind the Priest many considered to be a lunatic,
was Jorah Mormont of Bear Island who went on to earn a Knighthood in recognition of his
bravery that day, making his mark in taking the castle in spite of the fierce fighting,
with Ser Jacelyn Bywater likewise earning his Knighthood that day for similar feats.
With the Castle taken Balon Greyjoy was utterly defeated and forced to bend the knee to King
Robert swearing his fealty once more to the Iron Throne. In order to add insult to injury,
his only remaining son Theon who was nine years of age at the time was given to Lord
Eddard Stark as a hostage in order to ensure the loyalty of the Ironborn.
The king then celebrated this great victory with a Tourney at Lannisport, the same place where a year
prior the entire insurrection had commenced. The winner of the Joust that day was Lord
Jorah Mormont who was awarded the victory after breaking nine lances against Ser Jaime Lannister.
He would go on to name Lynesse Hightower as his Queen of Love and Beauty before successfully
requesting her hand in marriage that same night from her father Lord Leyton Hightower.
While the realm returned to peace and Robert basked in the adulation of the people following
on from his great victory, the Rebellion proved that Robert could not command the
same respect from his vassals that the previous Targaryen Kings had. Discontent remained in Dorne
and more importantly in his bedchamber, as his wife Cersei Lannister hated him.
This brings us to the events detailed within A Game of Thrones and in the next episode we
will talk about the end of Robert’s reign and the beginning of the War of the Five Kings.
We are planning to cover the battles of many other fantasy, sci-fi, and space opera universes,
so make sure you have subscribed and pressed the bell button! Please, consider liking and sharing,
as it helps immensely, and don’t forget to comment - we will try to read and respond to every comment
as we want to know what you think about this video and which videos you hope to see
in the future! This is the Wizards and Warriors channel and we’ll catch you on the next one!