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What Country Does Each Kingdom Represent Historically?


I.Know.Nothing

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This is something that I have been wondering since getting into ASOIAF. Martin must have modeled them after some sort of culture in history. Here are my guesses for some of them:

The North=Saxon

Westerlands=Germany

Iron Islands=Vikings(Martin said that himself)

Dorne=Mediterranean

The Riverlands=England

Free Cities=Persia

The Vale=Scandinavian

Any other ideas?

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Ancient Valyria is obviously the Roman Empire

with their "high valyrian" being the base language that was bastardized into languages of the Free Cities (latin to romance languages), and then highborn kids learning that from Maesters (anyone ever suffer thru latin in school?!) the famous stone roads spanning far and being so usable even centuries later and so on

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North and the First Men in general - Britons (Andals = Anglo-Saxons)

Iron Isles - Vikings obviously

Vale - Scotland (feudalism in the lowland, unruly clans in the highland)

Westerlands - England since 1066 (after the Norman invasion)

Reach - France

Dorne - Persia put into European context (during Sassanian period Persia had knighthood culture not unlike later European one)

Free Cities - Mediterranean city-states like Venice, Genoa, Dubrovnik, etc.

Valyria - Rome, and High Valyrian language is Latin, while various dialects developing into languages in the Free Cities are the Romanic languages that developed from the Latin dialects during the Middle Ages.

Slavers Bay - the Levant/ Middle East

Dothraki - nomads of the great steppes between Ukraine and Mongolia. Which is Scythians, Sarmatians, and various Turkic and Mongolic tribes.

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Go fuck yourself. If anyone fucks english up its Bostonians. Its a car not a caaaaar.

heeeeeeey now, we dun butcher English that bad up here!! now what the deep-South does to the language, thats a whole different story

besides, on the logic of crazy cheap workforce with a butchered language, anywhere on Mexican border would win then

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I've said this before and I still believe it.

Tywin Lannister represents the USA during the 20th century (the great wars and the cold one).

Except the US helped rebuild Japan and Germany after WWII (learning from their mistakes from WWI), while Tywin didn't do much to help the Houses he defeated/destroyed.
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because I clearly have too much time on my hands, another location just came to mind

The Sorrows aka Chroyane - Atlantis (hey, its ancient, legendary and very much drowned)

Valeria - Pompeii duuuh, The Doom and buried treasures (sorry, been staring at ads on subway for a Pomeii thing at MoS too long)

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The North = Pre-Norman England. Anglo-Saxon. The harrowing of the North comes be mind. :-(

The first man would be a merging of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon. Whilst the Wildlings would be Celtic.

The Riverlands = Post Norman England

Westerlands = Post Norman England as well, specifically 1337 and the start of the hundred year war. As well as Arch-Duchy of Austria under Charles V.

The Iron Isles = Viking Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Dorne = Spain with its differing parts. Castille, Leon = The stony Dornish i.e Christian spain. Aragon/Catalonia = salty dornish. Andulusia and those of moorish lineage (sp) = Sandy Dornish.

Vale = Scotland. The aristocracy being Anglo-Scots (lowlands) whilst the mountain tribes would be highland scots or celtic similar to the Widlings of the North.

The Reach = Capetian France post 1066 until the 13th Century. Weak ruler in Mace Tyrell with strong vassals where the rest of his family makes the decisions.

The Seven Kingdoms = The Empire of Justinian followed by that of Charlesmagne and finally the Holy Roman Empire. Where power of the Emperor has gone to only those of his vassals. From that then Kings Landing could be Constantinople as its a continuation of Valyria through the Targaryen Dynasty.

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Except the US helped rebuild Japan and Germany after WWII (learning from their mistakes from WWI), while Tywin didn't do much to help the Houses he defeated/destroyed.

He tryed to help rebuild the Riverlands and the North, forgave the Freys and the Boltons who had been his enemies (Joff wanted their heads even after the Red Wedding). The problem is that he died a few chapters after.

Edit: put quote

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Carthage.

Great trading city-state with sandy desert behind its back and located at the crossroads of the maritime trade.

Wasn't that desert-ish back then, actually ancient Rome got a lot of corn from Northern Africa.

North: Non-raiding viking parts pre 1000, and early celtic - Ireland? (not just because of the TV series ;))

Riverlands: France/Belgium/Germany (especially because of the resemblance to the situation in the 30-years-war)

West: England/Netherlands/Belgium/Northwestern Germany

Reach: Northern Italy (Milano etc.)

Vale: France (given their huge appraisal of chivalry)

Dorne: Spain, plus some stuff from further east (I like the Persian note someone mentioned)

Stormlands: Baltic States (?)

Northern Free Cities: Russia(?)

Valyria: definitely agree with Rome.

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