Military Capabilities of the Free Cities

[The Witch King of Braavos]

Our knowledge on the Free Cities of Essos is minute at best and near non-existent at worst. They are very diverse, differing in culture, location and policies, all of which effect their military might. We know that most, if not all, prefer to pay off their enemies, and when they do fight, they pay sellswords to do it for them. My deductions on their capabilities and potential are as follows:

Braavos: Located in a waterway of Laggons and Canals, with a cool, temperate climate, it is widely seen as the most powerful of the Free cities, it is the only one not of direct Valyrian descent and as such boasts a diverse and unique society. Its power is derived from its mighty War and Trade Fleets, the Arsenal of Braavos being the largest Shipyard of Planetos, turning out a ship every day. GRRM has provided us with more knowledge of Braavos than any other Free City. The only warriors we know of are the Bravos, who are swaggering peacocks who fight with small slender blades and practise the unique Braavosi combat form of Water dancing, which Syrio Forel demonstrates to be very effective. There are also the Sealords Guards, who we know little of, and many Braavosi serve in the Free Companies, most notably the Titans Bastard. The fact Braavos maintains one of the world’s mightiest War Fleets and a First Sword suggests it is among the most militaristic as well as richest, being the home of the richest bank in Planetos, the Iron Bank, who have a formidable reputation, so it has the capability to recruit a lot of Sellswords if necessary. It has come into conflict with the other Free Cities before, Volantis IIRC.

Lorath: Located on the western coast of the largest of three islands situated at the mouth of Lorath Bay, just south of the Shivering Sea and west of Braavos, it is the most obscure of all the Free Cities. All we have is a quote from Jorah Mormont on its insignificant economy, and the one person allegedly from here that appears in ASOIAF is Jaqen H'qar. The fact its surrounded by stormy seas, in a very cold climate and economically weak suggests its among the weakest of the Free Cities, and we have no information on its stance on the politics and conflicts of Essos.

Norvos: One of two of the Free Cities located in the interior of Essos, it serves as a gateway for trade caravans travelling along the Valyrian Roads of Essos between east and west. We know that it is home to several militant religious orders who protect the city, most notably the Bearded Priest of which Areo Hotah is one. We also know that it crushed a Volantene Fleet on Dagger Lake using Fire Galleys, alongside the fleet of Qohor. Located on the River Noyne and surrounded by smaller villages that support the city, we can infer that it is in a fertile location. This knowledge suggests it is both rich and possessing land and naval military might.

Qohor: Qohor is the easternmost of the Free Cities, and located on the boundaries of the Forest of Qohor and the banks of the river Qhoyne, it is renowned for its Craftsmen, some who claim to be able to rework Valyrian Steel, suggesting it has access to some of the finest armour and weapons available. It bears similarities to Norvos in the fact that it is one of two inland Free Cities, has at one point had a notable fleet of River Galleys, and is a crossroads of trade. It is famed for its Unsullied Guardsmen, who compose the entire defence force of the city, who won a famously bloody victory against a Dothraki horde, however in recent years it has resorted to merely paying the Dothraki off. Recently, the Red Priests followers have been rioting, creating significant instability when combined with the constant Dothraki threat. It seems to have considerable military potential.

Pentos: Pentos is one of the more populous and one of the richest Free Cities, located on the Eastern Seabord. The strength of the Magisters, its heavy focus on trade and the fact its ruled by the richest members of society suggest it is far more of a trading than military city, more than any other of the Free Cities, that relies on sellswords and bribery. Even the Unsullied in AGOT that we see appear to be far weaker than Danys. We do know, however, that when Khal Drogo arrived, the Magisters doubled the City Guard, which suggests the city is not totally inept at military actions. We may have a chance to see the strength of Pentos later, depending on the actions of Dany, the Tattered Prince and Ser Barristan.

Myr: Myr is one of three cities constantly skirmishing over the Disputed Lands, and is famed for its carpets, looking glasses and other fine goods. Located on the coast and south of Pentos, it was once ruled by Volantis before rebelling and overthrowing the Triarchs. It was on the brink of another three-way war at the conclusion of ADWD, and hired the Golden Company, before the GC broke their contract. Saladhorr Saans fleet contained a sizeable Myrish contingent. We can infer then, that Myr is a rich city, and it uses a lot of this money on sellswords, rather than personally fighting its enemies, and is used to war, as well as potentially possessing a war fleet.

Tyrosh: Another of the three cities constantly fighting over the Disputed Lands, it is situated on an island north of the stepstones and east of the Disputed Lands, it is renowned for its greed, constant fighting with Myr and Lys and its armour. It caused the downfall of the Tigers of Volantis when they were attacked and more recently was conquered by the ninepenny kings, the last of which was overthrown after 6 years of rule. Sellswords are a common presence in the city, suggesting Tyrosh is a more militaristic state than many of its peers, supported by its conflicts in the Disputed Lands. Its war with Lys has ended, but a fresh war against Myr seems imminent. Tyrosh. Tyrosh was originally part of Doran Martells plans for Arriane to meet Viserys, which hints at ambitions in Westeros, perhaps they were offered the Stepstones for their support.

Lys: The secord southernmost of the Free cities and the final one notorious for warring over the Disputed Lands, it is one of the smaller Free Cities, yet has a population greater than Astapor and is believed to be one of the most populous. It is located on the largest of three islands, which again suggests a potentially strong navy. To support this, we know the notorious Salladhor Saan and the majority of his remaining fleet is from Lys. Lys is famous for its alchemists and poisons. Lys appears to be quite a strong maritime power, but like most of the other Free Cities relies on Sellswords over their own troops.

Volantis: The city we undoubtedly possess the most information on militarily, Volantis’s strong military tradition declined around the time of Aegons Conquest, when they lost control of Myr and Lys, and lost many of its fleets and armies. However it is still formidable. It recently launched its fleet against Dany, between 300-500 ships, many teeming with slave soldiers and of a high quality. The population ratio of Slaves to Free Citizens is around 5:1, as such the cities army mainly compromises of slave soldiers known as Tigers, who appear to be numerous and competent. Most of these Slave Soldiers worship R’hlorr, as do most of the other Slaves in the city, and a Red Rebellion looms over the city. Volantis is also massively wealthy, so it could spend fortunes on Sellswords if required. And would prove a rich prize for its captor.

To end, it seems reasonable to assume Braavos and Volantis could have a population of around 1 million, and the others ranging between 250,000-750,000. Additionally, besides Norvos and Volantis, none of the other cities seem to have noteable possessions and territories outside of the cities.

So, what do you think each city is capable of in these three categories, Naval, Sellsword, Army and who would you say are the most or least powerful, reasons why etc.

P.S This is my first topic, so please excuse bad layout and other mistakes/issues.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

Interesting topic, but I'm afraid I don't have much to add.

Pentos is one of the more populous and one of the richest Free Cities, located on the Eastern Seabord.

You mean the western seaboard. :) Essos is in the East, but that's its west coast.

[Fightbringer]

Is it explicitly mentioned that norvos and volantis are the only free cities to hold other possessions outside of there city, or is it just only said those two have them, without mentioning the other 7?

Because I'm pretty sure that all the others would hold some territory outside of there own city, i mean if you look at the historical inspirations (Ancient Greece,Renaissance Italy) similar city states held some possessions outside of their main settlement

[The Witch King of Braavos]

Interesting topic, but I'm afraid I don't have much to add.

You mean the western seaboard. :) Essos is in the East, but that's its west coast.

Stupid mistake

Is it explicitly mentioned that norvos and volantis are the only free cities to hold other possessions outside of there city, or is it just only said those two have them, without mentioning the other 7?

Because I'm pretty sure that all the others would hold some territory outside of there own city, i mean if you look at the historical inspirations (Ancient Greece,Renaissance Italy) similar city states held some possessions outside of their main settlement

I'm pretty sure Myr, Lys, Tyrosh, Lorath, and Braavos don't. Pentos may have a few holdings, and Qohor there's no evidence either way

[Fat Mac]

Good summary. I'd definitely put Volantis and Braavos at 1 and 2 (though I'm not sure which city takes which spot), and Lorath at number 9 for sure. It stands to reason that the Lorathi might be relatively isolationist, give our lack of knowledge on it, its location, and the lack of characters we see from it.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

Interesting thread, but far too much baseless speculation for my taste. Still, could turn interesting.

Braavos: The only warriors we know of are the Bravos, who are swaggering peacocks who fight with small slender blades and practise the unique Braavosi combat form of Water dancing, which Syrio Forel demonstrates to be very effective.

Qohor: It is famed for its Unsullied Guardsmen, who compose the entire defence force of the city, who won a famously bloody victory against a Dothraki horde, however in recent years it has resorted to merely paying the Dothraki off. Recently, the Red Priests followers have been rioting, creating significant instability when combined with the constant Dothraki threat. It seems to have considerable military potential.

Volantis: The city we undoubtedly possess the most information on militarily, Volantis’s strong military tradition declined around the time of Aegons Conquest, when they lost control of Myr and Lys, and lost many of its fleets and armies. However it is still formidable. It recently launched its fleet against Dany, between 300-500 ships, many teeming with slave soldiers and of a high quality. The population ratio of Slaves to Free Citizens is around 5:1, as such the cities army mainly compromises of slave soldiers known as Tigers, who appear to be numerous and competent. Most of these Slave Soldiers worship R’hlorr, as do most of the other Slaves in the city, and a Red Rebellion looms over the city. Volantis is also massively wealthy, so it could spend fortunes on Sellswords if required. And would prove a rich prize for its captor.

Braavos: Water Dancers are next to useless in war. It's a sport and something to settle issues cloak&dagger style in the streets, not on the battlefield.

Quohor: Hasn't been involved in a war for ~300 years. And the attack by the Dothraki was laughably suicidal. No evidence for a mlitary powerhouse.

Volantis: The Volantene wargalleys can't be compared to the Westerosi and Braavosi ones. Since the Volantenes use slave oarsmen chained to their oars, who are neither as effective as oarsmen nor would reinforce the assault troop during boarding actions, their effect in battle has to be rated several levels below them.

I'm pretty sure Myr, Lys, Tyrosh, Lorath, and Braavos don't. Pentos may have a few holdings, and Qohor there's no evidence either way

Myr, Lys and Tyrosh definitely have holdings. Fighting over the Disputed Lands would be senseless without holdings at least there :cool4: The others have some as well, most likely.

[MotherAnduin]

Braavos is at war frequently. They have fought Pentos and Lys recently. They want to carve out an empire or at least a sphere of influence.

[Valandui]

Probably the capabilities of whichever sellsword companies they hire.

[MotherAnduin]

Probably the capabilities of whichever sellsword companies they hire.

Cat says Free Cities have standing armies. We have seen the army of Volantis.

[Djinn]

Ilyrio, a pentoshi magister, has several holdings along the Andalos region, so it's likely that other pentoshi also have it. Braavos must at least control the lands were the aqueduct is supplied from. I think it's fare to say that the surrond territories without significant settlements are under these cities.

Can't wait to see some Braavosi tercios in action. And the Volanthene tiger might be a version of the janissary or mamluk(or maybe that's the Unsullied).

Also roperas for Braavos, battleaxes for Norvos, cutlasses for Tyrosh, falchion for Pentos and sablia, scimitar for Volanthis, Myr and Lys.

[Veltigar]

Ilyrio, a pentoshi magister, has several holdings along the Andalos region, so it's likely that other pentoshi also have it. Braavos must at least control the lands were the aqueduct is supplied from. I think it's fare to say that the surrond territories without significant settlements are under these cities.

Can't wait to see some Braavosi tercios in action. And the Volanthene tiger might be a version of the janissary or mamluk(or maybe that's the Unsullied).

Also roperas for Braavos, battleaxes for Norvos, cutlasses for Tyrosh, falchion for Pentos and sablia, scimitar for Volanthis, Myr and Lys.

I'd venture a guess that the Unsullied are more akin to Greek Hoplites. I think that early Mamluks are a good comparison when it comes to attitude (although we haven't seen which weapons the Volantinians use).

This thread is quite interesting since I always wondered which free city was the most powerful... It must be either Braavos or Volantis. But which one exactly...

[Tyrus Martell]

Good summary, not a topic that has been touched on too much on here.

I do think from what we've been provided in the text, it's clear Volantis and Braavos have the biggest military might out of the Nine Free Cities.

Braavos itself is the only Free City comprised of a non-slave population (1 million), where slaving is banned. I'd imagine its military force is comprised of its actual citizens, whereas other countries like Qohor, Lys, Myr and Tyrosh rely on slaves, pirates, sellswords and each other to win their conflicts.

Hell, just look at the back-and-forth switches of those three countries: Tyrosh and Lys nearly go to war with Myr in ACOK before Myr turns the tide and wins Tyrosh over to its side by ASOS. They don't have the strength on their own to pose threats to each other.

Braavos seems to have ha its own forces, sellswords and, of course, two of the bigger threats that we haven't seen enough of yet: The Iron Bank and its private forces, and Faceless Men. It'd have to be strong enough to remain the only city without any dealings whatsoever in slavery.

Volantis seems like a huge city and there's no doubt they can take on any threat considering the level of ships and men they're sending over to Mereen in ADWD.

Lorath is dead last due to its geographic isolation and lack of mention in any of the social or political conflicts of the other eight cities. I do find myself intrigued with its mystery, however, and while I don't believe Ja'qen H'ghar's claim he is Lorathi, there is something important in that little port.

[blood of the dragoon]

I think you underestimate volantis's population. According to the show (so take it with a grain of salt) kings landing has a population of a million, and volantis dwarfs it.

[Djinn]

I'd venture a guess that the Unsullied are more akin to Greek Hoplites. I think that early Mamluks are a good comparison when it comes to attitude (although we haven't seen which weapons the Volantinians use).

This thread is quite interesting since I always wondered which free city was the most powerful... It must be either Braavos or Volantis. But which one exactly...

True, the hoplite(shield, spear, falcata) seems to be a better analog for the Unsullied. I just mentioned the mamluk or janissaries because since i picture Volanthis as a Constantinople analog, the janissaries imediately come to mind, the tigers have this proud attitude of a career slave-soldier very much like the mamluk,and of course there's the religious insurrection subplot that also echoes the janissary/mamluk power plays.

The reason why i sugested those weapons was because, in the Norvoosi case, Areo mentions the traditon of axe fighting. The Tyroshi and Lyseni live in islands, so they are mostly a ''sea-people'', which should reflect on their weapons, so cutlass and falchion were favored by sailors(due to size/ease to use). Myr, Pentos and Volanthis are in the continent so they likely posses large areas of influence, and since on land, cavalery is very important, it seemed likely that a longer curved weapon like scimitar or saber would be popular. The ropera for Braavos is because they seemed the most advanced nation so far, favor the stabbing/quick kill in combat and lighter equipment, the Latin vibe, so ropera would be the next step after the longsword.

As for the Volanthis/Braavos choice, i think is very close, likely Braavos is stronger in sea, but Volanthis better on land.

[James Arryn]

My assumption has always been the the FC are premised on the Italian/Med mercantile powers, such as Venice, Genoa, Naples and so forth. Venice in particular as a parallel for Braavos and the arsenal's theoretical output of a ship/day if maxed.

That assumptions also includes the high degree of condottieri (free companies, mercenaries, etc.) with the Golden Company being reasonably based on the White Company. As such you have a higher percentage of irregular forces and specifically the general pattern would be a very high % of forces of a nautical or what we would term marine capability, mostly used to secure trade routes and ports along the way, with extended land conflicts being almost exclusively conducted through mercenary forces or temporary alliances with external powers. Individually, hard to quantify the way you would a state like France or he Reach because so much depends on need. Think of a more corporate mindset rather than national service. So in periods of specific need or as in the case of the Fourth Crusade of perceived opportunity, force projection can multiply significantly. But at other times the fat would be trimmed rather ruthlessly in a way that an extended land state would never feel comfortable doing as it would be essentially inviting invasion.

There are of course significant differences. The 2 primary being that there is no Papal authority smack dab in the middle of things which constantly reshuffles the strategic deck, and although he has tried to create the idea with the Disputed Lands, GRRM has failed to reflect the external fears of consolidation always came into play re: Italy. The one thing everyone in Europe could agree on was that they didn't want the other guy to control all of Italy. So whenever that was anywhere near happening, all of the sudden the relative big brothers would weigh in on the sides of what might otherwise seem insignificant powers or disputes. Again, the response to Volantis is GRRM's version, but it falls a bit short, at least so far.

But the resulting sense that everything was fluid, that treachery and greed and constantly shifting strategic ground is the not, rather than the exception are reasonably accurate. Aside for the Butcher King, we haven't seen warlords carve out petty kingdoms in this environment as was constantly happening and unhappening in Europe (Sforza, for ex.) which also serves to maintain instability.

So don't think quantifiable force projection in the same way you would with the 7K or with mainland Europe, because the numbers of constant forces and the numbers of forces that would be employed at max are vastly different, as are the numbers that could be depended on or shift loyalties. Also when at max projection the forces will consist of a much higher % of professional soldiers...which is an advantage when contrasted with a nation state without much recent conflict experience, but a disadvantage when facing a hardened standing army.

[Tyrion1991]

I actually think Essos is based much more on the Byzantine Empire than it is on Italy. Volantis tried to remake the older Valyrian empire just like Justinian tried to remake Rome and in the end failed. Now its capital is an under populated ruin looking to its faded glory and past; just like medieval Constantinople. Its also a very similar geographic set up to Anatolia with the interior controlled by nomadic horsemen (dothraki/turkish) and coastal urban dwellers who are fractured and disunited (Greeks/Free Cities). At the time you had several splinter states of Byzantium such as the Despotate of Epirus, Trebizond and Ephesus. Especially in terms of decay and faded glory I think Essos is much more grounded in that history than in Italy.

If we're looking at unity. Historically this occured when the turkish tride called the Ottomans conquered and united everyone into a single empire and took Constantinople which they made their new capital before moving west to invade Westeros. In fact there are other comparisons to the Ottomans in the Unsullied. Both were elite corps of infantry trained from infancy as slaves. Cosmetically they both also had spiked helmets. Now, given that Dany just got an army of Jannisaries and is about to get an army of Dothraki (Turkish nomads) and aims to conquer Volantis (Constantinople) before moving into Western Europe (Westeros); you get the idea.

I think you can estimate army strength by looking at total population and taking the percent that would on average be soldiers in a pre modern society. Which I think was 1%, might be more though. So if Mereen has 500,000 people in it then it could support a maximum of 50,000 soldiers. If Pentos has a million people then it would be 100,000. So if you can find any reference to how many or how big each city/group of cities population is then you can guess at this. BTW Volantis owns at least one other city called Selhorys.

[The Witch King of Braavos]

I think you underestimate volantis's population. According to the show (so take it with a grain of salt) kings landing has a population of a million, and volantis dwarfs it.

I think it has around half that in the books.

True, the hoplite(shield, spear, falcata) seems to be a better analog for the Unsullied. I just mentioned the mamluk or janissaries because since i picture Volanthis as a Constantinople analog, the janissaries imediately come to mind, the tigers have this proud attitude of a career slave-soldier very much like the mamluk,and of course there's the religious insurrection subplot that also echoes the janissary/mamluk power plays.

The reason why i sugested those weapons was because, in the Norvoosi case, Areo mentions the traditon of axe fighting. The Tyroshi and Lyseni live in islands, so they are mostly a ''sea-people'', which should reflect on their weapons, so cutlass and falchion were favored by sailors(due to size/ease to use). Myr, Pentos and Volanthis are in the continent so they likely posses large areas of influence, and since on land, cavalery is very important, it seemed likely that a longer curved weapon like scimitar or saber would be popular. The ropera for Braavos is because they seemed the most advanced nation so far, favor the stabbing/quick kill in combat and lighter equipment, the Latin vibe, so ropera would be the next step after the longsword.

As for the Volanthis/Braavos choice, i think is very close, likely Braavos is stronger in sea, but Volanthis better on land.

Interesting summary, I agree with it

[Ours if the Fury]

Over all, this being an estimate i reckon they could filed all togtether ...

Horse: 80,000 + (if you include dothraki 180,000)

Foot: 600,000 Pluse

Ships: 600 +

Did i miss anything??

[Riptide]

I think you underestimate volantis's population. According to the show (so take it with a grain of salt) kings landing has a population of a million, and volantis dwarfs it.

Where did the show say that? In S3E7 Jamie is talking to Qyburn and he says he saved half a million people.

[SeanF]

Braavos rules a coastline extending for a couple of hundred miles Southwards. I expect it has a considerable hinterland as well. Volantis has extensive inland territories, as does Pentos.

Militarily, I should think Braavos and Volantis are the strongest. Of the two, I'd favour Braavos, as it seems to be the more efficient of the two states. Its navy seems to be virtually unbeatable, whereas I suspect the same is not true of the Volantene navy. It possesses the Iron Bank, which gives the state the ability to raise the funds that are necessary for war. No other bank in Essos is anything like as powerful.

The comparison between Volantis and Constantinople is apt. Volantis is powerful and rich, but clearly past its best.