Meria Martell

"You may burn us, my lady, but you will not bend us, break us or make us bow. This is Dorne, you are not wanted here. Return at your peril!"

- Meria Martell to Rhaenys Targaryen

Meria Martell was the Princess of the Principality of Dorne before and during Aegon's War of Conquest. When Rhaenys Targaryen went to Sunspear to demand Dorne's surrender to Targaryen rule, Meria turned her away with a warning not to return. This sparked the First Dornish War, in which the Targaryens attempted to subdue Dorne the same way they had defeated the armies of House Lannister and House Gardener in the Field of Fire. Unlike any other Westerosi leader at the time, she led her people through a successful defensive war. She died of natural causes after 9 years of war, and her son immediately secured a peace with the Targaryens. True to its words, House Martell remained unbroken through her rule.