Kingdom of Sarnor

"The Dothraki tide slammed first into the Sarnori, who called themselves the Tall Men, and whose ancient kingdom dominated the grasslands of Essos."

- Jorah Mormont

The Kingdom of Sarnor was an ancient kingdom located in the grasslands of Essos. Its occupants were the Sarnori, also known as the Tall Men.

History
The Kingdom of Sarnor was the first location to come under attack by the Dothraki during the Century of Blood following the Doom of Valyria and the death of the dragons. United into one khalasar by Khal Mengo, the Dothraki overwhelmed each of the cities of the Tall Men one by one. The Sarnori underestimated the Dothraki and would not unite against them. Once Mengo's son, Khal Moro, laid waste to the Waterfall City of Sathar, the Tall Men saw realised how outmatched they were and united under Mazor Alexi. Though they outnumbered the Dothraki by a considerable amount and victory seemed imminent, the Dothraki regrouped and encircled the Sarnori, preventing any chance of escape. The Tall Men were slaughtered and the battleground was forever known as the Field of Crows thereafter.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Kingdom of Sarnor is a region in northern Essos located along the shores of the Shivering Sea. It consisted of the cities of Gornath, Kasath, Sallosh, Sarnath, Sarys, Sathar, Saath, the last of which is the only one to survive to the the period depicted in the novels.

The kingdom was centered around the great river Sarne and its tributaries, as well as some of the last remnants of the Silver Sea. It traded with Valyria, Yi Ti and Asshai.

The conflict between the Sarnori and the Dothraki lasted less than a century, with the Tall Men ignoring the khalasars that were raiding their eastern boarders. The Sarnori kings considered the Dothraki to be a mere nuisance, with some offering them gold and slaves to fight against their rivals. Khal Mengo accepted these gifts, but burned fields, farms and towns afterwards.

Following Khal Moro's razing of Sathar, the Sarnori kings of Kasath and Gornath fought over the city's plunder. Six years later, Moro allied with the King of Gornath, who married one of his daughters, and laid waste to Kasath. Moro was eventually killed by Horro, who succeeded him as khal and destroyed Gornath. Horro took Moro's daughter, who had killed her husband. Horro was later killed by a rival, which divided his great khalasar into a dozen lesser hosts.

The new khals conquered the remaining cities and carried the idols from those cities to Vaes Dothrak in an attempt to outdo each other. The great library in Sallosh was burned, causing much of the Tall Men's history to be lost. Kyth and Hornoth were soon destroyed, and Mardosh resisted for almost six years before its starving defenders eventually killed the women and children before riding to certain death.

Once the Dothraki destroyed the last remaining Sarnori at the Field of Crows, the remaining cities quickly fell, with Khal Loso putting Sarnath to the torch less than a fortnight later. Sarys was the last Sarnori city to be conquered, though it had been mostly abandoned by the time Khal Zeggo reached it. Saath survived largely due to the support of Ib and Lorath.