Siege of Pyke

The Siege of Pyke was the final battle of the Greyjoy Rebellion, taking place approximately nine years before the beginning of the Game of Thrones series. The castle of Pyke on the Iron Islands, the stronghold of House Greyjoy, was taken by forces loyal to King Robert Baratheon in an assault after a siege.

Battle
The Iron Islands were outnumbered ten to one. During the final assault on Pyke, a battle-crazed warrior priest of the Lord of Light named Thoros of Myr led the way through a breach in the wall with his flaming sword, Jorah Mormont of Bear Island not far behind him. Eddard Stark and Jaime Lannister were also key fighters for the Iron Throne during the battle. Balon's second son and heir after Rodrik Greyjoy's death, Maron Greyjoy, was killed in the fighting at Pyke. Maron's death was due to a collapsing tower during the battle.

Aftermath
The rebellion was crushed and Balon was forced to surrender. He was accepted back into the king's peace, but only on the condition that his last surviving son Theon be made a ward of House Stark as hostage for his good behavior. Theon was just 8 years old at the time. Robert's victory cemented his hold on the throne, after having overthrown the Targaryens a few years before. King Robert knighted Jorah Mormont and Royland Degore for their valor in the battle.

Season 1
Ser Jaime Lannister and Jory Cassel reminisce about the battle, recalling how Thoros led the charge through a breach in the wall, wielding his flaming sword. Jaime recalls it was a hard fight against a skilled enemy.

Season 5
While trying to auction Jorah Mormont to slavers, Malko correctly claims that Jorah took part in the siege, however he misnames Pyke as "Spike" and incorrectly claimed that Jorah was the one who wielded the flaming sword, instead of Thoros.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Siege of Pyke similarly took place at the end of the Greyjoy Rebellion. Despite early successes - such as burning the Lannister fleet at anchor - the Greyjoys were defeated at sea by Stannis Baratheon's fleet and forced to retire to Pyke. The forces loyal to King Robert Baratheon breached the walls with siege ships and charged through the breach. Once it was clear that the battle was lost, Balon Greyjoy surrendered and bent the knee in fealty to King Robert once more.