Dorne

Dorne is the southern-most region of Westeros.

In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels Dorne is one of the nine constituent regions of Westeros. It lies in the far south, along the large peninsula which makes up the southern-most part of the continent. It is bordered by the Sea of Dorne to the north, the islands known as the Stepstones to the east, the Summer Sea to the south, and the Red Mountains to the west and north-west. Dorne consists of rocky mountains and parched deserts, with more fertile lands along the rivers. It is ruled from the castle of Sunspeare by House Martell.

One thousand years ago, Dorne was a shifting patchwork of small Andal states, with no ruler strong enough to seize control of the entire region. However, a people of Essos known as the Rhoynar had fled to Dorne in ten thousand ships after their homeland was overrun and destroyed by the expanding power of Valyria. The Rhoynar made alliance with Lord Mors Martell of Sunspear and with his support conquered the entire peninsular, uniting it as the Kingdom of Dorne.

Seven centuries later, when King Aegon I Targaryen invaded Dorne, the Dornish refused to give open battle. Having heard of the defeat of the Reach and the Westermen on the Field of Fire, they knew that giving a pitched battle which would have allowed Aegon to deploy his dragons, and instead adopted guerrilla warfare tactics, striking at Aegon's flanks and supply lines. Aegon was forced to concede defeat and leave the kingdom untaken. A century and a half later King Daeron I, the Young Dragon, invaded Dorne and successfully subdued the kingdom. Unfortunately, it almost immediately raised in rebellion after Daeron's troops returned home. In the resulting conflict forty thousand people died, including the Young Dragon, and his successor King Baelor made peace with Dorne instead. Fifty years later, after the long and fruitful marriage of Princess Myria Martell to Prince Daeron (later King Daeron II), Dorne finally joined the Seven Kingdoms through peaceful alliance.

The people of Dorne, the Dornish, are considered a passionate and firery people, with more relaxed views on sexual morality then other parts of the Seven Kingdoms. Dorne joined the Seven Kingdoms through peaceful alliance and a marriage contract, and as such its people are allowed more indulgences than the other regions conquered by the Targaryens in war. In particular, the rulers of Dorne are allowed to style themselves 'Prince' rather than 'Lord' and inheritance always passes to the eldest child regardless of gender, in contrast to the male-favouring primogeniture practised elsewhere in Westeros.

Dorne and the Reach are old enemies, and their ambivalence remains strong despite being unified under the Iron Throne. In the current generation there is also great antipathy for the Lannisters, due to the death of Princess Elia Martell, married to Rhaegar Targaryen, and her two children during the Sack of King's Landing by Lannister armies. Dorne has maintained something of an isolationist policy for much of the last generation.

Bastards born in Dorne are given the surname Sand.