Pentos

"Pentos is the most ruthless. The Magisters make a great show of choosing the Prince of Pentos from the Great Families, and grant him the powers of trade, justice and war... as long as he checks with them first."

- Ser Jorah Mormont

Pentos is one of the Free Cities, located on the western coastline of Essos, across the Narrow Sea to the east of Westeros. It is a large, rich city.

Pentos is located at roughly the mid-latitude of the Free Cities, between Braavos in the north and Lys in the south. It is due east of King's Landing, across the Narrow Sea. It is surrounded by fertile coastal plains known as the Flatlands.

People of Pentos are known as Pentoshi. The city's economy is based mostly on trade and commerce of products such as cheese. As a result, Pentoshi traders like Illyrio Mopatis are often referred to derogatively as "cheese-mongers". They have a brisk trade with the Seven Kingdoms across the Narrow Sea. They use their wealth to pay tribute to the Dothraki to avoid being dominated by the nomadic people.

Pentos is nominally ruled by a Prince chosen by the city's Magisters from among the Pentoshi noble families. The Prince supposedly holds the powers of trade, justice, and war, and on every new year he must deflower the Maid of the Field and the Maid of the Sea to bring good fortune. However, should a crop fail or a war be lost, the Magisters slit the Prince's throat and choose another.

The city is the home of Magister Illyrio Mopatis. Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen temporarily reside in Pentos for about one year prior to Daenerys' marriage to Khal Drogo.

Notable citizens

 * Illyrio Mopatis, a wealthy Magister of Pentos.

Season 1
Daenerys and Viserys are guests of Illyrio Mopatis in his manse just outside the city of Pentos. Khal Drogo visits the manse to "view" Daenerys. They hold the wedding ceremony on the beach below the manse. Afterwards the Dothraki depart eastwards for the Dothraki sea, Daenerys and Viserys going with them. A few months later, Illyrio secretly travels from Pentos to King's Landing to consult with Varys.

Season 2
Ser Davos Seaworth tries to convince the pirate-lord Salladhor Saan to take a contract for his fleet of thirty ships to supplement the faction of Stannis Baratheon. Davos successfully wins over Salladhor by saying that he could spend the rest of his career making easy but small raids on the ships of "Pentoshi cheese-mongers" and "Meereenese silk merchants", or he could help Stannis take King's Landing, which while more difficult will make Salladhor fabulously wealthy if they succeed.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Pentos was the northernmost of the large Valyrian colony-cities when the Doom destroyed the empire four centuries ago. Pentos and the other Free Cities became independent over the course of the many-sided war known as the Century of Blood. Pentos is a large seaport consisting of squat brick buildings and a number of large palaces and holdings, both within the walls and outside on the plains known as the Flatlands. Pentos has fallen under the influence of Braavos, the largest and most powerful of the Free Cities, and to maintain good relations with Braavos Pentos has outlawed slavery. Pentos's location makes it especially vulnerable to raids from the Dothraki. As such the Pentosi merchants are prone to feasting and gifting the passing Dothraki warlords with lavish parties and gifts to appease them into not destroying their holdings.

According to the TV series official pronunciation guide developed for the cast and crew, "Pentos" is pronounced "PEN-tos", as opposed to "Pen-TOES", etc.