Old Ghis

Old Ghis
Information
Type	City
Location	Ghiscar, Essos
Rulers	Ghiscari Empire (formerly)
Religion	Ghiscari religion

The ruins of Old Ghis are located south from Astapor.

"Finally the Valyrians marched on their capital of Old Ghis and obliterated it, turning its streets and buildings to ash with dragonflame and wiping the Ghiscari people and their culture off the face of the Earth."

―Viserys Targaryen

Old Ghis, originally known as simply Ghis, is a ruined city, located in the region of Ghiscar on the southern coast of Essos. It was once the ancient capital of the Ghiscari Empire, but was destroyed by the Valyrian Freehold with the use of dragons.

The city is located south of Slaver's Bay, on the eastern coastline of the Gulf of Grief. The city of New Ghis, its successor, is located on an island not far to the south.

In the books

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Old Ghis led five great wars against Valyria before being destroyed once and for all. Frustrated by the city's constant uprisings, the Valyrians pulled down the city's walls, burned the buildings to ashes and cinders and poisoned the surrounding lands with salt, sulfur, and skulls to prevent it from rising again.

The city and the Ghiscari Empire were founded by Grazdan the Great, a mighty leader. Its symbol, and that of the Empire it led, was that of a harpy clutching a thunderbolt.

Inspiration

Like other civilizations of the known world, the Ghiscari empire has many similarities with real life civilizations (Greece, Egypt and Rome). Old Ghis has many similarities with Carthage, the great rival of ancient Rome during its republican phase. The two empires engaged in three bloody wars. At the end of the last, the Romans destroyed the city and according to legend sowed the soil with salt to prevent the city rising again.

External links

• Old Ghis on A Wiki of Ice and Fire