History Characters / ASongOfIceAndFireEthnicGroups

* Determinator: The Ibbenese colonists in the Forests of the Ifequevron absolutely refused to pay tribute to the Dothraki khals and fought them ferociously, destroying several khalasars.

Living on a archipelago in the Summer Sea, these people are known to be peaceful and have relaxed social norms. For tropes relating to them see [[Characters/ASongOfIceAndFireEssosSummerIsles the Summer Isles page]].

* ButtMonkey: Being regarded as the best choice for new slaves isn't much fun. Since the Century of Blood, when more pirates and rouge began sailing, the Naath have been forced to retreated from their coasts into the hills and forests.

The Dothraki are a race of fierce nomadic horse warriors who dominate most of Essos west of the Bone Mountains. For tropes relating to them see Characters/ASongOfIceAndFireEssosTheDothraki.

The Lhazarene are a race of peaceful shepherds who live south of the Dothraki sea. For tropes relating to them see Characters/ASongOfIceAndFireEssos.

[[folder: The Griscari]]

Once the people of a mighty civilization, the Griscari are now best known as the masters of the Essosi slave trade. For tropes relating to them see Characters/ASongOfIceAndFireEssosSlaversBay.

Living on a archipelago in the Summer Sea, these people are known to be peaceful and have relaxed social norms. For tropes relating to them see Characters/ASongOfIceAndFireEssosTheSummerIsles.

[[folder: The Dothraki]]

The Dothraki are a race of fierce nomadic horse warriors who dominate most of Essos west of the Bone Mountains. For tropes relating to them see Characters/ASongOfIceAndFireEssosTheDothraki

[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Rhoynar]]

The Rhoynar are a culture of river-faring people who dwelt in a network of independent city-states on the banks of the immense river Rhoyne in Essos. After being forced to flee in ten thousand ships during the Rhoynish Wars with Valyria, the Rhoynar eventually settled in Dorne in Westeros.
----

* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: The Qaathi are so pale that the Dothraki refer to their Qartheen descendents as “Milk Men”.

[[folder: The [=YiTish=]]]

The [=YiTish=] are a race of people living east of Qarth and west of Asshai, with their nation Yi Ti bordered by the Jade Sea to the south.

[[folder: The Rhoynar]]

The Rhoynar are a culture of river-faring people who dwelt in a network of independent city-states on the banks of the immense river Rhoyne in Essos. After being forced to flee in ten thousand ships during the Rhoynish Wars with Valyria, the Rhoynar eventually settled in Dorne in Westeros.

* TheRemnant: The Ibbenese are the last remaining part of the race called the Hairy Men, who occupied vast territories all over Essos. It is not known if the Hairy Men originated in Ib and colonized Essos, or if it was the other way around.

[[folder: The [=YiTish=]]]

The [=YiTish=] are a race of people living east of Qarth and west of Asshai, with their nation Yi Ti bordered by the Jade Sea to the south.

!!The Clans of the Mountains of the Moon

[[folder: In General]]

Savage clans who live in the Mountains of the Moon in the Vale, they hate the Arryns and rob any passing travelers. The clans include the Black Ears, Stone Crows, Burned Men, Milk Snakes, Moon Brothers, Painted Dogs, Sons of the Mist, and the Stone Crows. They are descended from those of the original First Men inhabitants of the Vale who fled into the mountains rather than assimilate themselves with the invading Andals.

* [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Self-Mutilation Equals Authority]]: The Burned Men perform self-mutilation as a rite of passage to demonstrate their bravery. Cutting off one's nipple or finger is pretty typical. Timett took it UpToEleven by gouging out his own eye with a hot knife, which was so impressive that he was immediately promoted to warleader.
* AxCrazy: The rest of Westeros see mountain clans as this, the mountain clans see the Burned Men as this, and even the ''Burned Men'' are a little wary around Timett.
* {{Badass}}: All of the mountain clans are fierce fighters, and make travel into and out of the Vale a risky proposition for small groups or those with no weapons.
* BattleTrophy: The Black Ears tribe cuts off the ears of their captured enemies but leaves them alive to prove they do not fear retaliation.
* TheBrute: Several clans fulfill this role for Tyrion, and they are widely hated by the people of King's Landing. Shagga is the most obvious example.
* CharacterDeath: Ulf son of Umar and Conn son of Corratt are both slain at the Battle of the Green Fork.
* IAmXSonOfY: How they introduce themselves. Tyrion catches on and introduces himself as "Tyrion, son of Tywin".
* NotSoDifferent: Tywin points out to his son that there's little difference between the Mountain Clans and the PsychoForHire thugs he uses to RapePillageAndBurn villages in the Riverlands. Later we hear of the Stone Crows massacring villages in the Vale and carrying off their women.
* TheRemnant: They are descendants of the First Men that refused to bow to the Andals. This is supported in the fact that they also practice bride stealing like the Free Folk.
* UnkemptBeauty: Conn, son of Corratt is described as "handsome if he bathed".

[[folder: Shagga]]
!!Shagga, son of Dolf
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shagga_son_of_dolf_ffg_3693.png]]

A clan chief of the Stone Crows, Shagga becomes one of Tyrion's closest allies.

* AnAxeToGrind: Carries three axes as his weapons, normally wielding two at once with the third as a backup.
* AnnoyingArrows: He is hit by several arrows during the Battle of the Green Fork, but does not notice them in his grief for Conn. Most of them just got stuck in his armor, but a few did pierce his flesh, but he is fine when he removes them after the battle ends.
* BadassBeard
* BerserkerTears: When his friend Conn is killed.
* BoisterousBruiser: He never stops boasting.
* CatchPhrase: "I'll chop off your manhood and feed it to the goats" is Shagga's favorite threats; it is sometimes used by [[DeadpanSnarker Tyrion]] to great effect. [[spoiler:It turns out that Shagga refers to a man's beard as his "manhood"]].
* DualWielding
* ThirdPersonPerson: He often speaks in this manner.

[[folder: Timett]]
!!Timett, son of Timett
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/timett_son_of_timett_ffg_2708.png]]

A Red Hand of the Burned Men, one of the most feared mountain clans.

* AChildShallLeadThem: He is described as a gaunt youth, and is not yet twenty years old when he first appears. He leads the Burned Men because he is the most {{Badass}} one there. When a Burned Man comes of age, he must burn a body part - usually a finger, toe or other expendable body part. Timett chose to put out his own eye, doing so with a red hot knife. The Burned Men were so impressed they promoted him to "Red Hand" (a war leader) on the spot.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority
* {{Badass}}
* DualWielding
* EyeScream: He burned out his own eye just to prove how {{Badass}} he is.
* InSeriesNickname: Timett One-Eye.
* MachoMasochism
* PutOnABus: He and his men go back to the Vale after the Battle of the Blackwater, after being denied reentrance to King's Landing following Tyrion's injury.

[[folder: Chella]]
!!Chella, daughter of Cheyk
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chella_ffg_6105.jpg]]

A clan chief of the Black Ears. The only one of Tirion's wildling lieutenants to return to him after the Battle of the Blackwater, but was driven off.

* ActionGirl[=/=]DarkActionGirl[=/=]ActionMom: She has forty-eight ears on the necklace around her neck. According to her, her sons have [[BadassFamily also taken many]].
* TheDarkChick: In Tyrion's group of allies.
* PutOnABus: Returns to the Vale after the Battle of the Blackwater.
* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: Her necklace of ears.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: She is the only female leader of the Mountain Clans who is part of Tyrion's army.
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!Essosi

[[folder: The Valyrians]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/53f7ff268a7f68b45cd9fb3f1a1515e5.png]]

-->''"An empire built on blood and fire."''

The Valyrians are a race of people who lived in south-central Essos and founded the greatest empire ever seen thanks to their dragons. Once the dominant cultural and military power in the world, their empire was mostly wiped out in a cataclysm known as the Doom of Valyria.

* ArchEnemy: The Ghiscari Empire and later the Rhoynar.
* ApocalypseHow: Class 0. The Doom, a cataclysm of an unspecified nature, which destroyed Valyria and formed the Smoking Sea. Valyrian magic, knowledge and recorded history was lost. Now the area is said to be haunted by demons. The few brave enough to venture to Valyria's ruins don't come home.
* TheBeautifulElite: The Valyrians were supernaturally beautiful, with PurpleEyes and MysticalWhiteHair.
* DragonRider: The early Valyrians discovered dragons in the Fourteen Fires, a ring of volcanos, and tamed them.
* TheEmpire: In all but name, instead using the less threatening name Freehold.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: To AncientGrome, with their historical role in Westeros mirroring the Normans under William the Conqueror.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Went from a race of shepherds to an empire that conquered ''two'' continents.
* FunctionalMagic: Their skill at magic was as useful to building their empire as the dragons were. They had some of the most powerful and creative wizards in history.
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Are generally regarded positively as a great lost civilization despite the fact that they were incredibly brutal and conquered and destroyed lands like nobody else. Tyrion at least feels that the Valyrians were HoistByTheirOwnPetard but even Daenerys has few reservations about her Valyrian ancestry despite the fact that her SlaveLiberation is entirely at odds with her ancestors practises.
* IncestIsRelative: A common practice, which the Targaryens continued.
* IndustrializedEvil: They brutally forced slaves to work in appalling conditions in the mines of the Fourteen Flames. Eventually one of them became the first Faceless Man.
* IronicName: The Valyrian ''Free''hold was build on the backs of millions of slaves.
* LostTechnology: Almost all of the Valyrians' great accomplishments were lost in the Doom. The knowledge of forging [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Valyrian steel]] was lost, as was knowledge of magical architecture that allowed for the building of monuments like the Valyrian roads, topless towers and the Long Bridge of Volantis.
* MadeASlave: They enslaved the people of the lands they conquered, forcing them to mine gold and silver underneath the Fourteen Fires.
* TheRemnant: The Targaryens primarily (particularly as they were the last surviving line of dragonriders), but the blood of Valyria is also strong in Lys and bits of their culture are practiced all over Essos.
* TheRepublic: In theory, the Valyrian Freehold was a republic in which the ''lords freehold'', freeborn landholders, all had a say in governance. In practice, politics were dominated by the dragonlords, an oligarchy of the forty most powerful noble families.
* TookALevelInBadass: From simple shepherds to unstoppable dragon-riders who conquered most of Essos.

[[folder: The Rhoynar]]

The Rhoynar are a culture of river-faring people who dwelt in a network of independent city-states on the banks of the immense river Rhoyne in Essos. After being forced to flee in ten thousand ships during the Rhoynish Wars with Valyria, the Rhoynar eventually settled in Dorne in Westeros.

* ArchEnemy: The Valyrian Freehold, who eventually drove them from the shores of the Rhoyne River, which had been their home for thousands of years.
* TheBlacksmith: The Rhoynar were great with metal and taught the Andals metalworking[[note]]Modern Andals attribute this to the Smith, one aspect of their seven-faced god[[/note]].
* HeirClubForMen: Averted. The eldest child inherited regardless of gender, a custom that carried over to Dorne.
* MakingASplash: The wizards of the Rhoynar specialized in raising waterspouts and "walls of water", and expected this to be an adequate countermeasure against Valyrian dragons. It served for a long while until the Valyrians overwhelmed them with hundreds of dragons at once.
* MartialPacifist: They preferred to be left alone, but could raise up a good army when needed. Their advanced metallurgy helped make weapons superiors to those of their enemies.
* TheRemnant: Most modern Dornishmen claim descent from the Rhoynar, and they do practice many of their customs, but the Orphans of the Greenblood are the most like their ancestors. The Orphans refused to assimilate into Andal/First Men culture, choosing instead to ply the Greenblood River and worship their goddess Mother Rhoyne from afar.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After the Valyrians defeated of Prince Garin the Great, the remaining Rhoynar, mostly women, children, and the elderly, followed Princess Nymeria out to sea, from where they search for a new home.
* TraumaCongaLine: The flight of the Ten Thousand ships of the Rhoynar under Nymeria. After losing most of their men in an attempt to fend off conquest by the Valyrians, the Rhoynar flee Essos, traveling to Naath, Sothoryos, and the Summer Isles to find a new home, only to encounter slavers, pirates, disease, and other such awful occurrences. It's only when the Rhoynar reach Dorne and the protection of the Martell family that they find a permanent home.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The [=YiTish=]]]

The [=YiTish=] are a race of people living east of Qarth and west of Asshai, with their nation Yi Ti bordered by the Jade Sea to the south.
----
* AnimalMotifs: Monkeys are often mentioned along with the [=YiTi=]. Men wear hats with monkey tails handing from them and there's an ancient legend about a woman with a monkey's tail saving the world.
* ArchEnemy: The Jogos Nhai, a nomadic people similar to the Dothraki who ride zorses (zebras). They've turned countless [=YiTish=] cities and towns into ruins.
* AuthorityInNameOnly[=/=]PuppetKing: The title of god-emperor is now a mostly empty one. His influence extends only as far as the walls of the capital. Hundreds of princes, priest-kings, warlords, and others rule various domains of the nation.
* CulturalPosturing[=/=]{{Pride}}: Big time. They claim to be the first and greatest civilization, disregarding other ancient peoples as "savages and children".
* GodEmperor: Their traditional title of their supreme ruler, though these days it doesn't mean much.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: To ancient China.
* LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair: Yi Ti is full of ruins. Its said that for every living city, three more are buried underground.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Jogos Nhai]]
[[quoteright:264:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c20553be643ebeb099a20545f7972bad.png]]

Possible cousins to the Dothraki, the Jogos Nhai are a people of Essos who live on an expanse of plains east of the Bone Mountains and north of Yi Ti and the Shrinking Sea. They have distinctively shaped heads due to their custom of binding the heads of their children for the first two years of life.
----
* ActionGirl: They have no problems with the womenfolk taking up arms. In fact, their most famous ''jhattar'' (''jhat'' of ''jhats'') was woman named Zhea.
* ArchEnemy: The [=YiTish=] consider them this, but the Jogos Nhai have a much stronger enmity with the warrior women of the Bones Mountains.
* BaldWoman: Men shave all but one stripe of hair down the center of the skull, but women go completely bald, and even shave their pubic hair.
* BloodKnight: They're a fierce, warlike people who have antagonized their neighbors for thousands of years.
* BornInTheSaddle: Like the Dothraki, but with zorses instead of horses. Though unlike the Dothraki they tend to travel in small bands rather than great hordes.
* CallingARabbitASmeerp: Their prized zorses are basically zebras.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Women who chose to be ''jhats'', a war chief similar to a ''khal'', dress as men; men who chose to be moonsingers, a combination of a judge, priestess, and healer, dress as women.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Lengii]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8f2179de02d51e3230fcb56e1688a1a1.png]]

The Lengii are the native people of the island of Leng in the Jade Sea. They now live in the southern third of the isle, as the remainder is populated by people of [=YiTish=] descent. The Lengii have traditionally been ruled by god-empresses. Legends claim the empresses of old consorted with the Old Ones, gods who are said to have lived deep below the island's subterranean ruins.
----
* AllThereInTheManual: The only mention of them comes from ''Literature/TheWorldOfIceAndFire''.
* GodEmperor: Well, god-''empress'', since the Lengii are matriarchal.
* HeirClubForMen: Inverted. They have a daughter-preferred matriarchal inheritance system.
* LadyLand: The Lengii are traditionally a matriarchy.
* LineageComesFromTheFather: [[InvertedTrope Nope]], only from Mom.
* {{Polyamory}}: Following the example of Khiara the Great, the rulers of Leng take two husbands, one Lengii (who commands her armies) and one [=YiTish=] (who commands her navies).
* StatuesqueStunner: The Lengii are famously tall, up to seven or eight feet on average, and their women are said to be among the most beautiful in the world.
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: They have large golden eyes that may help them see better. They might also have magical blood, since legend claims that the god-empresses of old mated with the Old Ones, gods that lived deep below in the island's subterranean ruins.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Sarnori]]

Known as the Tagaez Fen ("Tall Men") in their native language and the Sarnori in Westeros, this race once ruled the grasslands of Essos until they were destroyed by the Dothraki following the Doom of Valyria. Now only the city of Saath remains. The Sarnori claim descent from the Fisher Queens, who once ruled an empire from a great in-land lake called the Silver Sea.
----

!!The Mountain Clans

[[folder:The Clans of the Mountains of the Moon]]

Possible cousins to the Dothraki, the Jogos Nhai are a people of Essos who live on an expanse of plains east of the Bone Mountains and north of Yi Ti and the Shrinking Sea.

* ActionGirl: They have no problems with the womenfolk taking up arms. In fact, their most famous ''jhattar'' (''jhat or jhats'') was woman named Zhea.

* BornInTheSaddle: Like the Dothraki, but with zorses instead of horses.

Known as the Tagaez Fen ("Tall Men") in their native language and the Sarnori in Westeros, the Tall Men once ruled the grasslands of Essos until they were destroyed by the Dothraki following the Doom of Valyria.

* MartialPacifist: They preferred to be left along, but could raise up a good army when needed. Their advanced metallurgy helped make weapons superiors to those of their enemies.

* CallingARabbitASmeerp: Their prizes zorses are basically zebras.

* AllThereInTheManual: We only heard of them in ''Literature/TheWorldOfIceAndFire]]''.

* LadyLand: The Lengii are traditional a matriarchy.

* StatuesqueStunner: The Lengii are famously tall, up to seven of eight feet on average, and their women are said to be among the most beautiful in the world.

* MakeASplash: The wizards of the Rhoynar specialized in raising waterspouts and "walls of water", and expected this to be an adequate countermeasure against Valyrian dragons. It served for a long while until the Valyrians overwhelmed them with hundreds of dragons at once.

* MakeaSplash: The wizards of the Rhoynar specialized in raising waterspouts and "walls of water", and expected this to be an adequate countermeasure against Valyrian dragons. It served for a long while until the Valyrians overwhelmed them with hundreds of dragons at once.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Are generally regarded positively as a great lost civilization despite the fact that they were incredibly brutal and conquered and destroyed lands like nobody else. Tyrion at least feels that the Valyrians were HoistByTheirOwnPetard but even Daenerys has few reservations about her Valyrian ancestry despite the fact that her SlaveLiberation is entirely at odds with her ancestors practises.

* IndustrializedEvil: They brutally forced slaves to work in appalling conditions in the mines of the Fourteen Flames. Eventually one of them became the first Faceless Man.

The Lengii are the native people of the island of Leng in the Jade Sea. They now live in the southern third of the isle, as the remainder is populated by people of YiTish descent. The Lengii have traditionally been ruled by god-empresses. Legends claim the empresses of old consorted with the Old Ones, gods who are said to have lived deep below the island's subterranean ruins.

!!This is a listing ofWesterosi ethnic groups that appear in the {{Fantasy}} series ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Visit [[Characters/ASongOfIceAndFire here]] for the main character index.

[[folder: The Valyrians]]
-->''"An empire built on blood and fire."''

The Valyrians are a race of people who lived in south-central Essos and founded the greatest empire ever seen thanks to their dragons. Once the dominant cultural and military power in the world, their empire was mostly wiped out in a cataclysm known as the Doom of Valyria.

* ArchEnemy: The Ghiscari Empire and later the Rhoynar.
* ApocalypseHow: Class 0. The Doom, a cataclysm of an unspecified nature, which destroyed Valyria and formed the Smoking Sea. Valyrian magic, knowledge and recorded history was lost. Now the area is said to be haunted by demons. The few brave enough to venture to Valyria's ruins don't come home.
* TheBeautifulElite: The Valyrians were supernaturally beautiful, with PurpleEyes and MysticalWhiteHair.
* DragonRider: The early Valyrians discovered dragons in the Fourteen Fires, a ring of volcanos, and tamed them.
* TheEmpire: In all but name, instead using the less threatening name Freehold.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: To AncientGrome, with their historical role in Westeros mirroring the Normans under William the Conqueror.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Went from a race of shepherds to an empire that conquered ''two'' continents.
* FunctionalMagic: Their skill at magic was as useful to building their empire as the dragons were. They had some of the most powerful and creative wizards in history.
* IncestIsRelative: A common practice, which the Targaryens continued.
* IronicName: The Valyrian ''Free''hold was build on the backs of millions of slaves.
* LostTechnology: Almost all of the Valyrians' great accomplishments were lost in the Doom. The knowledge of forging [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Valyrian steel]] was lost, as was knowledge of magical architecture that allowed for the building of monuments like the Valyrian roads, topless towers and the Long Bridge of Volantis.
* MadeASlave: They enslaved the people of the lands they conquered, forcing them to mine gold and silver underneath the Fourteen Fires.
* TheRemnant: The Targaryens primarily (particularly as they were the last surviving line of dragonriders), but the blood of Valyria is also strong in Lys and bits of their culture are practiced all over Essos.
* TheRepublic: In theory, the Valyrian Freehold was a republic in which the ''lords freehold'', freeborn landholders, all had a say in governance. In practice, politics were dominated by the dragonlords, an oligarchy of the forty most powerful noble families.
* TookALevelInBadass: From simple shepherds to unstoppable dragon-riders who conquered most of Essos.
[[/folder]]

!!The Mountain Clans

[[folder:The Clans of the Mountains of the Moon]]

Savage clans who live in the Mountains of the Moon in the Vale, they hate the Arryns and rob any passing travelers. The clans include the Black Ears, Stone Crows, Burned Men, Milk Snakes, Moon Brothers, Painted Dogs, Sons of the Mist, and the Stone Crows. They are descended from those of the original First Men inhabitants of the Vale who fled into the mountains rather than assimilate themselves with the invading Andals.
----

** Likewise, the Thenn consider themselves the last of the First Men, still speaking the Old Tongue and making weapons and armor of bronze
* SacredHospitality: The most important tradition