History FantasyCounterpartCulture / ASongOfIceAndFire

* We know almost nothing of Mossovy, but its extreme northeastern placement within the known world, a terrain of cold forests, and folkloric reputation for hosting "shapechangers and demon hunters" – together with the phonological character of its name – all suggest a counterpart to {{UsefulNotes/Russia}}.
* The destroyed Kingdom of Sarnath has a similar location and culture to Achaemenid Persia, and its name sounds like that of the Sarmatians, a culture based around horses and chariots. Its destruction at the hands of the Dothraki - a threat they had previously considered a minor nuisance - can also bring to mind the Arabian conquest of the Sassanid Empire.

** The coastline contours of Westeros and Essos look a lot like those of the Balkans and Anatolia - Westeros is elongated in the north-south direction, with its southern coast having some more prominent peninsulas. Eastward of its southern half there is a small sea riddled with islands which separates it from a more monolithic, rectangular landmass stretching from west to east.

* Westeros as a whole has many similarities to {{UsefulNotes/Britain}}, including the general shape of the continent, TheGreatWall up in the GrimUpNorth to keep out the {{Barbarian Tribe}}s (the Wall as Hadrian's Wall- - or more accurately Antonine's Wall), the large and cold Northern province with an independence movement owing to keeping some [[UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms Celtic]]/First Men culture intact rather than full assimilating to Andal/[[UsefulNotes/AngloSaxons Anglo-Saxon culture]] ({{UsefulNotes/Scotland}}), waves of conquering cultures (e.g. Aegon as [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy William the Conqueror]]), and the Viking-esque [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_the_Isles isle kingdom]] off of the northwestern coast. Even the collective name of the independent kingdoms, the Seven Kingdoms, is a dead ringer for the Heptarchy: the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of late Antiquity and TheLowMiddleAges. Specific regions tend to show their own influences:

* The Ghiscari Empire is a blatant counterpart of Carthage, right down to [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars its rivalry]] with Valyria, the ASOIAF counterpart of AncientRome. The Slaver Cities —Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen— are reminiscent of the Barbary States,[[note]]While the term was primarily used from the 16th to 19th centuries, these states had been some of the region's largest slave traders for hundreds of years before then.[[/note]] with their location (where the former Carthaginian Empire and later UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire reigned), geography, and dependence on slave-trading to sustain themselves, as well as slave soldiers. Likewise, Qarth seems to share a great deal with ancient Baghdad.

* Westeros as a whole has many similarities to {{UsefulNotes/Britain}}, including the general shape of the continent, TheGreatWall up in the GrimUpNorth to keep out the {{Barbarian Tribe}}s (the Wall as Hadrian's Wall- or more accurately Antonine's Wall), the large and cold Northern province with an independence movement owing to keeping some [[UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms Celtic]]/First Men culture intact rather than full assimilating to Andal/[[UsefulNotes/AngloSaxons Anglo-Saxon culture]] ({{UsefulNotes/Scotland}}), waves of conquering cultures (e.g. Aegon as [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy William the Conqueror]]), and the Viking-esque [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_the_Isles isle kingdom]] off of the northwestern coast. Even the collective name of the independent kingdoms, the Seven Kingdoms, is a dead ringer for the Heptarchy: the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of late Antiquity and TheLowMiddleAges. Specific regions tend to show their own influences:
** The North--[[{{UsefulNotes/NorthEastEngland}} Northern England]] and {{UsefulNotes/Scotland}}, with their retaining of First Men culture reminding of [[UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms Celtic]] influences in Scotland. The Northern mountain clans are reminiscent of the Scottish Highland clans. House Stark in particular is similar to a Northern English House, the House of York, that went to war against the House of Lancaster. Its political organization, somewhat of a federation with thinly populated and isolated settlements in a vast taiga expanse swearing loyalty to a nominal overlord at the center, is somewhat similar to UsefulNotes/KievanRus.
** The Iron Islands-- Scandinavia and/or Ireland due to their culture of being seafaring raiders (which the Vikings were most famous for, but the Irish did their fair share of, too), with their independent streak reminding of Ireland's relationship with the rest of Britain. They bear an even stronger resemblance to the seafaring hybrid Norse-Gaelic culture of the Hebrides under the [=MacDonald=] Lords of the Isles.
** The Riverlands-- Northeastern France (e.g. Lorraine, Burgundy, Champagne) and the Low Countries. Very rich and fertile, with rivers flowing through, but flat and without natural defenses. [[ButtMonkey They also tended to get invaded a fair amount.]] Also, north-central England for much the same reasons. Their place on the map also roughly corresponds to the core areas of England's Danelaw, mirroring how the Riverlands were conquered by the Viking expies of the setting in the backstory.
** The Vale-- The nations of the Alps such as Austria, Switzerland, and Milan, for their terrain and architecture. Also Wales, for being a heavily mountainous jutting peninsular region with green valleys, featuring an ethnic conflict between the First Men (Celts) and Andal (Anglo-Saxon) settlers.
** The Westerlands-- England, particularly western England. House Lannister is based on a Western English House called the House of Lancaster (coat of arms a golden lion on a red background) who went to war against the House of York, and Tywin Lannister is, per GRRM, based on Edward I of England, the Hammer of the Scots.
** Dragonstone--Wales, in that the heir apparent to the throne is named Prince of Dragonstone. In terms of history, one could make a case for it being based on Britain, in that it’s a small island that created a massive empire.
** The Stormlands--Medieval Germany in that it's a heavily forested, rivered, and martial land that once had a massive empire that slowly fell apart over the centuries.
** The Reach--Medieval France due to their terrain and status as the most populous kingdom and the homeland of chivalry and stereotypical knights, at least in the eyes of the common people. Also, middle-south England. The most populated region in the kingdom, immensely fertile and rich, and the heart of the kingdom's chivalry. The historical Tyrrell family hails from Essex which lies in this region; the ruling family of the Reach, the Tyrells, are named after this house.

** Dorne--according to GRRM, "Dorne is Wales mixed with (Moorish) Spain and Palestine". Like the rulers of Wales, the rulers of Dorne style themselves as Princes. Also like Wales, Dorne was initially able to resist conquest by their powerful neighbors, before finally being subdued, later liberating itself, and finally pledging conditional fealty through alliances to the monarchy of the kingdom it shares a landmass with. Like both Wales and Spain, their borders are lined with marches and many wars have been fought between them and their neighbors. Like Spain, a large mountain range separates them from the rest of the continent. And it shares the hot, dry climate of Spain and Palestine. Its positioning also evokes Gibraltar.
** North of The Wall--the wildlings/freefolk are roughly analogous to the Pictish tribes north of the Antonine Wall.
** The Neck--bears striking similarities to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fens The Fens]] of Eastern England, at least up until they were drained from the 1600s onward. A mass of swamps and marshes inhabited by hardy, insular "crannogmen", who seem to take after the notoriously hermetic towns and settlements of East Anglia.
** Crackclaw Point--a small peninsula in the continent's east where every valley has a king and they've been feuding with each other since time immemorial. Aegon Targaryen had great troubles conquering that place and had to convert the local rulers one by one. This sounds like the Balkans, especially in the wake of the Ottoman conquest. Its Northern border is a large river flowing into the sea to the East, like the Danube.

* Asshai and its native religion were probably inspired by Persia and its native religion, {{UsefulNotes/Zoroastrianism}}. The actual ''shape'' of the region it resides in, the Shadow Lands, is also obviously inspired by India, where the vast majority of surviving Parsi Zoroastrians reside today. Its characteristics as a land plunged in darkness seems to be drawn from the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_Darkness Land of Darkness]] of medieval legend, which also has a (fictional) connection to Persia.
* The rarely-mentioned southern continent Sothoryos is roughly analogous to {{UsefulNotes/Africa}} during this time period--specifically the image of DarkestAfrica as Europeans historically perceived the continent. Except in this case, replace HollywoodNatives with FrazettaMan.

** Many elements of Rhoynish culture are evocative of UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt, including their river-centric civilization that worshiped a river deity (Sobek for Egypt, the Old Man of the River for the Rhoynar) in the form of a semiaquatic reptile (crocodile for Sobek, turtles for the Old Man of the River), and their gender equality. The Egypt parallels continue on to Dorne, where the (new) river which their civilization is based around, the Greenblood, is surrounded by desert. Dorne boasts a lucrative position at a nexus of major shipping lanes connecting the Seven Kingdoms, the Free Cities, and the Summer Isles, while Egypt prospered thanks to its connection to similar lanes connecting it to Greece, the Levant, sub-Saharan Africa, Arabia, and India.

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*** King Robert draws elements from Henry IV of England (a man that usurps the throne from a distant cousin with the force of arms as his sole right) and his successor, Henry V (a tall, muscular, popular warrior and battle commander, who dies early leaving an unfit child as his successor and lays the ground for decades of warfare). Not surprising since the War of the Five Kings draws inspiration from the historical War of the Roses and the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years War, the roots of both being in Henry V's reign. Robert also bears a good deal of resemblance to Henry VIII as King: a dynamic and charming young man who eventually goes into moral and physical decay as he gets older and eventually ends his life as an obese, paranoid failure. Not to mention an obvious parallel to Richard the Lionheart, a popular figure remembered by history as a warrior king. In reality a terrible monarch who cared very little for the throne of England and preferred fighting.

* [[HordesFromTheEast The Dothraki]] live on a big grassy plain, and according to GRRM, are based primarily on peoples from the Eurasian steppe and the American Great Plains -- "Huns, Alans, Sioux, Cheyenne, and various other Amerindian tribes... some Mongol, certainly... seasoned with a dash of pure fantasy." Although, a closer look reveals that he based them more on [[https://acoup.blog/2020/12/04/collections-that-dothraki-horde-part-i-barbarian-couture/ generally false stereotypes of horse nomads]], as opposed to basing them on actual historical practices. Contrary to fan belief, he stated that "any resemblance to the Turks or Arabs is purely coincidental."

* The Free Cities are loosely based on the [[UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra medieval city-states of Italy]] (including Italian-sounding names) and some elements of Ancient Greek culture, with Braavos being a CityOfCanals like Venice and Volantis having an oligarchical form of democracy like Athens. Also, the Sealord of Braavos is analogous to the Doge of Venice, since both are non-hereditary positions that any wealthy aristocrat can fill out in an election and the current officeholder's residence is a lavish palace located near the sea. Additionally, the Free Cities correspond to Northern Europe's (France, England) bias about Italian cities as petty domain ruled from lords of bourgeois origin (mostly merchants as the De Medicis), although their cities are extremely wealthy and cultured. They even speak a language descended from Old Valyrian (Latin). Volantis is also one for [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire Constantinople]], as the most powerful of those cities which sees itself as the new heart of the VestigialEmpire.

* The SuccessionCrisis has its roots in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anarchy the Anarchy]] and the broader conflict it's causing, the Dance of the Dragons, recalls UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar (though without being as long).

---

Lots and lots. Much of Westeros and the outlying lands seem to have been inspired by a real-world culture, {{Expy}}, or simply a well-worn fantasy trope. The most obvious are:

* If viewing the First Men as the Celtic Britons and the Andals as the Anglo-Saxons, the Children of the Forest can be seen as similar to the Tuatha Dé Danann as described in the Irish Book of Invasions. Initially the Tuatha Dé Danann warred with the Milesians (the ancestors of the Celtic Irish) before eventually making peace with them and dividing the land between them, with the supernaturally gifted Tuatha Dé Danann taking command of the Otherworld, and the Milesians taking command of the temporal world. This mirrors the initial violence and then coexistence between the Children and the First Men.

** Dorne--according to GRRM, "Dorne is Wales mixed with (Moorish) Spain and Palestine". Like the rulers of Wales, the rulers of Dorne style themselves as Princes. Also like Wales, Dorne was initially able to resist conquest by their powerful neighbors, before finally being subdued, later liberating itself, and finally pledging conditional fealty through alliances to the monarchy of the kingdom it shares a landmass with. Like both Wales and Spain, their borders are lined with marches and many wars have been fought between them and their neighbors. Like Spain, a large mountain range separates them from the rest of the continent. And it shares the hot, dry climate of Spain and Palestine. It's positioning also evokes Gibraltar.

*** More likely is that it's based off of Mann, Guernsey & Jersey, which are also directly ruled by the crown.

*** This ignores the fact that Crannog is literally a Welsh word and that most First Man names come from Welsh Celtic Origins. There are swamps in Wales as well, and the style of building described were utilized in their swamps at one point.

*** The Lengii are a culture which is an offshoot of the [=YiTish=] who emigrated to the island of Leng, much like how the Yaoyoi, the ancestors of the Japanese originated from mainland China and Korea. Like Japan, the Lengii closed their ports and shut themselves from foreigners for a great number of years until the Yi Ti were able to establish some trade with them after a war of conquest, on which the colonizing [=YiTish=] established themselves in another island and were later expelled completely by the Lengii, finally opening their ports.

*** Also some analogy to {{Atlantis}}, especially with the "Doom of Valyria" destroying it out of nowhere.

* The Free City of Norvos practices a more ancient, alternative version of the Andalic Faith of the Seven; it has customs reminiscent of both Judaism and Islam; whereas the Norvoshi religion exists, a fictional form of Satanism also exists as the prevalent religion of the Free City of Qohor, which the Norvoshi despise fervently. Its Northeastern location, as well as its name, are reminiscent of Novgorod, and just like that and other Russian medieval cities, it is on the frontier of barbarian invasions and pays tribute to them.

* WordOfGod says that the planet it all occurs on is an [[FictionalEarth alternate Earth]].

* [[HordesFromTheEast The Dothraki]], according to GRRM, are based primarily on "Huns, Alans, Sioux, Cheyenne, and various other Amerindian tribes... some Mongol, certainly... seasoned with a dash of pure fantasy." Although, a closer look reveals that he based them more on [[https://acoup.blog/2020/12/04/collections-that-dothraki-horde-part-i-barbarian-couture/ generally false stereotypes of horse nomads]], as opposed to basing them on actual historical practices. Contrary to fan belief, he stated that "any resemblance to the Turks or Arabs is purely coincidental."

** The Stormlands--Medieval Germany in that it's a heavily forested, rivered, and martial land that once had a massive empire that slowly fell apart over the centuries.

** Dorne--according to GRRM, "Dorne is Wales mixed with (Moorish) Spain and Palestine". Like the rulers of Wales, the rulers of Dorne style themselves as Princes. Also like Wales, Dorne was initially able to resist conquest by their powerful neighbors, before finally being subdued, later liberating itself, and finally pledging conditional fealty through alliances to the monarchy of the kingdom it shares a landmass with. Like both Wales and Spain, their borders are lined with marches and many wars have been fought between them and their neighbors. Like Spain, a large mountain range separates them from the rest of the continent. And it shares the hot, dry climate of Spain and Palestine.

** The North--[[{{UsefulNotes/NorthEastEngland}} Northern England]] and {{UsefulNotes/Scotland}}, with their retaining of First Men culture reminding of [[UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms Celtic]] influences in Scotland. The northern mountain clans are reminiscent of the Scottish highland clans. House Stark in particular is similar to a Northern English House, the House of York, that went to war against the House of Lancaster. Its political organization, somewhat of a federation with thinly populated and isolated settlements in a vast taiga expanse swearing loyalty to a nominal overlord at the center, is somewhat similar to UsefulNotes/KievanRus.

* The Faith of the Seven is an analogue to Christianity specifically medieval Catholicism but lacks the Messianic figure and most of the political power, having largely been hollowed out and subverted by a continent-spanning secular empire. The head of the faith known as the High Septon is analogous to the Pope and they are both selected by an inner council (Most Devout/College of Cardinals). The Seven-Faced God is also analogous to the Holy Trinity, in that the religion is monotheistic but the worshipped deity is portrayed as having multiple aspects, the male portion in this case still having the Father, but replaces the Son and Holy Spirit with the Warrior and Smith. The female portion of the Seven, the Mother, Maiden, and Crone, is based on the Neopagan [[TheThreeFacesofEve Triple Goddess]].
** The High Sparrow and his band of reformers are similar to populist religious movements in the Middle Ages preceding the Reformation, such as the Lollards, the Fraticelli, the [[UsefulNotes/JanZizka Hussites]], etc., who wanted to simplify Christianity and dispel the corruption that had infested the Catholic Church. It also shares a lot of similarities with the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 that took place in England.
** [[ChurchMilitant The Faith Militant]], the military arm of the faith, resembles UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar. One unit, the Poor Fellows, is an explicit reference to the Order's full name, the Poor Fellows of Christ and the Temple of Solomon.
* The Old Gods are based on the [[Myth/CelticMythology Celtic gods]], in that they are nature deities that inhabit the wild. The low level of dogma and organization of the Old God religion also resembles Celtic practices.
* The Drowned God resembles Myth/NorseMythology, in the sense that godly Ironborn who die at sea are said to feast in the Drowned God's halls under the ocean akin to how Norse warriors would feast in Valhalla when they died. Additionally, followers of the Drowned God practice hospitality much like the Vikings.
* R’hllor resembles Ahura Mazda, the [[{{UsefulNotes/Zoroastrianism}} Zoroastrian]] god, in that he is the good one of two gods, as well as in his association with fire. However, as noted [[http://asoiafuniversity.tumblr.com/post/54660099013/meta-monday-the-religion here]] this is pretty much where the similarities end. He also shares the title of "lord of flame and shadow" with the [[{{UsefulNotes/Gnosticism}} Gnostic]] Demiurge. Interestingly, if the [[{{Conlang}} conlanguist]] for the TV show [[http://www.dothraki.com/2013/05/hepnon/ is to believed]], GRRM himself may have originally based the word "R’hllor" off the UsefulNotes/ArabicLanguage word for God, ''Allah''.

* The Faith of the Seven is an analogue to Christianity specifically medieval Catholicism but lacks the Messianic figure and most of the political power, having largely been hollowed out and subverted by a continent-spanning secular empire. The Seven-faced God is also analogous to the Holy Trinity, in that the religion is monotheistic but the worshipped deity is portrayed as having multiple aspects, the male portion in this case still having the Father, but replaces the Son and Holy Spirit with the Warrior and Smith. The female portion of the Seven, the Mother, Maiden, and Crone, is based on the Neopagan [[TheThreeFacesofEve Triple Goddess]].

* The Free Cities are loosely based on the [[UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra medieval Italian city-states]] (including Italian-sounding names) and some elements of Ancient Greek culture, with Braavos being a CityOfCanals like Venice and Volantis having an oligarchical form of democracy like Athens and several medieval Italian city-states. Also, the Sealord of Braavos is analogous to the Doge of Venice, since both are non-hereditary positions that any wealthy aristocrat can fill out in an election and the current officeholder's residence is a lavish palace located near the sea. Additionally, the Free Cities correspond to Northern Europe's (France, England) bias about Italian cities as petty domain ruled from lords of bourgeois origin (mostly merchants as the De Medicis), although their cities are extremely wealthy and cultured. They even speak a language descended from Old Valyrian (Latin). Volantis is also one for [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire Constantinople]], as the most powerful of those cities which sees itself as the new heart of the VestigialEmpire.

* Old Ghis is a blatant counterpart of Carthage, right down to [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars its rivalry]] with Valyria, the ASOIAF counterpart of AncientRome. The Slaver Cities --Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen-- are reminiscent of the Barbary States,[[note]]While the term was primarily used from the 16th to 19th centuries, these states had been some of the region's largest slave traders for hundreds of years before then.[[/note]] with their location (where the former Carthaginian Empire and later UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire reigned), geography, and dependence on slave-trading to sustain themselves, as well as slave soldiers. Likewise, Qarth seems to share a great deal with ancient Baghdad.

* The Faith of the Seven is an analogue to medieval Catholicism but lacks the Messianic figure and most of the political power, having largely been hollowed out and subverted by a continent-spanning secular empire. The Seven-faced God is also analogous to the Holy Trinity, in that the religion is monotheistic but the worshipped deity is portrayed as having multiple aspects, the male portion in this case still having the Father, but replaces the Son and Holy Spirit with the Warrior and Smith. The female portion of the Seven, the Mother, Maiden, and Crone, is based on the Neopagan [[TheThreeFacesofEve Triple Goddess]].