A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Season 1 finale addresses one of the most peculiar pieces of Westeros history: the term “the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.” This is something that’s been commonly heard throughout the Game of Thrones franchise (and George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books), and, of course, gives the latest prequel part of its title. And yet, it doesn’t entirely make sense, as Egg partially explains in Season 1, Episode 6.
While Dunk says they can go wherever they want in the Seven Kingdoms, Egg tells him there are actually nine, much to Dunk’s surprise and confusion. We then get a new title card, calling the show A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms – although it seems safe to assume that name won’t be sticking: it’s a funny bit, but would be quite terrible for marketing and branding purposes. And that sort of gets to the heart of why it’s known as the Seven Kingdoms: it’s the traditional name that has stuck around.
The Term “Seven Kingdoms” Pre-Dates Aegon’s Conquest
Westeros Eventually Became Divided Into 9 Different Regions
Image via HBO
For the thousands of years of Westerosi history that pre-date Aegon’s Conquest (which was a couple of hundred years before A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1’s timeline), the land was divided up into various different kingdoms. These would often change over time, as one conquered another, new areas were claimed, and so on (at one point, there were 100). At the point when Aegon Targaryen came to conquer Westeros, there were seven distinct kingdoms, each ruled by their own monarch:
KingdomMonarchThe NorthTorrhen StarkMountain & ValeRonnel ArrynThe Isles & The RiversHarren HoareThe ReachMern IX GardenerThe RockLoren I LannisterThe StormArgilac DurrandonDorneMeria Martell
Aegon conquered all of these with the exception of Dorne, which managed to successfully resist, and would not be brought into the fold until 161 AC. This does not include the lands beyond the Wall, nor Dragonstone, which at that point was already the seat of House Targaryen.
When Aegon officially became king of a (mostly) unified Westeros, he was named, among other titles, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Seven is a highly significant number in Westeros, and Aegon was joining the Faith of the Seven, so it did hold importance. Although Dorne hadn’t been conquered, the new king split The Isle and Rivers into two separate territories, with separate lords for the riverlands and the Iron Islands, thus meaning he was still officially lord of seven “kingdoms”.
He also established several Great Houses after the Conquest, with others having gone extinct. The Starks, Lannisters, Arryns, and Martells kept their positions, but others who were raised up included House Tully, who were granted the newly-separate riverlands; House Greyjoy, who replaced House Hoare at the Iron Islands; House Tyrell, who took over the Reach from House Gardener; and House Baratheon, who were given the stormlands after Durrandons.
However, Aegon also chose to develop the area where he’d first landed in into a new city, called King’s Landing, which then grew to become the region known as the crownlands. This, combined with Dorne, is why there are actually nine so-called kingdoms of Westeros, or rather, nine different regions, even though the name hasn’t changed in the last 209 years. So while Egg is pedantically correct, Dunk’s confusion is more than understandable.
RegionRuling House in AKOTSKThe NorthHouse StarkThe ValeHouse ArrynThe Iron IslandsHouse GreyjoyThe RiverlandsHouse TullyThe ReachHouse TyrellThe StormlandsHouse BaratheonThe WesterlandsHouse LannisterThe CrownlandsHouse TargaryenDorneHouse Martell
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 2 is confirmed and will release sometime in 2027. All six episodes of Season 1 are available to stream on HBO and HBO Max.
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