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- What Was The Sack Of King’s Landing In Game Of Thrones?
- Who Fought In The Sack Of King’s Landing?
- How Did The Sack Of King’s Landing End?
Fans of Game Of Thrones will know how important King’s Landing is. The powerful capital city is home to the most powerful people in Westeros, simultaneously making it one of the safest and also one of the most dangerous places to be. Thanks to the strife that can exist surrounding who is currently ruling and who would like to rule, it’s not uncommon for King’s Landing to be left spiraling at different points to break up the city’s prosperity.
Those who have viewed the entirety of Game Of Thrones may believe that Daenerys assault on King’s Landing was the sacking of the city, and while that is true, it is not the event that is being referred to. Instead, the Sack of King’s Landing took place before the Game Of Thrones series began. It might just be one of the most controversial attacks to occur throughout the history of Westeros, and it’s all thanks to a familiar family and some familiar characters.
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What Was The Sack Of King’s Landing In Game Of Thrones?
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The Sack Of King’s Landing |
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Date: |
281 AC |
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Setting: |
King’s Landing |
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Outcome: |
The Mad King and his family are killed, and Robert Baratheon takes the Iron Throne |
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Houses Involved: |
House Lannister, House Clegane, House Targaryen |
The Sack of King’s Landing is exactly what the name suggests, a massive force ran rampant across King’s Landing in an event that would see Robert’s Rebellion officially coming to a close. This wasn’t just a simple takeover of King’s Landing either, the assault was sad to be incredibly brutal for even innocents within the walls of the city. The only saving grace of all the violence is the fact that this event saw the final defeat of the Mad King and the oppressive Targaryen rule. Jorah Mormont makes it clear just how cruel the Sack of King’s Landing was in A Storm Of Swords:
“I saw King’s Landing after the Sack. Babes were butchered that day as well, and old men, and children at play.”
Directly following the bloody Battle of the Trident, Eddard Stark led what men remained of the forces from that battle, essentially ensuring that the Mad King’s long reign was doomed to end. Tywin Lannister as the head of House Lannister, who had remained neutral up to the defeat of Prince Rhaegar at the Battle of the Trident, headed to King’s Landing with a massive force under the guise of protecting the throne. Once inside the city, Tywin put on a display of faith for Robert Baratheon, knowing he would be the king upon the Mad King’s defeat, and his forces completely ransacked the city. With essentially no forces to counter the invaders, the Lannister’s bannermen were able to do as they pleased across the city.
Who Fought In The Sack Of King’s Landing?
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Major People In The Sack Of King’s Landing |
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The Lannister Forces |
Lord Tywin Lannister, Ser Gregor Clegane, Jaime Lannister, and 10,000 Lannister bannermen, |
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The Iron Throne |
King Aerys II Targaryen and a handful of guards. |
Should Tywin Lannister have stood against the remaining rebels, a decisive victory may not have occurred, resulting in a continued reign from the Mad King, for at least a short while longer. Luckily, the always cunning and cruel Tywin Lannister fought on the side of the rebellion, leading roughly 10,000 Lannister soldiers into King’s Landing. While his move may not have been honorable to some, Tywin’s victory in King’s Landing would go down as a thing of legend, with the event often being talked about over the course of the Game Of Thrones series and the following War of the Five Kings. Outside of Tywin, both Ser Gregor Clegane and his son Jaime Lannister played pivotal roles in the Sack of King’s Landing.
Gregor Clegane, perhaps better known as The Mountain, was a brutal tyrant in his own right during the Sack of King’s landing. The full extent of his violence is not known, but it is known that he killed Elia Martell and her children, something that would later raise Oberyn Martell to challenge The Mountain. At the same time, Jaime Lannister was actively serving as a member of the Mad King’s Kingsguard when he betrayed his ruler. This moment would remain infamous across Game Of Thrones and would haunt Jaime for the remainder of his life.
Sadly, the Mad King had thrown nearly everything he had at Robert’s forces at the Battle of the Trident, leaving King’s Landing with little in the way of defense. King Aerys II Targaryen stood with whatever men were still willing to stand in his defense, but it wasn’t going to be enough to handle Eddard Stark’s incoming forces, let alone 10,000 well-trained Lannisters. If even his own Kingsguard was willing to betray him, it is clear that the Mad King had little in the way of resistance for King’s Landing.
How Did The Sack Of King’s Landing End?
The Sack of King’s Landing is another event that doesn’t exactly have a clean ending. The brutalization of the city likely continued to occur long after the moment that points to the end of the conflict. The moment that is spoken about as the true end of the reign of the Mad King, and indeed the end of and success of Robert’s Rebellion is Jaime Lannister’s killing of the Mad King. It is unclear as to whether Jaime Lannister is fully truthful in his reasons for why he killed the Mad King in a betrayal of his post, but he claims that it was due to the fact that the Mad King planned to burn the city to the ground regardless, forcing Jaime to act.
The remainder of Jaime’s life would be colored by the fact that he betrayed the king who swore him into his post on the Kingsguard. Despite Jaime’s actions, it could be argued that the entire conflict was done long before the Mad King died. In A Clash Of Kings, Maester Pycelle even admits his involvement with the Sack of King’s Landing in a conversation with Tyrion:
All I did, I did for House Lannister. Always… for years… your lord father, ask him, I was ever his true servant… ’twas I who bid Aerys open his gates…
When Eddard Stark arrived to find Jaime pompously seated on the Mad King’s throne, he was anything but thrilled. He actually believed that the Lannisters deserved to face punishment thanks to their less-than-honorable actions in the war. That wouldn’t end up happening, but it would signal trouble between House Stark and House Lannister that would remain for years to come.
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