Wait… what is that little bald-headed runt on about? Aren’t there, you know, seven kingdoms in the geopolitical entity known as the Seven Kingdoms? The short answer to that is no. The longer answer to that is “it’s complicated.” Truthfully, there is only one “kingdom” on the continent of Westeros and it just so happens to be called the singular “Seven Kingdoms.” That name is akin to collective country titles like the United States of America or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
But while the U.S. and U.K. don’t contain numbers in their names, the Seven Kingdoms does and it has now outgrown that initial number. Here is how that happened and why the Seven Kingdoms could more accurately be described as “One Kingdom Consisting of Nine Regions.”
There Were Seven Independent Kingdoms Before Aegon’s Conquest
Before Aegon Targaryen, his sisters, and their dragons landed on the shores of Westeros, the continent was divided into seven independent kingdoms. These kingdoms were:
The Kingdom of the North, ruled by House Stark in Winterfell
The Kingdom of the Mountain and the Vale, ruled by House Arryn in the Eyrie
The Kingdom of the Isles and Rivers, ruled by House Hoare in Harrenhal
The Kingdom of the Rock, ruled by House Lannister in Casterly Rock
The Kingdom of the Reach, ruled by House Gardener in Highgarden
The Kingdom of the Storm, ruled by House Durrandon in Storm’s End
Dorne, ruled by House Nymeros Martell (which styles themselves as princes, not kings) in Sunspear
While everyone else saw seven independent kingdoms, Aegon saw just one landmass ripe for the taking. So he set out from his seat on the island of Dragonstone and took it! Some kingdoms (including the North, the Vale, and the Rock) understood they couldn’t win a fight against three dragons and laid down their arms. The ruling houses there were subsequently awarded positions as “wardens” of their respective regions – swearing fealty to King Aegon I as the one true king of all seven kingdoms while maintaining some power and autonomy of their own. Others foolishly tried to fight and had their whole lines extinguished (including House Hoare of the Iron Islands and Riverlands, House Gardener of the Reach, and House Durrandon of the Stormlands).
Only Dorne and its favorable geography proved successful in repelling the dragon threat, remaining independent until King Daeron II brought them into the realm via marriage later on. Still, despite not having actual control of Dorne, King Aegon I styled himself as the “Lord of the Seven Kingdoms” to establish his dominion over the continent. The name “Seven Kingdoms” stuck throughout the years even though there was but one king and one kingdom, give or take a Dorne.
