Essos

Eastern continent of the Known World, home to diverse city-states.

Essos is a vast continent east of Westeros, separated by the Narrow Sea. Its western edge is home to the Free Cities, nine independent city-states, while its southern coast includes Slaver's Bay and the ruins of Valyria, the former homeland of House Targaryen. The continent plays a central role in the narrative as a setting for key events and cultures.

Quick Facts

Location: East of Westeros, across the Narrow Sea
Notable regions: Free Cities, Slaver's Bay, Valyrian ruins
Neighboring continents: Westeros to the west, Sothoryos and Ulthos to the south

Facts from the source article.

Maps

The first book of the series, A Game of Thrones, includes two maps of Westeros. Subsequent volumes added one or two maps each, so that by A Dance with Dragons, seven maps of the fictional world are available. Martin stated in 2003 that complete world maps were not provided to help readers identify with medieval people who were ignorant of distant lands. He also did not subscribe to the idea that characters must visit every place shown on a map.

He was intentionally vague about the world's size, omitting a scale to discourage predictions of travel times. A new map artist was used for A Dance with Dragons, resulting in two versions by James Sinclair and Jeffrey L. Ward. A set of twelve foldout maps, The Lands of Ice and Fire, was published on October 30, 2012, drawn by Jonathan Roberts based on Martin's drafts. These maps include titles such as "The Known World", "Central Essos", "The East", "The Free Cities", "Slaver's Bay", and "The Dothraki Sea".

Westeros {{anchor|Westeros}}

Westeros is an elongated continent roughly the size of South America. The Seven Kingdoms occupy the southern side of the Wall, a massive ice structure 700 feet high and 300 miles long. The Neck, a swampy isthmus, divides the Seven Kingdoms into the North and South. Land north of the Wall is about the size of Canada but largely unmapped, especially the ice fields beyond the Frostfangs.

The continent's northern extent is unknown but may connect to a polar ice cap called the White Waste. At the story's start, most of Westeros is united under a single king on the Iron Throne in King's Landing. Each region is controlled by a major noble house owing fealty to the throne. Martin drew inspiration from medieval European history, including the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses.

The first inhabitants were the Children of the Forest, a Stone Age species who carved faces in weirwood trees. Later, the First Men arrived from Essos via a land bridge, leading to war and eventually the Pact, beginning the Age of Heroes.

Summer Sea

East of Naath, the Basilisk Isles serve as a haven for pirates, slavers, and outlaws. Ruins exist on the Isle of Tears, Isle of Toads, and Ax Island. The Isle of Tears, the largest, was conquered by the Ghiscari and called Gorgai for two centuries, then captured by Valyrian dragonlords and renamed Gorgossos, used as a prison. Naath, or the Isle of Butterflies, lies off northwest Sothoryos, west of the Basilisk Isles.

Its people have dark skin and golden eyes, practice pacifism, eat only fruit, and are vulnerable to slavers. Foreigners must limit their stay due to Butterfly Fever, to which Naathi are immune. Daenerys' interpreter Missandei is from Naath. The Summer Islands, south of Westeros, have talking birds, apes, and monkeys.

Natives are dark-skinned, wear feathered clothes, and live on fruit and fish. Their port Tall Trees Town exports wine, spices, feathers, and special wood for bows. Summer Islander vessels are called swan ships. Samwell Tarly describes their women as wanton and their gods as strange; they revere the elderly and celebrate the dead through sexual intercourse. A prostitute explains to Tyrion that Summer Islanders view sexuality as a gift to worship gods through mating.