Tyrosh

Tyrosh is a harbor city and one of the Free Cities. It is on an island to the north of the Stepstones, just off the coast of the Disputed Lands of Essos.

## City

### Location and Layout

Tyrosh, a fortress city protected by high walls, is on the northernmost and easternmost of the Stepstones. Its inner walls are fused black dragonstone. Tyrosh is far larger than the shadow city of Sunspear.

Tyrosh has a large fleet. At the mouth of its harbor lies the Bleeding Tower.

In the city lies the Fountain of the Drunken God. There is no established faith in Tyrosh, and temples and shrines in honor of many different gods line the streets and waterfronts of the city. The Temple of Trios has a large statue of the three-headed Trios beside the temple's doors. R'hllor is worshipped in Tyrosh as well, as well as the Patternmaker and other gods.

Like Lys, Tyrosh has pleasure houses.

### People

The Archon of Tyrosh is chosen from among the members of a conclave of the wealthiest and noblest of the city.

Tyroshi are considered boisterous, flamboyant, and greedy. They love bright colors, dyeing their hair and beards brightly in colors such as blue, green, maroon, pink, purple, scarlet, and vermilion. Their hats are considered queer by Westerosi.

The Tyroshi constantly fight Lyseni and Myrmen to gain control of the Stepstones and Disputed Lands. Their inventors are known for creating ornate helmets and ingenious torture devices.

The Tyroshi tongue is a corrupted form of High Valyrian. Chett, who comes from Hag's Mire, thinks the Tyroshi speak a wet girly tongue, and Tyrion Lannister thinks that Collio Quaynis has a ludicrous accent. The daughter of the Archon during the early reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen was considered to have a delightful accent, however.

### Economy

Tyrosh is a merchantile city, where trade is considered a much more honorable profession than arms. Shortly after its founding, Tyrosh quickly grew out into a rich city, due to the discovery of a certain variety of sea snail. Tyrosh has at least one bank.

Tyrosh is deeply involved in the slave trade, and Tyroshi slavers are known to be especially aggressive. They even sail north beyond the Wall, in search of free folk to enslave. Slaves outnumber freeborn in Tyrosh three to one. Sellswords are also common in the city.

Pear brandy and baked honeyfingers are produced in Tyrosh, and the city's craftsmen design gilded helms and filigreed armor. The fantastic helmets can be shaped like birds and animals and are chased with precious metals.

## History

### Foundation

Tyrosh began as a military outpost of the Valyrian Freehold on a bleak stony isle to control shipping through the Stepstones. They soon discovered in the nearby waters a unique variety of sea snail whose secretions were used to create a dye popular with Valyrian nobles. Thousands of merchants developed Tyrosh into a major city within a generation. Tyroshi dyers learned to produce different colors of dyes by varying the diet of the snails.

### After the Doom

Some Dragonlords in Tyrosh survived the Doom of Valyria, but the citizens killed the dragons and their dragonriders. During the Century of Blood, the Free City of Volantis thought to add Tyrosh to her conquests, after they had conquered Myr and Lys. Their attempt to take Tyrosh, however, made their empire collapse. Pentos came to the aid of the Tyroshi, as well as two Westerosi, the Storm King Argilac Durrandon of Storm's End and Aegon Targaryen of Dragonlords. Lys and Myr both rose in rebellion against Volantis.

After the flight of Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon from Dragonstone in 44 AC, Tyrosh was one of the places where she was rumored to have gone into hiding with her youngest two children. The Archon of Tyrosh traveled to the Seven Kingdoms in 49 AC for the Golden Wedding of Rogar Baratheon and Alyssa Velaryon, accompanied by his maiden daughter. When it was later suggested that King Jaehaerys I Targaryen should take the Archon's daughter as his bride, Alyssa argued against the match, fearing the Westerosi would never accept a foreign queen. In 50 AC Ser Orryn Baratheon took service with the Archon of Tyrosh and wed his daughter a year later. Tyrosh and Pentos began a war in 55 AC which significantly disrupted trade in the narrow sea. In 58 AC both sides requested that King Jaehaerys I Targaryen to act as a mediator in negotiations to end the dispute. The Prince of Pentos and the Archon traveled to King's Landing to conduct negotiations in person, and they eventually agreed upon "A Treaty of Eternal Peace".

Elissa Farman visited Tyrosh while sailing *Sun Chaser* from Braavos to Oldtown.

### The Triarchy and the Daughters' War

After the defeat of Volantis in the Battle of the Borderland, Tyrosh formed the Triarchy with Lys and Myr in 96 AC. The Triarchy, also known as the Kingdom of the Three Daughters, fought with Prince Daemon Targaryen over the Stepstones in 106 AC. Racallio Ryndoon of Tyrosh led an invasion fleet against Daemon's island kingdom in 110 AC.

During the Dance of the Dragons, the High Council of the Triarchy met in Tyrosh and accepted Ser Tyland Lannister's offer of alliance with the greens. A Tyroshi captain captured Prince Viserys Targaryen before the Battle of the Gullet, but the captive was claimed by the Triarchy's admiral, Sharako Lohar of Lys. Since most of the Triarchy's casualties during the battle were from Myrish and Tyrosh ships, the widows of those cities blamed Sharako for protecting his own Lysene ships.

The Daughters' War broke out after the murder of Sharako. Although the admiral was killed in a personal dispute over the Black Swan, it was rumored that he had been assassinated by Myr. Tyrosh claimed the Stepstones when Lys and Myr began fighting. Racallio claimed the Stepstones for himself as King of the Narrow Sea, however. With the Dance ended, Ser Oscar Tully led the Stormbreakers to Tyrosh and the Disputed Lands.

Lys and Myr made peace and began attacking Tyrosh, forcing the Archon to recall his men from the Stepstones. Tyrosh allied with Racallio and Braavos to jointly rule the Stepstones, but the alliance collapsed after Lord Alyn's attack. In the aftermath of the battle, Bloodstone and the southern Stepstones were held by Racallio, while Pentoshi sellswords hired by the Archon controlled the northern and eastern islands. When Racallio accused Lord Alyn Velaryon of being a Tyroshi spy, Alyn Oakenfist was forced to kill three Tyroshi prisoners at Bloodstone to prove his innocence.

Dorne eventually joined the war on the side of Tyrosh and Lys against Racallio. When the Daughters' War ended, Tyrosh gained much of the Disputed Lands. Tyroshi ships frequented King's Landing during the Lysene Spring. During the fall of the Rogare Bank, Moredo Rogare fled the Vale of Arryn for Braavos. After negotiating with the Iron Bank, Moredo sailed for Tyrosh and hired mercenaries for an attack on Lys. In 136 AC Lord Velaryon gathered a fleet of merchantmen for a voyage to Tyrosh and other Free Cities.

### Targaryen and Blackfyre Involvement

King Aegon IV Targaryen arranged the betrothal of his bastard son, Daemon Blackfyre, with Rohanne of Tyrosh. Aegon died before the marriage could take place, so his successor, King Daeron II Targaryen, paid the dowry to the Archon of Tyrosh and saw Daemon and Rohanne wed. Daemon and Rohanne had seven sons (including Aegon, Aemon, Daemon, Haegon and Aenys), and at least two daughters.

After the First Blackfyre Rebellion led to the defeat and death of Daemon and his eldest two sons, Aegon and Aemon, Daemon's half-brother Aegor Rivers gathered Daemon's surviving sons, daughters, and wife and fled to Tyrosh, where they remained for years. Haegon was eventually crowned in Tyrosh as a rival to Aerys I Targaryen, the king on the Iron Throne.

Kiera of Tyrosh married Prince Valarr Targaryen in Westeros, with whom she had several stillborn sons. Valarr died in 209 AC, and Kiera eventually remarried, this time to Prince Daeron Targaryen, Valarr's cousin. Both Valarr and Daeron had been directly in line for the Iron Throne at the time of their marriages, respectively, as their fathers were crown princes at the time. With Daeron, Kiera had one child, Princess Vaella.

### War of the Ninepenny Kings

The Band of Nine, a group of sellswords, pirates, and merchants who had conquered the Disputed Lands, sacked Tyrosh and continued on to the Stepstones. The wealthy merchant Alequo Adarys was placed in charge of Tyrosh, replacing the Archon. While the Band of Nine was defeated in the War of the Ninepenny Kings in late 260 AC, and the fighting against the Band of Nine in the Stepstones and the Disputed Lands lasted only another half year, Alequo remained in charge of Tyrosh for another six years. In the end, he was poisoned by his queen, and the Archon was restored.