Of all locations in Game of Thrones, King’s Landing remains one of the most iconic due to its connection to the infamous Iron Throne. Being the capital of the Seven Kingdoms and location of the Iron Throne, anyone holding King’s Landing essentially holds the entire Seven Kingdoms. With this in mind, it’s easy to see how King’s Landing is the most prominent political location for both the Game of Thrones series and participants of the in-game “Game of Thrones.”

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However, it’s important to note that the sight and dialogue of King’s Landing’s denizens alone aren’t enough to encapsulate the rich history and culture of the region. In fact, there are certain things about King’s Landing only readers of the books would remember, making the area much richer in depth.

8 A Matter Of Size, Population

Game of Thrones Kings Landing Top View

Given the realistic take George R. R. Martin took when designing his cities, there was no “official” description as to just how large the city was in terms of both size and population. While Tyrion Lannister mentions (A Storm Of Swords) that the city has a rough population of half a million people, the only point of comparison this number has in real life comes from a So Spake Martin archive entry, where GRRM clarifies that King’s Landing population is larger than medieval Paris or London but smaller than ancient Rome.

It’s only until The World Of Ice And Fire that more depth has been added to the numbers thanks to a reference to the actual size of King’s Landing. According to the sourcebook, while King’s Landing has the highest population in Westeros, its area is much smaller compared to Essos towns such as Volon Therys, Valysar, and Selhorys, and especially the rest of its Free Cities.

7 Rhaenys’s Hill Represented Social Divide

Game of Thrones Margaery in Streets of Silk versus Flea Bottom

Despite being the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, King’s Landing isn’t, by all means, a grand city. With its three hills being its most prominent features, the same three hills also represented social status in King’s Landing. For instance, areas situated on the higher slopes of the hills were commonly associated with wealthier citizens, such as the Street of Silk which has high-end brothels located on the right side of Rhaenys’s Hill facing the west.

In stark contrast, just opposite the Street of Silk and at the foot of Rhaenys’s Hill to the east lies Flea Bottom, the worst slum in the city. Such is its condensed population that its alleys and streets form mazes, and the poorest of smallfolk had to eat what’s called “bowls of brown,” or stew that is being continuously cooked for years and contains a number of mystery ingredients, which may include dead rats and, according to some, even murder victims.

6 Divided Into The Hundred Kingdoms, United By Aegonfort

Game of Thrones Aegon the Conqueror and his siblings

Before Aegon I Targaryen decided to conquer Westeros, the area of King’s Landing was contested land for the rulers of the Hundred Kingdoms, with territories divided among petty kings and river kings. While the three major hills characteristic of the future city would already house forts and towers back then, constant conflicts would always destroy them. It was around the time of Aegon’s Conquest that the foundations of King’s Landing were laid.

This all began when Aegon the Conqueror arrived in the crownlands from their family’s fortress in Dragonstone and immediately took control of the highest hill. He then commenced the formation of a somewhat basic fortress of earth and wood, which would be known as Aegonfort, and that hill would eventually be known as Aegon’s High Hill.

5 Aegon’s Conquest Resulted In The Iron Throne

Game of Thrones A dragon breathing fire

While Aegon’s Conquest took place across an arduous year and across multiple battles, two perhaps set the mark as the most brutal displays of Targaryen power: the Burning of Harrenhal, and the Field of Fire. In the first battle, King Harren the Black had just finished the construction of Harrenhal, the largest castle in Westeros. With this coinciding just as Aegon first arrived in Westeros, Harren the Black was confident the castle would withstand dragonfire. In a single night Harrenhal was sacked and burned, with House Hoarse erased from existence.

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The second battle would take place during the conquest of the Reach, where the unity of Houses Lannister and Gardener resulted in the defense of Goldengrove. Aegon and his sisters arrived with all three dragons - Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar - and simply burned the battlefield. The result of the two battles was the same: swords from the dead and those who surrendered were shipped to Aegonfort to become materials for the Iron Throne.

4 King’s Landing Was A Surprising Choice For A Capital

Game of Thrones Aegonfort

By the time Aegon the Conqueror was acknowledged as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, people were surprised by his choice to make his capital around the town surrounding Aegonfort. After all, his home at Dragonstone would make perfect sense as the seat of the Targaryen power. Moreover, Oldtown being the greatest city prior to his conquest would make a perfect representation of Targaryen presence in Westeros.

Instead, Aegon the Conqueror had a more sensible reason for choosing the town around Aegonfort. Simply put, Aegon saw the advantage of the town being located nearer to the center of Westeros as this put House Targaryen “away” from the vassals. In fact, Aegon foresaw that King’s Landing would far outgrow Lannisport or Oldtown as the “greatest” of the cities in the Seven Kingdoms.

3 Aegon The Conqueror Never Saw The Red Keep

Game of Thrones The Red Keep

While King’s Landing officially became a city in 10AC, it was only in 35AC or 35 years after Aegon’s Conquest that Aegon the Conqueror realized that Aegonfort isn’t “deserving” of being his seat of power given the city’s expansion. It was at this time that he and his family moved back to Dragonstone and ordered Aegonfort burned down.

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Afterward, he had both his Queen Visenya Targaryen and the Hand, Lord Alyn Stokeworth, oversee the construction of the Red Keep. Unfortunately, Aegon the Conqueror won’t ever see the Red Keep become completed. It was only during the reign of Maegor the Cruel, the third Lord of Westeros, that the Red Keep would be completed. The Red Keep got its name because of the color of its stone.

2 It Wasn't Safe From Rebellions

The Faith Militant in Game of Thrones.

While the show depicted uprisings by the likes of the Faith Militant in King’s Landing, these scenes aren’t by far the worst rebellions and uprisings to have happened in the capital. The first such event was the Faith Militant uprising during the early years of the Seven Kingdoms when the militants of the Faith of the Seven expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the succession of the throne after Aegon the Conqueror. This resulted in Maegor the Cruel burning the Sept of Remembrance with dragonfire, and its remains becoming the Dragonpit.

Civilian unrest also ravaged King’s Landing during the Shivers, where even a starving mob murdered the current Master of Coin out of high prices of bread. During the Targaryen’s Dance of the Dragons, riots also broke out in protest against Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, whose faction took King’s Landing from Aegon the Elder. It was around the reign of Aegon III that the city's walls were recommended for fortification to resist attacks from within King’s Landing.

1 It Wasn't Safe From Plagues

Game of Thrones A city burning

Great as it is, King’s Landing being the capital of the Seven Kingdoms didn’t mean it was impervious to any kind of plague. In fact, King’s Landing was afflicted by numerous plagues and illnesses throughout its existence that affected the way the Targaryens ruled for a time.

For instance, the Shivers during the winters of 59AC to 60AC is a terrifying chill that manages to take the lives of half the small council and even the daughter of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, Princess Daenerys I. After the Targaryen civil war, the Dance of Dragons, the Winter Fever endemic shook King’s Landing during the winters of 132AC to 133AC, where the dying had a high fever but felt severe chills. Another notable plague to have hit King’s Landing was the Great Spring Sickness of 209AC to 210AC, which took not only reigning King Daeron II Targaryen but also his immediate heirs.

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