‘House of the Dragon’: How Andals invaded Westeros 6000 years ago, before House Targaryen
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: By now, viewers have become familiar with the world of House Targaryen in King's Landing, Westeros. The second episode of the prequel 'House of the Dragon' aired on August 28. It took us much deeper into the dynamics of Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), the renegade prince. While the world of George RR Martin entertains fans with the war saga, one of the many unknown but interesting stories that people may not know is how the Andals conquered Westeros some six thousand years ago, even before the House Targaryen.
Before the third episode airs worldwide on September 4, we take an in-depth look at how the Andals invaded Westeros nearly six thousand years ago, before House Targaryen came into being.
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Who are the Andals?
The Andals are a race of men that conquered Westeros 6000 years prior to the events of iconic ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘House of the Dragon’. In the present day, they are the dominant ethnic and cultural group on the continent.
Andal invasion
The original homeland of the Andals was a region on the west coast of Essos called Andalos. It was located north of the modern Free City of Pentos. 6000 years ago, they had received visions from the 'Seven-faced God.' After those premonitions, the Andals were prompted by their new Faith to travel to Westeros. Post reaching there, Andals invaded and seized most of the continent which was then inhabited by the First Men. Originally, it is Andals who brought the concept of chivalry and the manufacture of iron-wrought weapons and armor with them from Essos.
The Andals did conquer the Iron Islands as they did the rest of southern Westeros. Interestingly, the Andal families got themselves accustomed to the unique iron-born society on the islands. They all even went far to the extent of converting the local religion of the Drowned God. Thus while some Andal bloodlines were introduced to the Iron Islands, the cultural impact of their invasion was relatively minor.
Andals introduced intermarriage within their population of First Men
In many cases, it is real that the Andals intermarried with the populations of First Men that they conquered. Still, the overwhelming influence on the gene pool of the continent is from the Andals. It is so much stronger, even the Seven Kingdoms are often called 'The Land of the Andals' by peoples in Essos (such as the Dothraki).
The exceptions are the North wherein the Andals never conquered. In the north, the blood of the First Men is still strong. Within Dorne, the Andal inhabitants later amalgamated with the refugees from the east.