It’s no secret that George R.R. Martin based aspects of his Song of Ice and Fire series on actual history. (The War of the Five Kings is the War of the Roses, Daenerys is Henry Tudor, etc.) Another, less-discussed comparison can be made between the Valyrian Empire, the hegemonic civilization that ruled Essos hundreds of years before the series began, and the Roman Empire.
YouTuber Invicta does deep dives into history, both real and fake. He recently did a terrific series on the history of dragon warfare in A Song of Ice and Fire, and had occasion to discuss this very topic. We now bring you his thoughts on the comparisons between the Valyrian and Roman Empires in the hope you will find them enriching and entertaining. Also dragons.
"Stage 1: Rome/Valyria are small regional players in the shadows of surrounding giants."
Here, the Valyrian Empire is shown in red. Like the Roman Empire, the Valyria Empire originated upon a peninsula. In purple, we see the Old Empire of Ghis, whose origins predate Valyria by some thousands of years. The remnants of Ghis can be seen still today in the cities of Slaver’s Bay, and its emblem was the great harpy like the one Daenerys tore down off the pyramid in season 5. The Carthaginian Empire didn’t predate the Roman Empire by that long, but the comparison is still there.
"Stage 2: Rome/Valyria break onto the world stage by knocking out the previous top dog. For Valyria this was a series of five wars against the Empire of Ghis, for Rome this was a series of three wars against Carthage."
The wars between Rome and Carthage were known as the Punic Wars, and they sucked for Carthage. What’s more, the Roman’s didn’t even have dragons on their side, which must have made Carthage’s defeat particularly embarrassing.
Rome would go on to wipe Carthage from the face of the Earth, while Valyria allowed some of the cities of Slaver’s Bay to persist. They did a number of the capital city of Old Ghis, though.
"Stage 3: Rome/Valyria territorial expansion explodes in the downfall of their main opponent. Huge new swaths of territory bring vast quantities of material goods and slaves."
These were the good times. That’s the kingdoms of the Rhoynar in blue, by the way.
"Stage 4a: Rome/Valyria face the last remnants of organized opposition. For Valyria this was the Andal/Rhoynar kingdoms, for Rome this was the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the east.Stage 4b: Rome/Valyria consolidate empire and reach civilizational heights."
The Hellenistic Kingdoms were formed after the Macedonian king Alexander the Great invaded the Persian Empire. Naturally, Rome came out on top in that struggle. The Valyrians beat the kingdoms of the Rhoynar, as well, which inspired the Rhoynar people to flee across the Narrow Sea and settle in Dorne under the leadership of Princess Nymeria (the namesake of Arya’s direwolf.) Both the Roman and Valyria Empires would enjoy dominion over their respective continents for years to come, but nothing lasts forever.
"Stage 5: Rome/Valyria empire collapses. Following centuries are characterized by fierce fighting for the scraps of territory."
Granted, the two empires collapsed in markedly different ways. Rome collapsed due to a variety of factors, such as over-expansion, repeated pressure from barbarian tribes, and other reasons that ultimately amounted to being victims of their own excess.
Valyria, on the other hand, collapsed for a single specific reason: the Doom. The Doom of Valyria was the simultaneous eruption of 14 volcanoes known as the Fourteen Flames. (Kind of like how the Roman town-city of Pompeii was destroyed by a volcano, but, like, super-sized.) Hundred of smaller volcanoes and hill tops exploded as well, virtually destroying the Valyrian Peninsula. That included all of the world’s dragons save the three residing on Dragonstone with the only surviving Valyrian family: the Targaryens. Now, all that’s left of the Varlyian Empire is the ruins Tyrion and Jorah sailed through in season 5.
For reference, below is Invicta’s video on the subject. Always worth a watch.