A lot happened in Westeros before the events of Game of Thrones. We're seeing some of it in the prequel series House of the Dragon. But a lot also happened before House of the Dragon. Over a hundred years before that, Aegon the Conqueror invaded Westeros and united dozens of warring kingdoms under one ruler. This per-Targaryen period of Westerosi history was known as the Age of the Hundred Kingdoms, and it hasn't been very thoroughly explored, neither on TV nor in the writings of George R.R. Martin. That's where the fans step in.
Reddior AlisterSinclair2002 recently posted a beautiful, full-color map of Westeros as it would have looked during the Age of the Hundred Kingdoms to Reddit. Take a look below:
Map of Westeros during the Age of Legends (Via Reddit: https://t.co/Oi0R7it3lo) pic.twitter.com/sb5lqXyJw0
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There may not literally be one hundred kingdoms, but there are way more than seven. The Starks may be the biggest house in the North, but they have to share it with kingdoms ruled over by Houses Bolton, Ryder, Umber and more. The Stormlands are dominated by House Durrandon, before the rise of House Baratheon; and the most powerful house in the Reach is House Gardener, rather than House Tyrell.
Aegon's Conquest would shake all of this up, with some houses being wiped off the map and others becoming vassals to majors houses like the Starks and the Lannisters. And by the time of Game of Thrones, some of those major houes would die off as well.
If HBO ever gets around to making a Game of Thrones spinoff show about Aegon the Conqueror, perhaps we'll see what Westeros looked like during this time period. When that happens, surely the producers will happy for this map.
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