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There is a lot of attention brought to the Dothraki people inGame Of Thrones, but there isn’t a lot of light shed on their historic battles. Thanks to the dominant and nomadic nature of the people, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that they had a rich history of combat. The Field of Crows is one such conflict that helped to solidify the Dothraki as one of the groups inGame Of Thronesthat no one wants to cross.
Riding around onthe massive continent of Essos, the Dothraki found themselves in the middle of a time of turmoil known as the Century of Blood. During this time, the Dothraki were running rampant, destroying and claiming major cities left and right. Even when massive forces opposed them, they still could not handle the might of the Dothraki, something made evident by the Field of Crows.
Sometime during the Century of Blood
The Dothraki and the Kingdom of Sarnor
Result:
The Dothraki wiped out the Tall Men army and ran rampant through the Kingdom of Sarnor
The Field Of Crows was a major battle inthe history of Essosthat saw the Dothraki taking on the Tall Men, also known as the Sarnori. Interested in dominating all they came across, the Dothraki had a perfect opportunity to lay claim to lands across Essos during the Century of Blood. A massive army of Dothraki would then ride toward the large Kingdom of Sarnor, interested in doing what the Dothraki do best. Not interested in facing the horrifying brutality of the horde that had already been demonstrated in a few Sarnori settlements, the Kingdom rallied its men and confronted the Dothraki. There weren’t many options to defeat the Dothraki, so the Tall Men simply made sure to flex overwhelming numbers against them.
Unfortunately, overwhelming numbers aren’t enough to defeat a force as skilled and driven as the Dothraki. The Tall Men threw everything they had at the Dothrakiin a thrilling battle, but in the end, it wasn’t enough thanks to the genius battle strategy that the Dothraki put on display. This massive loss by the Tall Men was a huge miscalculation for the free people of that region within Essos as this left much of the rest of the kingdom undefended. For the most part, the Dothraki would be able to walk over anyone else who tried to stand against them in the area, leaving the innocents of the land to suffer the most.
The Battle Of The Field Of Crows Armies
The Dothraki:
100,000 men with spears and other light weapons, 20,000 men on horseback, 6000 horse-drawn chariots, led by High King Mazro Alexi
The Tall Men:
80,000 Dothraki on horses, led by the four Khalasars Zhako, Haro, Loso, and Qano
The Tall Men were led by the High King of Sarnor, Mazor Alexi, and he wasn’t simply leading a minor force. By the time the Tall Menmet the Dothraki army in battle, the army had grown to over 100,000 men in size. Roughly 100,000 of those men were equipped with spears or other ranged weapons with another 20,000 men adding to the ranks on horseback. Another 6000 or so men in chariots also rounded out the remainder of the Tall Men’s forces, giving them a massive army to handle the Dothraki. Unfortunately, even with a handful of other kings and a large variety of leaders and legendary heroes among the ranks of the army, they were still no match once the fighting began.
While the Tall Men had a massive and relatively varied force, the Dothraki came right back with the kind of simple force one might expect. With this portion of the army led by the four Khalasars Zhako, Haro, Loso, and Qano, four strong Dothraki leaders’ minds were at play. With them commanding roughly80,000 Arakh-wielding Dothrakion horseback, there weren’t many armies that could have withstood their might. Most armies inGame Of Throneswould have still been nervous taking on a Dothraki horde of that side even if the fight was two-to-one in their favor.
How Did The Field Of Crows End?
While one might not think that the Dothraki wouldimplement complex warfare, they utterly outsmarted the massive Tall Men forces. Without the Dothraki’s brilliant strategy, a victory may have been much bloodier to come by, if they even managed it at all. Essentially, the Dothraki managed to catch the Tall Men by surprise, completely surrounding them and slaughtering them with ease. The Dothraki Khalasars would have had no trouble taking on the average fighters of the army as it is important to keep in mind that they would be the strongest of their people. As Jorah Mormont says inA Game Of Thrones:
The Dothraki follow only the strong.
Believing he was going to get the best of one of the Khalasar, High King Mazor Alexi single-mindedly hunted the man down, only to end up doing exactly what the Dothraki had wanted. The Tall Men were forced to contend with the forces already before them, but soon, the other Khalasars would lead their men to the King from each direction, effectively boxing him into the waves of Dothraki. This means that while the Dothraki may have taken heavy casualties initially, they were then able to absolutely decimate the army of Tall Men, slaughtering the High King of the Sarnori, and providing the Dothraki with one of the biggest victories in the history of their people, long before they ever thought to sailtoward the Iron Throne.
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Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is also threatened by the re-emergence of dragons, and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
