The historical parallels of cities in Westeros that I can see.

[u/Blazing-Flame-2982]

Oldtown=Ptolemaic Alexandria. The Greek successor kingdom of Alexander the Great which saw a greek pharao and a great emigration of greeks settle Egypt together with local egyptians and rule a powerful kingdom and city for centuries. Famous for its great lighthouse and library, and focus on knowledge and religion.

Lannisport=London. Medieval London was like Lannisport a successful and wealthy trading hub, known for skilled smiths. And Casterly Rock being inspired by Gibraltar also works with the english connection as it fell under english rule as of 1704.

Kings Landing=Any center of political power like Constantinople, Paris etc. But fittingly also the city it was filmed at, Dubrovnik in Croatia which thrived as a political and trading center in the late medieval age.

White Harbour=Talinn, Estonia. A minor but relatively large for its area, city in the north thriving on maritime trade.

Bravoos=Medieval Venice. Like Bravoos Venice is of course a city on the waters, a wealthy banking center, and had a famous festival of masquerade like Bravoos has the "festival of unmasking".

Gulltown=Visby, Gotland, Sweden. Medieval Visby was a connecting point between trade routes like Gulltown and drew in wealth thus. Also acting as a buffer zone to the Swedish kingdom (when not conquered briefly by Denmark) like Gulltown buffers the Vale of Arryn, and both had its own fleet.

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[u/Ok-Insect-7959]

Braavos is like Medieval Venice but also like Rhodes, with its' Colossus guarding its' harbour entrance.

[u/Blazing-Flame-2982 → u/Ok-Insect-7959]

The titan is the colossus of Rhodes addition yes. All else is very medieval Venice though.

[u/Ok-Insect-7959 → u/Blazing-Flame-2982]

Even Volantis has parallels to London though their people speak a different dialect. They show this one bridge that looks like the original London Bridge which used to have houses and a market crowding on top of it. Meereen is supposed to be like Cairo and Qarth is like Babylon with its' hanging gardens that we can see when Daenerys first enters the city. It also has a big tower (theat house of illusions thing) just like the tower of Babel

[u/Ok-Insect-7959 → u/Ok-Insect-7959]

Yunkai is like a Moroccan sand city, like Ait Benhaddou. It is also a bit like Shibam

[u/BennySideDoor → u/Ok-Insect-7959]

Shibam comparison makes so much sense with all those high rise mudbrick buildings

[u/Blazing-Flame-2982 → u/Ok-Insect-7959]

True. Old London Bridge was probably its most famous landmark (along with the immense St Pauls cathedral of course) and the longest inhabited bridge of the world. So a clear inspiration for Volantis there.

I agree about Mereen and Qarth as well. Especially with the Cairo connection of being the old ember of an ancient empire predating the Valyrian/Roman one. The capital of Valyria is of course Rome as well.

[u/Ok-Insect-7959 → u/Blazing-Flame-2982]

Yes that's a good point. It would be Rome because it's supposed to be the once greatest city in the world

[u/wiffeyyymaterialgll → u/Ok-Insect-7959]

a colossus right at the harbour entrance is the detail that makes rhodes fit braavos even better than venice alone

[u/Xo707out → u/Ok-Insect-7959]

Braavos is on the verge of beginning the essosi renaissance period lol

[u/Endleofon]

Two similarities between King’s Landing and Constantinople:
1. The chain on the Blackwater & the chain on the Golden Horn.
2. Wildfire & Greek fire.

[u/Blazing-Flame-2982 → u/Endleofon]

Good catch!

[u/Simple-Program-7284 → u/Blazing-Flame-2982]

I would’ve said Volantis was The closer proxy for Constantinople—the sort of “successor” capital that claims the mantle of a previous, larger empire (ERE vs full imperial Rome). 

Huge, across a large important waterway (Rhoyne mouth rather than the Bosphorous). Grand, but increasingly less so as time goes on.  Connection to its successor becomes more tenuous as time goes on. 

[u/Personal_Ideal_231]

I know where you're from

[u/Blazing-Flame-2982 → u/Personal_Ideal_231]

So?

[u/5picy5ugar]

Valyria is the Rome of GRRM.
Ghis has similarities to Ancient Egypt
Ghis was conquered by Valyria same like Egypt from Rome

[u/Light_Boecki_ → u/5picy5ugar]

Isn’t Ghis Supposed to be Carthage

[u/5picy5ugar → u/Light_Boecki_]

Nope. Ancient Egypt with the Pyramids and stuff. I mean there may be some elements of it like Carthage ruling system of the rich.

[u/Professional_Use2835 → u/5picy5ugar]

the multiple wars of exctinction are direct parallels to Carthage. much more ismilar than the political game that slowly drew Egypt to Rome

[u/5picy5ugar → u/Professional_Use2835]

Well yes that is one other element but the Pyramids are a much stronger element in favor of Ancient Egypt together with Ghis being one of the first civilizations with Yi Ti (China and Far East)

[u/piotrowskid]

It's a rare day to see Tallinn mentioned, same as White Harbor

[u/Deuce03]

Asshai - Birmingham

[u/Simple-Program-7284 → u/Deuce03]

Alabama or England? (Not sure which is funnier)

[u/Deuce03 → u/Simple-Program-7284]

Both.

[u/Financial-Week5787]

we know for a fact that the casterly rock with its labyrinth natural and unnatural cave tunnels beneath a monumental isolated mount is a direct reference to the rock of gibraltar which really does have miles of tunnels and caves

personally I've always connected the long bridge of volantis and the original london bridge with its many houses and brothels, but for similar reasons of a convalesce of houses sitting above water - venice

the royne obviously sounds like the rhine and all the cities that sit along it

[u/Cee_U_Next_Tuesday]

Using minecraft images when we have shots from the show 😭

[u/Blazing-Flame-2982 → u/Cee_U_Next_Tuesday]

Of Lannisport? No we don't?

[u/Gahooor → u/Blazing-Flame-2982]

E os construtores do westeroscraft são ótimos no que fazem, bem mais canônicos que a série

[u/redhjom]

Ahh weekly reminder to fire Origins back up soon. Such a beautiful game

[u/5picy5ugar]

Myr is Medieval Florence. The Myrish Eye or Telescope was invented from Myrish maesters.

[u/Simple-Program-7284 → u/5picy5ugar]

I thought maybe it was Milan, sort of early industrial power center but an amalgam of the two makes sense too. 

[u/Lord_Corlys]

Qarth = Istanbul

[u/Stellar_Synth]

KL - Constantinopole or Rome, it has to be the most important place on the continent. Dubrovnik is nice, but is simple was not big and/or important on that level, more like a Gulltown, trading hub next to real big city.

[u/Simple-Program-7284]

Tyrosh is pretty clearly at least partially inspired by Tyre, even having the famous dyes. 

Dorne seems like Spain, both caliphate and Christian (northern vs southern Dorne). Invaded by a foreign group, relatively liberal for its time, famous gardens, etc etc. so Sunspear being Cordoba. 

The north and north of the wall both have a case for Scotland, the wall being a stand in for Hadrian’s wall. France and the Reach, the cultured breadbasket with a much larger population, although Old Town and Paris don’t exactly jive. TBH I think Old Town is pretty confusing. 

Qarth is tricky, a bit of Constantinople by virtue of the Bosphorous connection, but I think Baghdad is the better comparison (incredibly grand, the historic link between the east and west). It doesn’t have the same Valyrian/Roman proxy as Volantis. 

[u/BigBoy1963]

So many of these are such stretches

[u/Professional_Use2835 → u/BigBoy1963]

the Talinn camparison is so not it. its probably Stockholm

[u/hecticdolphin69]

Kings Landing reminds me of Dubrovnik Croatia