Kingdom of the Rock

Kingdom of the Rock or the West is one of constituent kingdoms of Westeros. The westerlands is ruled from Casterly Rock by House Lannister. Notable bannermen have included Banefort, Brax, Broom, Clegane, Crakehall, Farman, Lefford, Lydden, Marbrand, Payne, Prester, Reyne, Serrett, Swyft, Tarbeck, and Westerling

Geography
The westerlands is known for its rugged hills, rolling plains, fertile fields, and broadleaf forests. The land contains lakes and rivers, and the hills conceal systems of caves and caverns.

The region lies along the coast of the Sunset Sea, with Ironman's Bay and the Iron Islands to the north. A salient of the northeastern westerlands extends near the ruins of Oldstones and the Blue Fork. Castles on the northwestern coast include Banefort and the Crag. Faircastle is located on Fair Isle, while Feastfires and the market town of Kayce are found on a peninsula jutting into the sea.

Also along the coast is Casterly Rock, the seat of House Lannister, a fortress carved out of a massive hill of solid rock. Near the Rock is Lannisport, a port and one of the largest cities of Westeros. Three days ride from the Rock is the village of Oxcross. Inland castles near the Rock including Ashemarkand Sarsfield, as well as the ruins of Castamere and Tarbeck Hall.

The headwaters of the Tumblestone and the Red Fork begin in the westerlands and flow east into the riverlands. The main pass through the eastern hills is guarded by the Golden Tooth, a castle which controls access to the river road leading to Riverrun. Further south is the Goldroad, which runs east to King's Landing. Deep Den watches this road, with Hornvale to the north and Silverhill to the south.

The southern westerlands contain more flatland than the rest of the country and includes Cornfield and the forest by Crakehall Castle. The Ocean Roadleads south from the Rock past Crakehall to Old Oak and Highgarden in the Reach. Also located in the westerlands are Greenfield and Wyndhall.

Economy
The westerlands are not the largest, most populous, or most fertile part of the realm, but they are the richest. Full of hills and crags, the land is dotted with mines from which pour gold and silver in astonishing quantities. There are gold mines at Casterly Rock, the Golden Tooth, Castamere, Nunn's Deep, and the Pendric Hills. According to semi-canon sources, there are settlements which become ghost towns once nearby.

History
Little is known of the time before the coming of the First Men. Like the rest of Westeros, the children of the forest and giants lived in the westerlands and fought with the First Men when they came. After the Pact at the Isle of Faces, the children only kept the forests. The hills of the west were once inhabited by lions, but they are believed to all have been slain.

First Men lords, some of whom were petty kings, included the Baneforts, Brooms, Crakehalls, Farmans, Footes, Greenfields, Hawthornes, Morelands, Plumms, Reynes, Westerlings, and Yews. The coastal First Men were often raided by the ironborn from the Iron Islands.

During the Age of Heroes, the legendary hero and trickster Lann the Clever acquired Casterly Rock in some manner from House Casterly. According to legend he is the ancestor of the Lannisters, who became the Kings of the Rock with Casterly Rock as their seat. Westermen believe that Lann made off with some of the inheritance of Garth Greenhand by posing as one of his sons.

Andal Invasion
The Lannister Kings of the Rock gradually conquered or acquired neighboring territory, including the lands of the Reynes and the Baneforts. They initially resisted the coming of the Andals, but later Lannister kings allowed the Andals to marry into the westermen nobility. New houses formed by the intermarriages included Houses Brax, Drox, Jast, Kyndall, Lefford, Marbrand, Parren, Sarsfield, and Serrett. In contrast to most kings of First Men origin, the support of the Andals allowed the Kings of the Rock to expand their power. When King Gerold III Lannister died without male issue, a council crowned his daughter's husband, Ser Joffrey Lydden, who became the first Andal King of the Rock, Joffrey Lannister.

With Andal support the Lannisters extended their rule to the Golden Tooth and Fair Isle and engaged in border wars with the Kings of the Trident and Kings of the Reach. The growing strength of House Lannister allowed them to expel the ironborn from the western coasts, and King Gerold the Great raided the Iron Isles and brought hostages back to the Rock.