House Martell

The fierce folk of Dorne have been ruled over for many years by the Princes and Princesses of House Martell, the ruling house of Dorne. House Nymeros Martell of Sunspear, or simply House Martell, has ruled over Dorne for many years from their seat of Sunspear. Their lands are hot and harsh and arid, yet the people of Dorne continue to thrive. A strong and proud folk, the Dornish people are truly a representation of the words of House Martell, Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken. They never cave in, whether that may be to rival houses and enemy kingdoms or to the forces of nature itself.

Foundation
House Martell was founded by Morgan Martell, an Andal adventurer who settled between the mouth of the Greenblood and the Broken Arm during the coming of the Andals to Dorne. Morgan led the defeat of the local First Men, including Houses Wade and Shell, establishing his rule over a strip of land fifty leagues long and ten leagues wide. They did not rule as kings, but were cautious vassals of kings from Houses Jordayne, Allyrion, and Yronwood, as well as petty kings of the Greenblood.

Nymeria's War
At the time of the Rhoynish Wars, the Martells were one of the lesser ruling families of Dorne. At the time of the arrival of the Rhoynish warrior queen Nymeria, around 700 BC, the lands of the Martells were dwarfed by those of House Yronwood. Mors Martell, the Lord of the Sandship, saw an opportunity in the arrival of the Rhoynar, and took Nymeria to wife. Combining their strength, the two managed to unite all of Dorne under their rule in Nymeria's War.

The union of their peoples saw the Martells abandon many of their older Andal customs in favor of those of the Rhoynar. Nymeria named Mors Prince of Dorne instead of king, and their lands and title passed down to their eldest child, their daughter, regardless of Nymeria marrying again after Mors's death and giving birth to a male child. The Spear Tower and the Tower of the Sun, the towers of Sunspear's Old Palace, were built in the Rhoynish fashion.