(For a complete map of all of the seats of all of the houses of the Iron Islands, click here.)

Founding of Houses Greyjoy and Hoare, and the Kingdom of the Iron Islands

      House Greyjoy was founded by Oberon's daughter, Llewella. Llewella's mother was among the Children of the Sea, who were the water-based counterparts of the Children of the Forest. Queen Llewella did not marry, but had two King Consorts. They were also Children of the Sea:

• King Consort Mondain (Greyjoy)
• King Consort Sulemain (Hoare)

Many legends about the Children of the Sea suggest that the descendants of Llewella, even at a far remove, may not be entirely human. It is said that the Ironborn have continued to breed with the Children of the Sea, even to this day. The strong affinity for water possessed by the Ironborn is pointed to as proof of this.

     Queen Llewella's eldest daughter, Moire Greyjoy, became Queen after her mother retired, after ruling only about 100 years. The other children all founded their own Lesser Houses, and Moire's children, nieces, and nephews founded additional Lesser Houses. (One of Moire's children, founder of House Merlyn, is said to have been the product of a fling between Moire and King Corwin of the Stormlands.)

     The Iron Islands are unusual in that their Great House has changed on several occasions, and for a good stretch of time, was not a house descended from the eldest child of Llewella and either of her King Consorts. At present, House Hoare, the descendants of the eldest son of Llewella and Sulemain, is considered the Great House on the Iron Islands, but that appelation lasts only for as long as House Hoare remains in control of the Seastone Chair.

Houses of the Iron Islands

Their part in events B.F.

     During the Long Night, the naval forces of the Iron Islands supported the military movement against the Others. The Others did not have any sort of fleet, so the Ironborn primarily assisted in transportation of siege weaponry and supplies.

     The Ironborn helped substantially with the Founding of the Wall, primarily in transportation of building materials between the Rock and the North. A great many of their ships were lost during this time, as they sailed through uncharted and treacherous waters. It is rumored that a great amount of wealth taken from the Others, which was used as ballast for return trips, may still lie beneath the frigid waters of the Bay of Ice.

     Only a token number of Ironborn joined the Night's Watch at the beginning--one son from each of the Lesser Houses. House Greyjoy, which held the Seastone Chair at that point, did not send any of their sons, as the King at the time had only a single son. In more recent years, the numbers of Ironborn sent to join the Night's Watch has increased, though the bulk of their numbers come from religious dissidents.

Internal Events B.F.

     Legends say that King Random of the Reach kidnapped one of Queen Moire Greyjoy's daughters, Morganthe Greyjoy. After learning that Morganthe was pregnant, King Random abandoned her. She committed suicide after their child was born. Random was held in the dungeons of the Iron Islands for a year and a day, and then forced to marry another woman of the Iron Islands, Vialle, who was blind. Random and Vialle returned to Highgarden and continued his reign. Random's son through Morganthe remained in the Kingdom of the Iron Islands and established House Drumm of Old Wyk there instead. Interestingly, it has been noted that with every attempted or successful invasion of the Ironborn into the Reach, members of House Drumm are always at the forefront of the attack.

     Although the Seastone Chair was passed down matrilineally for the first 1,000 years of the Kingdom of the Iron Islands, Queen Rhaella Greyjoy III had no children who survived to adulthood. Several of her brothers and sisters tried to seat their children on the Seastone Chair, which led to infighting and a near extermination of House Greyjoy. Ultimately, each island selected a Rock King or Queen, who ruled on land, and a Salt King or Queen, who ruled at sea. These kings assembled at Nagga's Hill on Old Wyk and selected the first High King of the Iron Islands, King Manfred Kenning of Harlaw. This is also notable as the first time a King was chosen to rule over the Iron Islands, and no Queen has ruled the Iron Islands in her own right since (though there have been some Rock Queens and Salt Queens).

Their part in the founding of the Faith

     The people of the Iron Islands took no part in the founding of the Faith of the Thirteen. They maintain their devotion to the Drowned God and other lesser gods worshiped by the Children of the Sea. Those few individuals in the Iron Islands who pray to Llewella do so only in her capacity as a subject of the Drowned God.

Their part in events A.F.

     Set apart from the remainder of Amber, the events of the Winter of Hunger did not impact the inhabitants of the Iron Islands as dramatically as those on the mainland. However, it did put a bit of a damper on the regular raids of the pirates of the Iron Islands up the Mander River, as there was nothing to pillage in the Reach. Histories of the Ironborn barely comment on this time period.

     The Clash with the Baurig hit the Iron Islands hardest of all the kingdoms, as they were on the front lines for the bulk of this war. Several heirs to Ironborn families were lost in the war or in the subsequent attempt to follow the Baurig back to their homeland. House Greyiron lost all of their male heirs (and a good chunk of their female members) during the fighting, and several women in the family killed themselves during the initial attacks. Those few women who survived married into other lines, ending the Greyiron line.

     Aside from those Ironborn who were a part of the Night's Watch, the Kingdom of the Iron Islands did not participate in repelling the Wildling Invasion.

Internal Events A.F.

     In 1,479 A.F., Urron Greyiron and his men descended upon the Kingsmoot and slaughtered all of the assembled Rock and Salt Kings. He declared himself High King and made the title hereditary. For about 1,000 years, House Greyiron ruled all of the Iron Islands until the Clash with the Baurig, which extinguished the Greyiron line. Harrag Hoare was selected by the Kingsmoot as the next High King, and he maintained the tradition of a hereditary title. The Hoares have persisted as High Kings to the present day.

     In 2,615 A.F., King Rodrik Stark challenged King Lanwen Hoare to a wrestling match. King Rodrik Stark won, and his prize was Bear Island, which he awarded to the Mormonts. Few Hoares had lived on Bear Island, and most of them left at that time. But Lord Aggyll Mormont, who had recently lost his wife in childbirth, asked for the hand of Sybilion Hoare, a distant cousin of King Lanwen Hoare. Thus some Mormonts can trace their lineage back to the Iron Islands as well as the North.

     Until 4,818 A.F., the pirates of the Iron Islands frequently made their way up the Mander River and pillaged towns and villages as far inland as Bitterbridge, the farthest inland large settlement of the Reach. In 4,818 A.F., King Eddard Gardener (of the Reach) armed the fishermen living on the Shield Islands (named thus at that time). He also established a system of beacon towers that can be lit whenever ships are spotted, to warn those on the mainland to prepare for an attack.

Current situation

     The current High King of the Iron Islands, King Pycelle Hoare, is a very popular King among the smallfolk and Lesser Houses alike. He spends little of his time on Pyke, instead traveling among the Iron Islands and spending time at each House. Some have given him the nickname "Gladhand."

     King Pycelle Hoare serves as both the Rock and Salt King for Orkmont. Each of the six other islands has separate Rock and Salt Kings or Queens, but they are often related:

• Pyke: Salt King Barristan Greyjoy is the older brother of Rock King Aurane Greyjoy.
• Blacktyde: Rock King Robert Blacktyde is the cousin of Salt King Merryn Blacktyde. 
• Old Wyk: Rock King Theomar Goodbrother (of Shatterstone) is the father of Salt King Preston Goodbrother.
• Harlaw: Rock King Davyd Harlaw is cousin to Salt Queen Aelinor Harlaw (though she is married to a Myre, Aelinor has retained her family name).
• Great Wyk: Rock Queen Belandra Merlyn is the older sister of Salt Queen Beony Merlyn.
• Saltcliffe: Rock Queen Melisandra (Sunderly) Saltcliffe is the wife of Salt King Brandon Saltcliffe. She was Rock Queen in her own right prior to their marriage. 

Although technically speaking, the High King makes decisions for the Kingdom, High King Pycelle receives counsel from the other twelve kings and queens, which can often lead to a long and drawn out decision making process. 

     Rumors have begun to circulate that King Pycelle plans to marry off six of his children to daughters and sons of each of the Great Houses of the other Kingdoms of Amber. His eldest son is nearly 30 and has not yet been married, though a number of bastards bear a striking resemblance to him. At least one of his daughters has expressed opposition to this plan, and it is rumored that she has gone missing, possibly hiding on board one of the ships of the Iron Fleet.