A map of the Slaver's Bay region of Essos.
Slaver's Bay is an area on the south coast of Essos, located south and east of Westeros and the Free Cities, but west of Qarth and the Jade Sea. The name can refer to either the bay itself or the entire region. The area borders the Dothraki sea, which is located to its north. It is noted as the location of the three great slave-cities of Meereen, Astapor and Yunkai.
The country of Lhazar, noted for its unwarlike shepherd-folk, is located up the Skahazadhan River from Meereen, to the north-east of Slaver's Bay. The Dothraki enjoy pillaging areas close to Slaver's Bay and driving captives to the slave cities in return for riches. They particular enjoy pillaging Lhazar, since it is located conveniently close to Meereen.
The bay also used to be the heartland of the fallen Valyrian Freehold, with the shattered peninsula of Valyria located to the west of the bay.
Locations of note
- Valyria: once the greatest empire in the world, now a shattered ruin of broken islands and smoking waters. Avoided by all but the bravest (or most foolhardy) treasure-hunters.
- The Smoking Sea: the body of water formed in the Doom of Valyria, as parts of the mainland plunged into the sea. The sea is feared for the poisonous fumes that emanate from it. Sailors give the Smoking Sea a wide berth.
- The Lands of the Long Summer: once the hinterland of the Valyrian Freehold and the site of its first conquests, devastated in the Doom of Valyria. Mantarys is the only major surviving settlement of this region.
- The Sea of Sighs: an inland sea in the Lands of the Long Summer.
- Tolos and Elyria: city-states on the north-western coast of Slaver's Bay.
- Bhorash: a ruined city on the north coast of Slaver's Bay.
- Lhazar: a small nation of sheep-herders, frequently raided by the Dothraki.
- Meereen: one of the three great slaver city-states, noted for its pyramids.
- Yunkai: one of the three slave cities.
- Astapor: one of the three slave cities. Noted as being the home of the infamous Unsullied warrior-eunuchs.
- Ghiscar: an expansionist kingdom in the south-east of the region, claiming a relationship to the Ghiscari Empire thrown down by Valyria five thousand years ago.
- The Gulf of Grief: the gulf formed by the opening of Slaver's Bay into the Summer Sea.
- The Isle of Cedars: an island separating Slaver's Bay from the Gulf of Grief. Devastated by tidal waves during the Doom of Valyria.
In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, Slaver's Bay is where slaves are bought and sold in vast numbers.
The city of Meereen is located 550 leagues (1,650 miles) east of Volantis. The land-route from the Free Cities to Slaver's Bay, employing Valyrian roads crossing the northern end of the Valyrian Peninsula via the city of Mantarys, is known as the 'demon road' and is considered exceptionally dangerous. The majority of trade and travel between the Free Cities and Slaver's Bay takes place by sea, with ships giving the ill-omened ruins of Valyria a wide berth.
See also
Template:Essos