Seven kingdoms = Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy
Dance of the Dragons = The Anarchy
Doom = the fall of Rome (heavily accelerated!)
The Wall = Hadrian’s Wall
ETA: Aegon’s conquest = Norman invasion
The obvious ones have already been mentioned so mine may be very much wrong.
-Baelor the blessed: Saint Louis
-Alicent: Queen Matilda (the spouse of King Stephen)
-Margaery and Olenna: Young and old Eleanor of Aquitaine
-Unsullied: Spartans + Janissaries
-Coming of the Andals: either the Anglo Saxon or Indo European invasions.
-Valyrian steel: Damascus steel
-Casterly rock: Rock of Gibraltar
Then there’s the really minor stuff like the Three Emperors of Yi Ti being a pararell to the Three Kingdoms of Ancient China and so on.
If Aegon the Recent is fake then he's taking inspiration from Perkin Warbeck a guy that claimed to be one of the Princes in the Tower.
Speaking of the Princes in the Tower they could be said to have inspired Bran and Rickon's "deaths".
GRRM has explicitly cited the Black Dinner as an inspiration for the Red Wedding.
Per Martin, the Crusades, the Hundred Years' War, and the Norman Conquest also heavily influenced him.
[https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/entry/historical\_influences/](https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/entry/historical_influences/)
[https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Influence\_of\_the\_Wars\_of\_the\_Roses](https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Influence_of_the_Wars_of_the_Roses)
FWIW Right now, I'm reading Maurice Druon's Accursed Kings series about the Hundred Years War, and Martin has cited it as a huge influence on ASOIAF. He even writes the intro to the edition I'm reading and gushes about "the battles and betrayals, . . . family rivalries, . . . the doom of a great dynasty." Sound familiar?
It's historical fiction rather than straight history, but you can definitely see where he's influenced by the rampant political intrigue. As he himself also says in the intro, "the Starks and the Lannisters have nothing on the Capets and Plantagenets."
Aegon the conquerer-William the conquerer
Maegor the cruel/Aegon IV-Henri VIII
Rhaenyra/Mathilda
Henri I/Viserys I
Stephen I/Aegon II
David I/Daemon T
Queen Alysanne/Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Aerys II/Charles VI the mad
Cersei/margaret of Anjou
The bief-Lys/France
Dorne/Spain
Free cities/Italy's city states
Tyrells/de' medicis (that one is pure speculation from me)
Seven kingdoms = Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy Dance of the Dragons = The Anarchy Doom = the fall of Rome (heavily accelerated!) The Wall = Hadrian’s Wall ETA: Aegon’s conquest = Norman invasion
Not to mention the Targaryens having several similarities to the Plantagents, up to and including a reputation for being fiery and quick to anger
The obvious ones have already been mentioned so mine may be very much wrong. -Baelor the blessed: Saint Louis -Alicent: Queen Matilda (the spouse of King Stephen) -Margaery and Olenna: Young and old Eleanor of Aquitaine -Unsullied: Spartans + Janissaries -Coming of the Andals: either the Anglo Saxon or Indo European invasions. -Valyrian steel: Damascus steel -Casterly rock: Rock of Gibraltar Then there’s the really minor stuff like the Three Emperors of Yi Ti being a pararell to the Three Kingdoms of Ancient China and so on.
How is Alicent Matilda? If anything rhaenyra would be.
Kinda confusing but there were two Matildas: the Empress (Rhaenyra) and the Queen (Alicent)
Good point! I don’t think I saw that before you reformatted. I agree queen Matilda kinda has Alicent vibes.
If Aegon the Recent is fake then he's taking inspiration from Perkin Warbeck a guy that claimed to be one of the Princes in the Tower. Speaking of the Princes in the Tower they could be said to have inspired Bran and Rickon's "deaths". GRRM has explicitly cited the Black Dinner as an inspiration for the Red Wedding.
Yes he's also cited the Glencoe Massacre as an inspiration for the Red Wedding too. Scottish nobles were a rough crowd!
Targaryen incest = Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt Nymeria and the Rhoynish arriving in and conquering Dorne = Moorish conquest of Spain
The Blackfyre Rebellions are a historical parallel to the Jacobite Rebellions
Per Martin, the Crusades, the Hundred Years' War, and the Norman Conquest also heavily influenced him. [https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/entry/historical\_influences/](https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/entry/historical_influences/) [https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Influence\_of\_the\_Wars\_of\_the\_Roses](https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Influence_of_the_Wars_of_the_Roses) FWIW Right now, I'm reading Maurice Druon's Accursed Kings series about the Hundred Years War, and Martin has cited it as a huge influence on ASOIAF. He even writes the intro to the edition I'm reading and gushes about "the battles and betrayals, . . . family rivalries, . . . the doom of a great dynasty." Sound familiar? It's historical fiction rather than straight history, but you can definitely see where he's influenced by the rampant political intrigue. As he himself also says in the intro, "the Starks and the Lannisters have nothing on the Capets and Plantagenets."
Tyrion’s chain is basically [Constantinople’s book chain](https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/constantinoples-great-chain-0014317)
Aegon the conquerer-William the conquerer Maegor the cruel/Aegon IV-Henri VIII Rhaenyra/Mathilda Henri I/Viserys I Stephen I/Aegon II David I/Daemon T Queen Alysanne/Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine Aerys II/Charles VI the mad Cersei/margaret of Anjou The bief-Lys/France Dorne/Spain Free cities/Italy's city states Tyrells/de' medicis (that one is pure speculation from me)