The Dothraki have played a big role in Game of Thrones since the very beginning. Daenerys Targaryen was thrust into their brutal world as a slave wife to Khal Drogo, eventually embracing them as her people and leading many of them. They have played a significant part in her quest for the Iron Throne and in Season 7’s “The Spoils of War”, they proved why they are one of the most feared armies.
While the show has done a good job of exploring the Dothraki as a people, there is still much that is left out. The books go into great detail about their history, culture and their prominent members. Here are some of the most interesting facts about the Dothraki you won’t see in the show.
10. Bells In Their Hair
Victory in battle is the most important thing to the Dothraki. A man is only as strong as the battles he has won. As a result, the Dothraki men like to show off their victories for all to see.
The show makes mention of the fact that a Dothraki will receive a braid in their hair for every victory – something Daenerys has adopted herself. But the books explain that they have bells added to their hair to signify victory as well. It’s an interesting feature, but it might have been a bit distracting on the show.
9. One Great Khalasar
For the first several seasons, we only saw the Dothraki as various tribes who are often at odds with one another. Following Drogo’s death, Daenerys is threatened and even captured by some of these rival khals.
However, in their history, the Dothraki started off as a united group under the first great khal, Khal Mengo. Bringing all the tribes together, Mengo killed those who opposed him and led the massive army to conquer lands. While Daenerys certainly has the largest Dothraki army around, she didn’t quite match Mengo’s massive feat.
8. Slaughter Of The Tall Men
The Dothraki rose out of the Doom of Valyria which saw the end of the dragon-led conquers of that time. In the aftermath, the Dothraki began taking any land they came across as their own. The people that stood in their way were known as the Tall Men.
In battle after battle, the Dothraki slaughtered the opposing forces. The various armies of the Tall Men did not unite against this common enemy, not believing the stories of their incredible war tactics.
7. Field Of Crows
When the Tall Men finally decided to take the threat of the Dothraki seriously, they created an enormous army to stand against them. The Dothraki, even with their 80,000 horsemen were far outnumbered against the better-equipped army.
After the first wave of battle turned bad for the Dothraki, the army turned and fled. The Tall Men’s army charged after them, cheering in victory. It was only then they saw it was all a trap. A larger khalasar waited to ambush and surround the Tall Men from behind. The slaughter that followed earned the battlefield the name, Field of Crows.
6. The Dothraki Cause
The show has made it clear the Dothraki have little respect for the knights and kings of Westeros. They are conquerors who live on horseback and sleep under the stars. Castles and keeps mean nothing to them. But their dislike for that lifestyle goes deeper in the books.
The Dothraki worship the earth. To see structures built and fields plowed looks to them like someone scarring the face of their motherland. While they do enjoy conquering, it is for a purpose. The Dothraki seek to tear down these structures and revert the world back to grasslands as it should be.
5. Breaking Of The Khalasar
With the immense size of their army and their devastating battle techniques, the Dothraki could have likely conquered the entire world. So why didn’t they?
After the death of the last great khal, the one great khalasar splintered and broke into various factions. Like before, these tribes began warring with each other. This infighting saw the end of their days as the most fearsome army in the world until, according to prophecy, another great khal would come forward to unite them all once again.
4. Bloodrider Oath
Bloodriders are sort of the bodyguards to the khals. They are chosen from the khals most trusted followers to follow him into battle. It is a position of great honor and requires great loyalty.
We’ve seen that some of Khal Drogo’s previous bloodriders remained by Daenerys’ side after his death. While a nice gesture, it ultimately goes against the bloodrider oath. When a khal dies, their bloodriders must follow him into death, living only long enough to avenge the khals death.
3. Missing Dothraki Characters
While the Dothraki have been present in Daenerys’ journey since the beginning, they have remained background characters for the most part. Drogo was the Dothraki character to have gotten the most spotlight and he was killed off in the first season.
The book introduces several other prominent Dothraki who have remained a large part of Daenerys’ story. Her loyal bloodriders, Jhogo and Aggo, continue to stay by her side, along with Rakharo who was killed off in the show in Season 2. There have also been several khals who have yet to appear in the show, including Khal Pono who is one of the most feared.
2. Defeat By The Unsullied
Few people have come across a Dothraki horde and lived to tell the tale. Even fewer can claim to have faced off with this army and actually emerge victoriously. But the Unsullied proved to be one of the only armies in the world that can go toe-to-toe with the Dothraki.
Facing an approaching Dothraki army, the city of Qohor hired 3,000 Unsullied to face-down the 50,000-strong Dothraki army. In the end, only 600 Unsullied remained but 12,000 Dothraki were killed. In an admission of defeat, the remaining Dothraki cut their braids and placed them at the feet of the Unsullied.
1. Fear Of Dragons
It speaks to the strength of Daenerys Targaryen as a leader that the Dothraki would fight for her along with the Unsullied, one of the only armies to ever defeat them. Even more impressive is that she convinced them to fight alongside dragons, which seem to be the only thing the Dothraki fear.
It is said that the only thing keeping the Dothraki in check for years were the dragons of Valyria. As powerful as their army was, Dothraki had no idea how to fight a dragon. After the fall of Valyria, the Dothraki were free to conquer. Now, they have joined the dragons to continue conquering.
