House Nymeros Martell

House Nymeros Martell of Sunspear, usually simply called House Martell, is one of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms and the ruling house of Dorne. "Nymeros" indicates "of the line of Nymeria," referring to the union of the Martells with the Rhoynish warrior queen Nymeria around 700 BC. The Prince of Dorne rules from Sunspear in southeastern Dorne.

The Martells of old used a spear as their emblem, while Nymeria and her Rhoynar used the sun as theirs. When Nymeria wed Lord Mors Martell, the symbols were combined into a gold spear piercing a red sun on an orange field. Their words are Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.

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.

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.

The Martells are historically one of the greatest hurdles of the Targaryen throne, and Dorne is notably the only realm not to have been secured through military conquest, resisting even the might of the conquerors' dragons in multiple wars. Dorne did not fall under the power of Targaryen rule until 161 AC, long after the conquest of the remaining Kingdoms, and only through a political union.

The Virgin Princess, a title bestowed upon Princess Meria by her detractors, is painted by some as having an insatiable lust for blood and passion. Princess Meria is commonly credited with the complete destruction of both House Dayne of Starfall and House Mertyns of Mistwood.

A common sight at the Princess’s court is her exotic paramour, known as the Painted Woman. Little is known about her origins or role within the House, only that Meria seems to pay great deference to her opinion.

Dorne did not answer the Throne's call for banners to fight the Bravosii war, but only House Martell answered with an outright refusal. Living up to her namesake, the Sand Seviper Princess is an outspoken detractor of the Targaryen dynasty. She has publicly accused the King of being weak and cowardly, and the Queen of being a mad growlithe that should be put down. Some time later, she accused the Crown of sending assassins to silence her, spiking the heads of these alleged assassins on the walls of The Old Palace.