The First Men first came to these lands through the Broken Arm of Dorne, before the Arm was broken, reputedly by the dark magics of the Children of the Forest. The land that is now Dorne, the southernmost of the Seven Kingdoms, was one of the six kingdoms of the First Men that fell to the Andals when they crossed the Narrow Sea to conquer the lands of Westeros.

Blood, custom and history sets the people of Dorne apart from all the other peoples of the Seven Kingdoms. Nymeria, the warrior queen of Rhoyne, brought her ten thousand ships to land in Dorne, and took Lord Mors Martell to husband. With her help, he vanquished his rivals to rule all of Dorne. The Rhoynar influence, to this day, remains strong; thus Dornish rulers style themselves Prince rather than King. Under Dornish law, unique among all the kingdoms, lands, honors and titles are inherited by the eldest child, not the eldest son.

Alone among all the Seven Kingdoms, Dorne was never conquered by the Targaryens. The Targaryen kings were never able to conquer Dorne and hold it as well. It was not permanently joined to the realm until two hundred years later, when peacable King Daeron II Targaryen married the Dornish princess Myriah and gave his sister in marriage to the reigning Prince of Dorne. The Martell sigil is a red sun pierced by a golden spear. Their words are Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.