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Game of thrones dothraki army based on what culture

Whenever I see hot drogo or the dothraki army I immediately think of Arab men. Looking at Isis on the tv a lot of the men do have sexy beards and man buns. What culture or background did the dothraki army come from even the language sounds like Arabic

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Reply 1

immigrant #963

Never in my life did I think I'd have to read "Isis" and "sexy beards and man buns" in the same sentence with my own two bare eyes.

Reply 2

immigrant #963

As for your question, they seem to be more based on Mongols.

"Firstly, "khal" is obviously based on "khan", the Mongol title. Secondly, the time period matches. The Mongols were a threat during the 13th-14th centuries in Europe - ie. about the same historical period as A Song Of Ice And Fire draws its inspiration from (the High Middle Ages)."

Also they are essentially nomadic, much like the Mongols, who owe much of their power to their ability to utilize horses, and have a reputation for savagery/rape, like the Dothraki.

HOWEVER I also found this:

"The Dothraki resemble the Mongols only in that a 13th century peasant would probably describe the Mongols just as the Dothraki are presented to us. Alien, cruel, barbaric and numerous as the stars, able to sweep down on unsuspecting towns or cities and loot and burn them to the ground.

The reality is much different. The Mongols were far more disciplined than the Dothraki, wore armour, used lances as well as bows, were generally inferior in number to the enemy they defeated and used clever and innovative tactics. The Dothraki, by comparison, are more similar to the Scythians from the 7th century BC in terms of military strategy and tactics, albeit somewhat less adaptable.

Culturally, the Dothraki are a blend of many nomadic horse cultures woven together and reinforced by GRRM's own inventions. I suspect he has also focused on making the Dothraki seem like the demonized and dehumanized caricatures that "civilized" people have always applied to such folk and then sought to humanize them as best he could.

TL: DR, the Dothraki are probably racist caricatures that GRRM decided to subvert. Also, the Mongols would kick the Dothraki's collective arses."

So basically, from what I've gathered, the general consensus is that the dothraki are a "blend" of different (mostly central asian) nomadic cultures who relied heavily on horsepower (punz).

And wow, I'm really getting into this.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 3

UncannyXander

Advice: Hold your breath. You can breathe again when you realise that "Looking at Isis on the tv a lot of the men do have sexy beards and man buns." is not a thing normal human beings say.