Dracarys and Law

Fiction constructs speculative worlds where the meaning of restraint, responsibility, and legitimacy can be tested and revealed. Focusing on the destruction of King’s Landing in Season 8, Episode 5 of Game of Thrones, this piece examines how International Humanitarian Law (IHL) holds under such conditions. The aim is not to trivialize IHL, but to reflect on its core protections through more accessible and popular narratives.

The episode depicts Daenerys Targaryen’s siege and destruction of the city of “King’s Landing,” raising questions concerning the legality of hostilities, civilian protection, proportionality, and the treatment of surrendered forces. For this analysis, Westeros, the state where events unfold, is assumed to be a party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols I and II of 1977, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Classification of the Conflict

Before analyzing the Battle of King’s Landing under IHL, it is crucial to note that IHL (jus in bello) governs conduct during conflict regardless of whether the initial use of force was lawful (jus ad bellum). Daenerys’ claim to the throne is irrelevant for assessing IHL compliance.

The conflict between Daenerys’ forces and the regime of the reigning queen Cersei Lannister is best classified as a Non-International Armed Conflict (NIAC). Asserting a hereditary claim to the Iron Throne, Daenerys seeks to overthrow a de facto government, not to act on behalf of a foreign state. Her forces, the Dothraki and Unsullied, do not represent foreign sovereigns either. Despite the cross-regional character of her forces, no foreign state is involved, which would internationalize the conflict.

While Westeros resembles a loose federation of autonomous, often rival regions, it remains a single country. A NIAC under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and the largely commensurate customary international law is characterized by hostilities of a minimum threshold of intensity between organized armed groups or between such groups and governmental forces. As articulated in Prosecutor v. Tadić, “an armed conflict exists whenever there is a resort to armed force between states or protracted armed violence between governmental authorities and organized armed groups or between such groups within a State” (para. 70).

The conflict is protracted and intense, involving large-scale operations, sustained fighting, and widespread civilian impact. Daenerys commands a structured and disciplined force, and an aerial asset, her dragon Drogon. Her campaign is conducted independently of any recognized state, against a government still exercising effective territorial control. The conflict thus falls squarely under Common Article 3.

The operational coherence of Daenerys’ forces meets the conditions under Article 1(1) of Additional Protocol II (APII), which applies to NIACs involving organized armed groups under responsible command and exercising territorial control. Of particular interest for present purposes are the rules governing humane treatment (Article 4 APII), civilian protection (Article 7 APII), and obligation toward the wounded and those surrendering (Articles 8 and 13 APII)

From Lawful to Unlawful Conduct

At the outset of the assault on King’s Landing, Daenerys targets clear military objectives. She opens the attack by flying Drogon over Blackwater Bay and destroying Euron Greyjoy’s Iron Fleet. The fleet posed an active military threat, capable of launching projectiles and securing naval supply lines. Its destruction constituted a legitimate military objective under IHL. Naval warfare offers a more straightforward application of targeting law, as the maritime environment generally simplifies distinction and military necessity. The Iron Fleet and its crew constituted a lawful military target. Proportionality concerns rarely arise when enemy warships are sunk, as such attacks involve only military objects and combatants.

Article 7 APII imposes obligations concerning the protection and care of the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked, but its application here is limited. Article 8 APII requires a search for the wounded “after each engagement,” yet the attack on the Iron Fleet was conducted by air, not by a naval force capable of maritime search. Blackwater Bay remained under enemy control, and Drogon proceeded directly to the next objective, rendering a search operation highly unrealistic.

To assess this targeting decision more precisely, this analysis applies the ICRC Rules of Customary IHL (CIHL). Under Rule 8 CIHL, military objectives by their nature, location, purpose, or use, contribute effectively to military action, and their destruction offers a definite military advantage. Rule 14 CIHL prohibits attacks expected to cause incidental civilian harm in excess of the anticipated concrete and direct military advantage. The destruction of the Iron Fleet satisfied both principles.

The next phase of the attack consists of the obliteration of the Golden Company, a foreign professional military company contracted to fight for Cersei Lannister, i.e., a lawful target. Caught off-guard by Drogon’s aerial attack, the Golden Company is routed before engaging Daenerys’ infantry forces. There is no indication that this stage of the attack caused civilian harm. Until this point, Daenerys remained in compliance with IHL.

Law Ablaze

What began as a lawful campaign swiftly descends into grave IHL violations, prompted by a choice to terrorize civilians and destroy the city.

One of the cornerstones of IHL is the principle of distinction, requiring all parties to differentiate at all times between civilians and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objectives. This foundational norm protects those who do not, or who no longer, participate in hostilities.

Under Rule 1 CIHL, civilians must never be the object of attack. Article 13(2) APII reinforces this requirement by prohibiting attacks against civilians and forbidding acts or threats of violence aimed at spreading terror. Rules 15, 16, 17, and 19 CIHL require parties to take constant care to spare civilians, verify military targets, take feasible precautions in attacks, and cancel attacks if civilian harm becomes excessive.

In King’s Landing, civilians never take direct part in hostilities and thus retain continuous protection under IHL. The city was densely populated; families crowded the city’s citadel and narrow streets. Parents shielded children, the elderly were carried or left behind, and civilians wept and prayed as the bells rang, signaling surrender. Once the bells tolled surrender, the violence should have ceased. Instead, Daenerys’ forces methodically burned entire civilian districts, obliterating homes and marketplaces, along with fleeing civilians. Daenerys took no precautionary measures. Targeting was not adjusted to avoid civilian areas. No restraint followed the surrender. She effectively put the city under collective punishment.

Dragon fire triggered violent secondary explosions, igniting “wildfire” – a volatile substance stored beneath the city. Whether Daenerys knew of these caches is legally significant: knowledge would have triggered obligations under Rule 17 CIHL to take feasible precautions to minimize civilian harm. There is no indication these secondary effects were intentional. Nonetheless, these blasts amplified the destruction and suffering.

One of the most egregious IHL violations is the treatment of surrendered Lannister soldiers. Under Common Article 3(1)(d), surrendered combatants must be treated humanely (page 9). Rule 47 CIHL similarly prohibits attacks against persons hors de combat. However, Grey Worm, commander of the Unsullied forces, hurls a spear at a surrendered soldier, initiating a massacre. Daenerys witnesses this from the air but takes no action to restrain her forces.

The Threshold of Criminality

Grave breaches of IHL can establish individual criminal responsibility under international criminal law (ICL). Regarding war crimes, the Rome Statute (RS) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) distinguishes between international and non-international armed conflicts. Article 8(2)(e) RS enumerates war crimes specific to NIACs, including targeting civilians (8(2)(e)(i)), attacking buildings dedicated to inter alia religion and historic monuments (8(2)(e)(iv)), sexual violence (8(2)(e)(vi)), and pillaging (8(2)(e)(v)). Besides, killing or wounding persons hors de combat is criminalized under Article 8(2)(c)(i) RS.

Daenerys’s forces carried out aerial attacks on civilians, committed acts of sexual violence, looted the city, and destroyed civilian property without military necessity. Surrendered soldiers were executed without provocation. In the following episode, Grey Worm testifies that Daenerys ordered him to give no quarter, which is prohibited under Article 4(1) APII.

Article 25(3)(a) RS criminalizes not only those who physically commit crimes, but also those who do so jointly or through another person. Articles 25(3)(b) to (d) RS criminalize ordering, soliciting or inducing, aiding and abetting, and contributing to group crimes. Ordering attaches when a person in a position of authority intentionally instructs subordinates to commit a crime, and the order is directly linked to the commission of the offence. Further, Article 28 RS codifies command responsibility, under which military commanders may be held liable for crimes committed by forces under their effective control. Soliciting and inducing crimes are forms of instigation, criminalizing prompting another person to commit the crime  (para. 73). Aiding and abetting, under Article 25(3)(c) RS, covers practical or material assistance (aiding) and encouragement or moral support (abetting) to the principal perpetrator (para. 88-9).

Additionally, Article 28 RS codifies the doctrine of command responsibility, holding military commanders criminally liable if they knew or should have known that their subordinates were committing or about to commit crimes and failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures to prevent or punish such acts (pp. 1306-11).

Daenerys’s liability arises on multiple grounds:

• Direct perpetration (Article 25(3)(a) RS): personally and physically conducting aerial attacks against civilian targets by flying on her dragon Drogon, constituting war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilians (Article 8(2)(e)(i), civilian objects (Article 8(2)(e)(xii), and protected buildings (Article 8(2)(e)(iv))).
• Ordering (Article 25(3)(b) RS); Daenerys’ orders directly triggered summary executions of hors de combat, and the destruction of civilian property, constitute war crimes under Articles 8(2)(c)(i), (e)(v), and (e)(xii), respectively.
• Command responsibility (Article 28(1) RS): Daenerys knew, or should have known, that her forces were systematically committing murder, pillage, and other crimes, yet failed to prevent or repress these acts. Her omission materially increased the risk and scale of criminality.

Conclusion

The destruction of King’s Landing offers a fertile ground for examining how IHL can be flagrantly ignored when commanders lose sight of legal and moral boundaries. This metaphor reveals what happens when power outruns the law. Daenerys Targaryen’s campaign quickly descends from lawful targeting to indiscriminate destruction and criminal executions, a transformation that underscores the fragility of legal restraints in warfare.

The episode stands as a haunting reminder of why we need IHL and what happens when it is abandoned. When legal boundaries collapse, civilian protection evaporates. Drogon’s flames scorched not only the stone of King’s Landing, but the very principles meant to protect humanity in war.