Arianne Martell

Arianne is a beautiful and calculating woman who uses her wits and sexual prowess to gain an advantage over men. Believing that her father had decided to take her birthright from her and give it to her brother, Quentyn, she got rebellious and tried to control the politics at Sunspear and Dorne. However, her actions led to trouble and changed the political relationship between Dorne and King’s Landing.

Princess Arianne Nymeros Martell is a brave and beautiful woman not scared to take whatever she feels belongs to her. After discovering a letter from her father indicating he planned on changing his heir to Quentyn, she became angry and rebellious. She started going against her father’s wishes and began seeing him as a man who could not take action when it was necessary.

Arianne Martell Profile

• Name: Arianne Nymeros Martell.
• Date of Birth: 276 AC in Sunspear.
• Siblings: Quentyn and Trystane Martell.
• Culture: Dornishmen Culture.
• Parents: Prince Doran Martell, Lady Mellario.
• Lovers: Ser Daemon Sand, Ser Gerold Dayne, Ser Arys Oakheart.
• Notable Relatives: Prince Oberyn Martell, Tyene Sand, Nymeria Sand.
• Titles/Future Titles: Future ruling princess of Dorne.
• Height: 5 feet 2 inches.
• Hair Color: Black.
• Eye Color: Black.
• Skin Color: Olive.
• Personality: Fierce-tempered, Sexually-devious, Intelligent, Adventurous, and Calculating.

Early Life and Biography

Arianne was born in 276 AC as the eldest daughter of Doran Martell and Lady Mellario. At a young age, she adored her father and usually kissed him before bed. However, she discovered a half-written letter from Doran Martell to Quentyn stating that someday he would sit in his stead to govern Dorne. Upon discovering the letter, Arianne grew apart from her father and became rebellious. 

As a young girl, Arianne was unattractive and prayed to the gods every night to grant her beauty. As she grew older, her sense of adventure heightened, and she started exploring her sexual nature. Because Quentyn was far from Dorne and Trystyane was eleven years younger, Arianne got closer to her cousins and other friends in her age range. Her closest friends included Tyene, Garin, Drey, Dalt, and Sylva Santagar. Arianne loved her cousins and uncle, Oberyn Martell, growing up. She related with Nymeria, Tyene’s older sister, and Ellaria, Tyene’s mother and consort to Oberyn, and even held Rhaenys Targaryen, the baby of her aunt, Elia Martell.

Over the years, Arianne’s resentment of her father grew as she tried but failed to gain his attention. She got angry with him as he began bringing proposals from old lords who wanted her hand in marriage. In one last attempt to take her birthright, she convinced Ser Arys to help Myrcella claim the iron throne. However, her plans fell through and she learned that her father was planning to make her the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire

A Game of Thrones

After Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen join the Dothraki, they travel to the Dothraki Sea, where Viserys becomes increasingly irritated by the Dothraki. On reaching Vaes Dothrak, he draws out his blade and demands that Khal Drogo give him his army to take back the Seven Kingdoms. As drawing out a sword in Vaes Dothrak is a crime punishable by death, Viserys gets killed with molten gold. With his death, the secret pact between him and Arianne falls apart, and Doran Martell’s hopes of making her the Queen fall through.

A Clash of Kings

Being the Hand of the King, Tyrion tries to form a new alliance with Dorne. As a part of the agreement, he decides to send Myrcella Baratheon to Dorne as a ward. She gets sent to marry Prince Trystane Martell, Arianne’s brother when she comes of age. Ser Arys Oakheart, a knight of the king’s guards, accompanies her as her sworn shield.

A Storm of Swords

After Lord Tywin returns to King’s Landing, he assumes the title of the Hand of the King and gets a message from Arys stating that Myrcella and Trystane get on well and she has taken a liking to Arriane Martell.

A Feast for Crows

Arianne welcomes Myrcella and Ser Arys to Sunspear. Being one of the most prominent figures in the city after her father left for the Water Gardens, she becomes Arys’s and Myrcella’s host. She seduces Arys to gain leverage over him.

Oberyn Martell, the red viper, gets killed in King’s Landing, and on hearing the news, Sunspear plunges into mourning. The daughters of Oberyn, Tyene, Nymeria, and Obara try making Doran Martell lead a cause against King’s Landing for the death of their father and aunt, Elia, who died during the sack of King’s Landing. He rejects their proposals and later imprisons them to prevent them from taking actions of vengeance against King’s Landing and Myrcella. Resenting her father for doing nothing, Arianne convinces Arys to swear allegiance to Myrcella and defend her claim to the iron throne, as Dornish customs allowed for a woman to become the heir to the throne.

Arianne and Arys plan to crown Myrcella, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Arianne begins her mission and meets Myrcella. She assembles her closest friends and tries to smuggle the princess out of Sunspear to Hellholt, the seat of Ellaria Sand’s father, Harmen Uller. However, on getting to the boat, Arianne discovers that her father knows of her plan because he sends Areo Hotah after them. She tries to run but Arys charges at Areo and gets killed by his long axe. During the fight, Myrcella gets injured by Gerold Dayne and loses one of her ears. Arianne gets arrested and locked up.

Weeks after her failed plot, Arianne gets visited by her father, Doran. He informs her that Balon Swann, Arys’s brother, is headed for Sunspear, and he needs her to make Myrcella lie about what happened. Arianne gets angry and tells her father about the letter she found about him giving Dorne to her brother, Quentyn. Doran then explains that the letter was part of a plan he had to avenge his sister, Elia. He tells Arianne that he had secretly betrothed her to Viserys Targaryen and planned on supporting the Targaryen when they returned to Westeros. However, his plan failed as Viserys got killed.

A Dance with Dragons

With Viserys dead, Doran changes his plans and decides that Arianne will become the princess of Dorne. Balon Swann arrives at Sunspear, and Arianne tries to seduce him but fails as Balon focuses on his brother’s death. Doran plans to travel to the Water Gardens with Balon, where he will meet Myrcella, who will lie to him about Arys’s death. He tells Arianne that a fleet has sailed from Lys and is heading for Westeros thinking that Quentyn is bringing Daenerys. However, it gets revealed that the person who owns the fleet is Aegon Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, accompanied by Jon Connington, and the fleet is the Golden Company.

Winds of Winter

As the sixth planned book in A Song of Ice and Fire, ‘The Winds of Winter’ will likely feature Arianne as a pov character. The sampled chapter reveals that Doran Martell reveals a letter from Jon Connington stating that Aegon Targaryen survived. According to the chapter, Doran then sends Arianne to investigate Aegon.

Princess Arianne Martell: The Fiery Princess

As a member of House Martell, Arianne used her wits and sexual prowess to get what she wanted. Though a fiery sex goddess, she was limited by her desire to gain power. She wanted to be the ruler of Dorne, but when a potential threat rose against her, she got paranoid and made silly decisions. Though she was cunning, her emotions and bonds of friendship eventually led to her arrest.

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