The people of Westeros lived in divided lands and fought for power for their first several thousand years. The Seven Kingdoms unified under Aegon the Conqueror's iron fist. His campaign of violence and brutality brought each sovereign region to its knees until all were one. Aegon was the father of a new dynasty and the son of an old one. Before dragons and their riders forged the Seven Kingdoms, they ruled Valyria. To get Valyria, they had to burn the Ghiscari Empire.