The Butcher King

The Butcher King is the name by which the former slave Cleon the Great was known after he seized power in Astapor. His rule was a grotesque parody of the liberation Daenerys Targaryen had intended, replacing the old slaving oligarchy with a new tyranny that was equally bloody and far less competent. His story is one of swift rise, catastrophic military failure, and the utter ruin of the city he claimed to rule.

Rise and Nature of His Rule

Cleon was a former slave who styled himself Cleon the Great after Daenerys Targaryen destroyed the old order in Astapor. He presented himself as an ally to the dragon queen, sending her gifts such as gilded leather slippers decorated with green freshwater pearls, and offering to defend her from her foes. However, Daenerys saw through his pretensions, dismissing him as "the butcher king" and noting that he had restored slavery to Astapor, the only change being that the former slaves were now the masters and the former masters were now the slaves. She warned him to tend his own gardens rather than provoke war with Yunkai, but Cleon was determined to expand his power.

The War Against Yunkai and Military Disaster

Cleon's ambition led him to march against Yunkai, a war Daenerys had explicitly warned him against. The campaign was a disaster. The Yunkai'i hired sellsword companies—the Windblown, the Long Lances, and the Company of the Cat—and were joined by legions from New Ghis. Cleon's forces were routed at the Horns of Hazzat, and he fled back to his palace. In a desperate final gambit, his corpse was disinterred, clad in copper armor, and strapped onto a starving horse to lead a sortie of his new Unsullied. The ruse failed utterly; the dead king's army rode into the iron teeth of a New Ghis legion and was cut down to a man.

The Fall of Astapor and Cleon's Legacy

After Cleon's death, Astapor descended into chaos. A succession of short-lived rulers followed—Cleon the Second, who lasted eight days before his throat was opened; King Cutthroat, a barber who slit Cleon the Second's throat to steal the crown; and Queen Whore, Cleon's concubine, who claimed the throne after him. Their followers fought in the streets while the Yunkai'i and their sellswords waited outside the walls. The city was besieged, starved, and ravaged by the bloody flux. The gates were finally thrown open by a mob of dying men, and the legions of New Ghis poured in, followed by the Yunkai'i and sellswords. The Temple of the Graces was sealed and set ablaze, and fires spread across the city. Astapor was left a burning ruin, its people ash and bone. The Butcher King's legacy was not liberation but a more complete and terrible destruction than the city had ever known.