Old Gate served as a defensive post during the collapse of public order in King's Landing. Its gold cloaks, commanded by Ser Balon Byrch, joined the effort to restore order in the city and later received Rhaenyra Targaryen’s orders to stop the Shepherd’s advancing followers and protect the royal dragons.

A Post Amid the Disorder

By dawn, fires were burning across the city and lawless bands were roaming the streets. The surviving gold cloaks had withdrawn to their barracks, while disorder spread through Flea Bottom. The captains at Old Gate and Dragon Gate eventually led their men out; by midday, they had restored some semblance of order in the streets north and east of Rhaenys’s Hill. Old Gate thus became one of the points from which the city’s depleted forces tried to reassert control.

Orders to Defend the Dragons

When Rhaenyra learned that the Shepherd’s followers were marching, she sent riders to Ser Balon at Old Gate and Ser Garth at Dragon Gate. Her commands were to disperse the advancing crowd, seize the Shepherd, and defend the royal dragons. The city’s turmoil made it uncertain whether the riders reached the captains, and even if they did, the gold cloaks still loyal to the queen were too few to be confident of success.

Role in the City’s Defense

Old Gate’s importance in these events lay in its position as a command post for the queen’s response, rather than as the site of a decisive battle. Rhaenyra also refused Prince Joffrey’s request to ride out with their own knights and the men from White Harbor, insisting that the castle needed every sword available. The orders sent to Old Gate therefore formed part of a wider defensive effort: the city gates were asked to contain the Shepherd’s march while the queen kept her remaining strength close to the castle.