The Rhoynish Wars were a prolonged conflict between the Rhoynar and the Valyrian Freehold, which ended about a thousand years ago when the Rhoynar were finally subdued by the Valyrians' dragons. The Rhoynar people at the time lived in city-states along the Rhoyne River, in the region of western Essos where the present-day Free Cities are located. After defeating the old Ghiscari Empire in a series of wars that ended about 5,000 years ago, the Valyrians continued to spread their domination across the continent. Eventually their colonies in the west - the nascent Free Cities such as Volantis - came into conflict with the Rhoynar who were already living in the region.