Ulthos

Location of Ulthos in the known world

Ulthos is a landmass in the far east, which may or may not be another continent. It lies to the south of Asshai and the Shadow Lands in Essos and to the east of Sothoryos. It is separated from the Shadow Lands by the Saffron Straits. The island of Ulos is located in the straits between Ulthos and Essos.^[1]

Little is known about Ulthos,^[2] other than its location and that it is covered in dense jungle.^[1]

Behind the Scenes

According to George R. R. Martin, the deliberate in-universe ambiguity over whether Ulthos is another full "continent" or a large separate section of Essos is meant to highlight how people from Westeros do not know much about the world east of Qarth and south of the Summer Sea.^[3]

The name "Ulth-os" breaks the naming pattern for the other known continents: "West-eros" is in the west, "Es-sos" is in the east, "Soth-oryos" is in the South (Ibben in the far north is too small to be considered a continent, but a subregion of Essos). It might be a reference to "Ultima Thule" - a name used on ancient and medieval maps to signify barely known lands at the edge of charts. "Ultima Thule" is Latin for "Farthest Thule", and Ulthos is the farthest land that is even vaguely known to people in Westeros.

Given that Ulthos is (or might be) a separate continent located to the southeast of Essos, their world's analog to Eurasia, it is unclear if Ulthos is meant to parallel Australia in any way: George R.R. Martin has said he is not even sure if a counterpart of Australia exists in the world of the story.^[4] Thylacines, also known as "Tasmanian tigers", actually do exist in the world of Westeros: when Syrio Forel describes the private zoo of the Sealord of Braavos, he says that it includes "tigers that carry their cubs in a pouch" - brought there from some unknown far-away land (which may or may not have been Ulthos).

References