| abstract | - There are nine Great Houses, and each of them have a number of (sometimes also referred to as lesser houses) in their liege. The most powerful vassal houses may themselves field armies of a few thousand and control large regions, while the smallest houses may be little more than impoverished landholders with only a few men to their name. Members of the nobility are called "highborn", in contrast to lowborn commoners. Some of the most powerful noble Houses rival the smaller Great Houses in terms of wealth and the size of the armies they can field, e.g. House Hightower rules Oldtown, the second largest city in Westeros, and possesses large armies and fleets of its own. Other noble Houses, while technically holding this rank, are relatively poor. A typical noble house is seated at a castle and controls the land around it, collecting tithes and taxes from farmers, lesser landholders and smallfolk. In times of war, they are expected to recruit and maintain a number of soldiers for their lieges. In most of Westeros, only men can become ruling lords, and women can only rule if the rest of the male line has been extinguished or if they are acting as regents for their sons until they have reached the age of maturity. In Dorne, both men and women have equal property, inheritance and ruling rights.
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