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| “ | A king should never sit easy. | „ |
| ~ Aegon explaining why he wants his throne made of blades to the armorers. |
| “ | Aegon the Conqueror brought fire and blood to Westeros, but afterward he gave them peace, prosperity, and justice. | „ |
| ~ Daenerys Targaryen to her supporters. |
| “ | Look at it, onion knight. My realm, by rights. My Westeros. This talk of Seven Kingdoms is a folly. Aegon saw that three hundred years ago when he stood where we are standing. They painted this table at his command. Rivers and bays they painted, hills and mountains, castles and cities and market towns, lakes and swamps and forests... but no borders. It is all one. One realm, for one king to rule alone. | „ |
| ~ Stannis Baratheon deciding to style himself King of Westeros similarly how Aegon originally did before changing titles. |
King Aegon I Targaryen, also known as Aegon the Conqueror and Aegon the Dragon, is an overarching character in the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise.
The son of Lord Aerion Targaryen and Lady Valaena Velaryon, Aegon was a member of House Targaryen of Dragonstone and the founder of House Targaryen of King's Landing and its respective dynasty of the Iron Throne, in which he ruled as its first king. He is the brother and husband of his two sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys Targaryen, and was also the rider of the great dragon, Balerion the Black Dread. Aegon is also rumored to have been the half-brother of Orys Baratheon, the founder of House Baratheon.
While he was a wise ruler, he had committed various crimes during his conquest of six of the Seven Kingdoms in Westeros and in the First Dornish War, in which he would not hesitate to conquer the states by brute force as well as ruthlessly destroy his enemies, but if necessary and not even caring if he had committed regicide, which is considered one of the most vile crimes in the Faith of the Seven and all of Westeros. Regardless, he is still widely regarded in Westerosi history as a great ruler and one of the best Targaryen kings.
Personality[]
Aegon was seen by many, even by his fellow peers, as an enigmatic person who mostly prefer to be in solitude. As a result, he didn't have many friends during his lifetime, save for his rumored bastard half-brother and childhood friend Orys Baratheon. Despite his solitary nature, Aegon was nevertheless a great warrior during his time, and he only rode his dragon for travel or battle. He usually leave the duty of governing the realm to his sisters but would not hesitate to take command if he found it necessary.
While he was harsh and ruthless to his enemies, he was merciful towards those who had bent the knee or had sworn fealty to him. During his reign, he had strong ties with the Faith of the Seven.
Overview[]
Aegon ruling the Seven Kingdoms with his sister-wives.
Aegon the Conqueror, because of his legacy and despite the crimes he had committed during his conquest, became an important historical figure in Westerosi history, in which he was well remembered for unifying six of the Seven Kingdoms into one and establishing the Targaryen Dynasty. While conquering six of the Seven Kingdoms proved to be the easy part for Aegon, the hard part is now governing his newly-forged realm.
At the start of his reign, he is famous for forging the Iron Throne from a thousand swords, melted by the fiery breath of Balerion the Black Dread. Aegon intentionally made the throne uncomfortable due to his belief that a king should "never sit easy." His Valyrian steel sword, Blackfyre, which he wielded during his conquest of the Seven Kingdoms, became the ancestral blade of House Targaryen, which was passed from king to king for generations until King Aegon IV Targaryen gave it to one of his many bastard sons, Daemon Waters, who would eventually become known as Daemon Blackfyre.
Biography[]
Background[]
Aegon Targaryen, who would become Aegon the Conqueror, was born in 27 BC to Lord Aerion Targaryen and his wife, Lady Valaena Velaryon, the former of whom was the ruler of the small island of Dragonstone off the coast of the continent of Westeros. Aegon is their only son, and he had two sisters named Visenya and Rhaenys, with Visenya being the eldest and Rhaenys being the youngest respectively.
From a young age, Aegon was trained in the ways of combat alongside Visenya. Rhaenys, on the other hand, was more accustomed to artistic pursuits such as music and poetry. When the day came for Aegon to claim his own dragon, he bonded with Balerion, the last known dragon to have lived before the Doom of Valyria, while Vhagar and Meraxes, two dragons who had been born after the Doom, were each claimed by Aegon's sisters, with Visenya claiming Vhagar while Rhaenys claimed Meraxes. While Rhaenys flew her dragon out of enjoyment, as she has a love for flying, her brother, on the other hand, only rode Balerion out of practicality.
Aegon marrying his sisters.
Aegon met Orys Baratheon at some point, and it is rumored that the latter is his bastard half-brother. To keep the Targaryen bloodline pure and in accordance with Valyrian customs, Aegon took both of his sisters as wives for unknown personal reasons. It was believed that he married Visenya out of duty, while for Rhaenys, he married her out of love and desire. During a period of anarchy in Essos known as the Century of Blood, Aegon was requested to join an alliance by the Free Cities of Pentos and Tyrosh so that they could resist the invading army of Volantis.
Accepting the alliance, Aegon flew on his dragon to Lys, where the Volantene fleet was preparing to invade. He proceeded to burn down the fleet. Once this was accomplished, Aegon returned to Dragonstone, and he developed a strong interest in Westeros, a continent on the western side of the Known world. Under his command, a massive table carved, designed, and painted into a map of Westeros was made, which he would use to prepare and plan for his invasion. Aegon's implied original ambition might have been the conquest of the entire continent, including it's wild, far northern lands beyond the Wall.
Prelude to the Conquest[]
King Argilac Durrandon, the ruler of the Stormlands and head of House Durrandon, had been increasingly wary of King Harren Hoare, the tyrannical King of the Isles and the Rivers; As he and his ironborn are said to be seeking out fresh conquests, as construction of Harren's castle of Harrenhal is almost complete, Argilac the Arrogant sought to counter this threat by attempting to form an alliance with Aegon through a marriage pact, in which he offered him lands as a dowry and the hand of his daughter and only child, Princess Argella Durrandon. It was believed that it was to create a buffer zone between his and Harren's kingdom. Aegon refused the Storm King's offer, as he didn't need a third wife, and offered to let Argella marry Orys Baratheon instead. This only angered King Argilac, who felt slighted by this counteroffer, as he felt it to be dishonorable for his daughter to marry a bastard. He proceeded to amputate the hands of Aegon's envoy and placed them in a box, which was delivered to Aegon along with a message that said, "These are the only hands your bastard shall have of me."
Using this as an excuse to start his conquest, Aegon summoned all of his allies without a word and began making plans for the invasion of Westeros. As his army began preparing to sail to said continent, the Conqueror sent ravens to all the Seven Kingdoms as well as to all the noble lords and their vassal houses, with each being given the same message: "From this day forth there would be but one king in Westeros. Those who bent the knee to Aegon of House Targaryen would keep their lands and titles. Those who took arms against him would be thrown down, humbled and destroyed".
The Beginning of the conquest[]
Aegon, his sisters, their dragons and their army landed at and secured the mouth of the Blackwater Rush, where they constructed the Aegonfort, a wooden fortress that would become Aegon's own castle and base of operations throughout his conquest. After sending his sisters off to conquer nearby castles, Aegon himself proceeded to face the combined forces of House Darklyn of Duskendale and House Mooton of Maiden Pool. During his first test, he successfully secured a victory over the two houses with little effort, thanks to his dragon Balerion, and both lords Darklyn and Mooton were killed. Commanding all the lords that had surrendered to come to the Aegonfort, Aegon had his men unfurl the heraldic banner of House Targaryen, which depicts a red three-headed dragon breathing fire on a black background. Visenya then crowns her brother by placing a Valyrian steel circlet adorned with square-cut rubies on his head while Rhaenys hailed him as "Aegon, The First of his Name, King of all Westeros, and Shield of his People".
Meanwhile, in the other regions of Westeros, King Argilac the Arrogant and King Harren Hoare had called their banners and had already declared war on Aegon while King Mern IX Gardener, the head of House Gardener and the last King of the Reach, rode to meet with Loren I Lannister, the last King of the Rock. In Dorne, Princess Meria Martell, the then ruling Princess of Dorne, sent a raven to Aegon, offering to join forces against Argilac Durrandon as an equal and ally but not as his subject. In the Vale, Queen regent Sharra Arryn, the mother of the young King Ronnel Arryn, the last ruling king of the Kingdom of Mountain and Vale, sent a similar offering to Aegon, in which she requested lands east of the Green Fork and in exchange he'll be given the Vale's support against Harren the Black. Aegon refused the offer and just continued on with his conquest. Meanwhile in the North, King Torrhen Stark, the last King in the North, convened a meeting with his counselors and late into the night, they held a discussion amongst themselves on what should be done with the Conqueror. All of Westeros waited in the coming days on where Aegon would strike next.
Aegon's Conquest[]
Attack on Harrenhal[]
A few weeks later, Aegon and his sisters parted again to begin their conquest; While Rhaenys marched with Orys Baratheon on Storm's End, the ancestral seat of House Durrandon, and Visenya joined with Daemon Velaryon in an invasion of the Vale, Aegon the Conqueror marched with a small number of his army to the Riverlands, which has been under the rule of House Hoare of the Iron Islands since King Harwyn Hoare, the first King of the Isles and the Rivers, who had extended ironborn territory to the Riverlands during his own conquest many years ago in the past. Harren Hoare, Harwyn's grandson and infamously known as Harren the Black, had already finished construction on his castle on the day Aegon landed at the Blackwater Rush. The Riverlords, who deeply despise King Harren for his tyranny and cruelty, immediately revolted and joined with Aegon and his forces upon their arrival in the Riverlands, swelling Aegon's rank. After joining forces with local Riverlord Edmyn Tully, the Conqueror requested a parley with Harren, which was granted.
Aegon burning Harrenhal.
Upon meeting him, Aegon ordered Harren to yield so that he may live, but the King of the Isles and the Rivers rebuffed it, as he was confident and arrogant that the vast walls of his castle could withstand anything. When Aegon warned him that dragons can easily go over the walls since they can fly, Harren boasted that stone cannot burn. Aegon then gives him a final warning that his family line will end if he doesn't yield by sunset, but Harren just spat at this and went back into his castle. After the sun had set and dusk had fallen, Aegon secretly took Balerion really high into the sky before plunging back down. As he descended on Harrenhal, the entire castle was blasted with dragon fire, and King Harren and his remaining sons were burned alive, bringing House Hoare to extinction. Balerion's dragon fire was so hot that the five towers of Harrenhal went up like candles before being twisted and melted in shape. After the ironborn were driven back to the Iron Islands, Lord Edmyn Tully swore fealty to Aegon, who names him the Lord Paramount of the Trident and Lord of his own castle of Riverrun.
Field of Fire[]
Realizing that they might be targeted next, King Loren Lannister and King Mern Gardener joined forces and assembled a massive army of 60,000 well-armed men, which they termed "their iron fist." Meeting the Targaryen army on a dry field of golden wheat, King Mern and King Loren and their forces successfully gained the upper hand, shattering the ranks of the Targaryen army. However, the tide of the battle soon turned when Aegon and his sisters swooped down from the sky on their dragons, and together, they rained fire on the combined armies of the Reach and Rock while also setting the wheat field ablaze, which caused total chaos and panic amongst the Lannister and Gardener forces. In the aftermath of the battle, while the Targaryen army lost fewer than a hundred men, more than 4,000 from the Lannister and Gardener forces were burned alive while 10,000 were left injured, which proved to be so bad that they could not fight anymore. King Mern Gardener and most of his family were killed during the Field of Fire, but a nephew managed to survive, but he later died from his injuries, leaving House Gardener extinct.
Submission of House Lannister and the Rise of House Tyrell[]
Loren I Lannister surrendering to Aegon the Conqueror.
When King Loren Lannister was captured and brought before Aegon, he immediately surrendered and bent the knee. Sparing Loren's life, Aegon made him the Lord Paramount of the Westerlands and Warden of the West. He then marched on Highgarden, the ancestral seat of the now-extinct House Gardener. Upon his arrival, Harlan Tyrell, the castle's steward, immediately submitted Highgarden to Aegon, who then named him Lord of the Reach and Warden of the South, which brought forth the rise of House Tyrell. This ended up earning the Tyrells the ire of House Florent, a cadet branch of House Gardener, who believed that their claim is greater.
Submission of House Stark[]
Torrhen Stark bending the knee to Aegon the Conqueror.
Though Aegon intended to focus on marching on Oldtown, the oldest and largest city in Westeros ruled, which is ruled by House Hightower, he soon got word that King Torrhen Stark was leading an army of 30,000 Northmen and had entered the Riverlands. Aegon immediately rode north on Balerion to meet Torrhen, way ahead of his own army. He also sent word to his sisters, along with those who had bent the knee. When King Torrhen arrived at the Trident, he found the Targaryen army, now half the size as his, on the other side, where they had set up camp, while the Targaryen dragons (that being Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes) were circling the sky. Upon crossing the Trident and meeting Aegon, Torrhen gave up his crown along with his sword before peacefully bending the knee to the Targaryen warlord. From that point on, he became forever known as the King Who Knelt.
In response to Torrhen's submission, Aegon named him the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. However, though Torrhen had saved the lives of his people, his submission to Aegon was unpopular in the North. Some men, along with (according to some accounts) women from the North, refused to accept Aegon's rule and chose to go into exile across the Narrow Sea, where they formed a sellsword company called the Company of the Rose. Torrhen's own sons oppose Targaryen rule, with some of them even talking of revolting, however, no northern rebellion has ever occurred during Aegon's lifetime.
Submission of House Arryn and Rhaenys' failed invasion of Dorne[]
Soon after Torrhen's submission, Aegon and his sisters parted once again to continue their conquest of Westeros. While the former marched on Oldtown, Visenya flew her dragon Vhagar to the Vale and to the Eeyrie, where King Ronnel Arryn had taken refuge with his mother, following the successful conquest of both the Riverlands and the Stormlands. The latter region is now under the rule of the newly-formed House Baratheon, as Orys Baratheon had killed King Argilac Durrandon in battle and had captured Storm's End while also taking Argilac's daughter, Princess Aragella, to wife.
When Visenya landed in the Eeyrie's inner courtyard, Sharra Arryn and her guards immediately went to confront her only to find King Ronnel Arryn sitting on her lap and staring up at her dragon. Visenya exchanged friendly courtesies with Sharra before allowing Ronnel to have a ride with her on Vhagar in exchange for the submission of House Arryn. From that day forth, Ronnel became known in history as the King who Flew.
Meanwhile, Rhaenys invaded Dorne on her dragon Meraxes with the intention of conquering the peninsula for Aegon. Upon her arrival, she found every castle in Dorne desolated and seemingly abandoned while she found only women and children in the Planky Town. When Rhaenys arrived at Sunspear, the ancestral seat of House Martell, she only found Princess Meria Martell waiting inside. Meria, who is both old and blind, refused to bend the knee to Rhaenys, who warns him that she and House Targaryen will bring fire and blood to Dorne the next time she, her sister and their brother will invade. Unfazed by this, Princess Meria responds, "You may burn us, my lady ... but you will not bend us nor break us, or make us bow. This is Dorne. You are not wanted here. Return at your peril". Following this, the two parted, and Rhaenys' attempted conquest of Dorne ended in failure.
Aegon's coronation[]
Aegon being crowned king by the High Septon.
When Aegon and his army arrived at Oldtown, they found the gates of the city open. There, Lord Manfred Hightower bends the knee and surrenders his sword to Aegon on the orders of the High Septon, who had received a vision of Oldtown being burned if the city took up arms against the Targaryen warlord. In the Starry Sept, the original headquarters of the Faith of the Seven, the High Septon annointed and crowned Aegon as Aegon of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.
Early reign[]
The newly-crowned King Aegon chose to mark the beginning of his reign on the day of his second coronation. While many thought that he would make Oldtown his royal seat, Aegon surprised them by proclaiming that he would make his court in the town that had already sprung on the Blackwater Rush, which was where he had landed with his sister-wives at the beginning of his conquest. That town would eventually become the capital city of King's Landing, and Aegon has his dragon Balerion melt the swords of his defeated enemies with his dragonfire. Using the twisted, bent and melted blades, he forged a massive throne that is asymmetrical in shape and is monstrous and ugly in appearance, with it consisting of spikes and jagged edges of twisted metal. The throne, which officially became the seat of the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, would come to be a symbol of conquest and it would forever be known all throughout Westeros as the Iron Throne.
During the early days of Aegon's reign, the king forms a small group of advisors known as the small council and names Lord Orys Baratheon as his first Hand of the King. Aegon established his first law called the King's Peace, in which conflict throughout the realm is forbidden unless they have the Iron Throne's leave. Aegon treated the lords he had defeated with respect, and each of the regions is allowed to retain their own laws and customs, which include the right to pit and gallows and the First Night. Throughout his travels across Westeros, six maesters would educate him on each of the regions' customs and histories. Though Aegon's early reign was peaceful, however, the newly-forged realm was still troubled by ongoing conflicts. In the Bite, a trio of islands called the Three Sisters had taken advantage of Aegon's conquest and they rebelled against Lord Ronnel Arryn. Declaring independence, they crowned Lady Marla Sunderland as their queen. Because the fleet of House Arryn has been earlier destroyed during the conquest, King Aegon sends Lord Torrhen Stark to the Bite to crush the rebellion.
During their insurrection, the Sistermen, the inhabitants of the Three Sisters, were forced to surrender upon seeing Queen Visenya Targaryen on her dragon Vhagar, thus ending the Sistermen's Rebellion. After Queen Marla was deposed, Steffan Sunderland, her younger brother, renewed House Sunderland's fealty to House Arryn before bending the knee to Queen Visenya. He then gives his sons over as hostages to ensure his allegiance and good behavior. One son was fostered by House Manderly while the rest were fostered by the Arryns. Marla Sunderland, following the Three Sisters' failed rebellion, was sent into exile and then imprisoned. Five years later, she would lose her tongue before spending the remainder of her life as a Silent Sister.
Meanwhile, the Iron Islands were left in chaos following the death of King Harren Hoare and the annihilation of House Hoare. Qhorin Volmark, the lord and head of House Volmark, assumed kingship when he declared himself the rightful heir "of the black line," as his grandmother was a younger sister of King Harwyn Hoare. Despite Qhorin's claim, it was rejected, however, by another claimant, a priest named Lodos, who was crowned king on Old Wyk by his fellow priests, as Lodos had proclaimed himself to be the living son of the Drowned God, a deity worshipped by the ironborn. In addition, Lodos was also said to be able to perform miracles. Eventually, other ironborn claimants arose, which resulted in a war of succession that went on for more than a year.
In 2 AC, King Aegon invaded the Iron Islands on his dragon to put an end to the fighting. During his invasion, he was accompanied by the fleets of Houses Redwyne, Tyrell, and Lannister. A few ships from Bear Island also joined in, as they were dispatched by Torrhen Stark to assist the king. The ironborn did not resist, and they instead welcomed Aegon's arrival while their contenders bend the knee. Flying to the island of Great Wyk, the largest of the Iron Islands, King Aegon ruthlessly slew Qohorin Volmark with Blackfyre, his Valyrian steel longsword. Qhorin's infant son was spared so he could inherit his father's lands and titles. Meanwhile, on Old Wyk, Lodos the priest-king made a failed attempt to summon krakens to destroy Aegon's fleets. Because of this, Lodos fills his robes with stones before walking into the sea "to seek his father's counsel," while thousands join him. Lodos and his men ended up drowning themselves in the process, causing their bodies to wash up on the shores of Old Wyk, which would go on in the coming years.
Rise of House Greyjoy[]
When an issue came regarding on who would rule the Iron Islands, King Aegon listened to each of the claims of the ironborn overlord houses. It was suggested that the ironborn should be made vassals to House Tully or House Lannister, their sworn enemies. However, some made the suggestion of being given over to House Stark. In the end, King Aegon, ignoring their suggestions, allowed them to choose their own ruler/lord paramount instead. Thus, the ironborn chose Lord Vickon Greyjoy of Pyke, the head of House Greyjoy who paid homage to Aegon, who then left with his fleets.
First Dornish War[]
When Aegon launched a campaign to conquer Dorne, many Dornish Lords, who rejected the Conqueror's authority and rule, would rather flee than meet him in battle. Together with Lord Harlan Tyrell, Aegon faced off against heavy resistance from Dornish defenders, who would immediately flee and hide and even disappear whenever the Targaryen dragons would rise into the air. During a brief siege on Yronwood, the seat of House Yronwood, the most powerful Dornish House, Aegon found it defended by only a handful of civilians. During the invasion of Ghosthill, the seat of House Toland, he engaged Lord Toland's champion in battle. However, after slaying him in single combat with Blackfyre, Aegon discovered that the champion was actually Lord Toland's court fool.
When he landed in Sunspear, he found his sister Rhaenys there while the palace itself was empty, as Princess Meria Martell had vanished. Believing himself to be victorious, King Aegon immediately placed Dorne and every Dornish stronghold under Targaryen rule. Unfortunately, just as he and his sisters left, the hiding Dornishmen immediately emerged from their hiding places and revolted against the royal garrisons, defeating them with ease. When the Wyl of Wyl, the lord of House Wyl, ransomed the captured Orys Baratheon and his men to Aegon but had their sword hands amputated in the process (which was not part of the deal), an enraged Aegon proceeded to vengefully burn several of House Wyl's keeps though the Wyl of Wyl and his family managed to survive by taking refuge in caves and tunnels.
As the First Dornish War raged on, the Dornish, in retaliation for the Targaryens' attacks on Dorne, invaded the southern part of Westeros and sacked half a dozen villages and towns while setting half of the Rainwood in Cape Wrath ablaze. House Targaryen's response to this was when Queen Visenya and Vhagar burned Yronwood, the Tor (the seat of House Jordayne), and Lemonwood (the seat of House Dalt). The two returned a year later, this time with King Aegon, and they proceeded to burn more Dornish castles, such as Sandstone, the seat of House Qorgyle, Vaith, the seat of House Vaith, and Hellholt, the seat of House Uller.
This caused the Dornish to retaliate a second time; Lord Fowler and his army swiftly invaded the Reach and proceeded to burn down a dozen villages before capturing Nightsong, the seat of House Caron. Lord Manfred Hightower responded by sending his son Ser Addam and a great army to retake the castle. However, soon after the departure of Addam and his forces, another Dornish army led by Ser Joffrey Dayne marched on Oldtown, but as the city's walls are too strong to overcome, Joffrey began burning fields, farms, and villages for 20 leagues around the city. This caused Lord Hightower's younger son Garmon to lead a sortie against the Dornish army only to be slain by Ser Joffrey.
Meanwhile, when Ser Addam Hightower and his army reached Nightsong they were too late, as they discovered that the castle was burned by Lord Fowler, who also killed its garrison. To make matters worse, he also captured Lord Caron and his family, taking them with him as hostages. Instead of pursuing Lord Fowler, Ser Addam returns to Oldtown to relieve the city only for Joffrey Dayne and his army to already disappear into the mountains.
On the advice of Theo Tyrell, the new Lord of the Reach ever since Harlan Tyrell disappeared in the Dornish Deserts, Aegon and his sisters invaded Dorne a third time. Descending on Skyreach, the seat of House Fowler, Aegon used the fiery breath of Balerion the Black Dread to raze the castle, swearing to make it a 'second Harrenhal'.
Dragons' Wroth[]
Aegon and Visenya during the Dragon's Wroth.
When Queen Rhaenys and her dragon Meraxes were shot down by a scorpion bolt at Hellholt, which resulted in Meraxes' death and presumably Rhaenys as well, Aegon and Visenya, in rage and grief, proceeded to unleash mass destruction on every Dornish castle thrice over, with the exception of Sunspear, though it's unknown why it was spared. It was believed by the Dornish that the Targaryens refused to attack the castle because they feared that Princess Meria Martell may have purchased a Lysene device that she could use to slay the Targaryen dragons. However, Archmaester Timotty offered an alternate explanation; in his work Conjectures, he suggested that the Targaryens hoped that their sparing of Sunspear would turn the Dornish against House Martell. Lords in the Dornish Marches wrote letters to the Dornish lords, urging them to surrender. At the same time, they claimed that the Martells had purchased their safety from the dragons.
King Aegon and Queen Visenya proceeded to place bounties on every Dornish Lord, which resulted in the assassination of a dozen Dornish lords. These include Lords Fowler, Vaith, and four sucessive lords of Hellholt. Lady Toland was also murdered. While many assassins were killed, only two of them survived to collect their rewards.
Because of these assassinations, the Dornishmen retaliated a third time by hiring their own assassins and catspaws, as well as place bounties on the Targaryens and their allies; Lord Connington of Griffin's Roost was killed while hunting, Lord Mertyns of Mistwood died along with his entire household after they drank poisoned Dornish wine and Lord Fell was assassinated in King's Landing when he was smothered in a brothel. However, the most infamous acts committed during the First Dornish War was when the Wyl of Wyl and his men turned up uninvited at the wedding of Ser Jon Cafferine and Lady Alys Oakheart. Lord Oakheart and most of the guests were slaughtered before Alys was forced to watch as her husband was castrated. The Wyl of Wyl and his men then took turns raping her and her handmaids before selling them to a Myrish slaver.
King Aegon being attacked by Dornish assassins.
Aegon was attacked three times by Dornish assassins but was always saved by his royal guards. Queen Visenya Targaryen herself was also attacked, but she successfully defended her brother twice during these attacks.
In the aftermath of the Dragons' Wroth, all of Dorne was left a blasted, burning ruin, which extended to the Red Mountains and the Greenblood. However, despite this mass destruction, House Martell and the Dornish stubbornly continued to resist the Targaryens.
Making peace with Dorne[]
After Meria Martell passed away, her son, Prince Nymor, succeeded her, and he sought to bring terms of peace to King Aegon. He sent his daughter Princess Deria to the Aegonfort to discuss the peace terms with the Conqueror. Everyone in the court, sans Aegon, was strongly against Nymor's terms and were greatly angered when the skull of Meraxes was revealed. When the court began deciding on what kind of cruel punishment they would impose on Deria as revenge for the actions and crimes committed by her people during the war, King Aegon, who was weary of war, proceeded to dismiss these vengeful proposals, as Princess Deria had come as an envoy and she should not be harmed under his roof.
King Aegon reading Nymor's letter.
According to Grand Maester Lucan, however, just as Aegon was about to refuse Nymor's peace terms, as he preferred to continue the war, Deria gave him a private letter from her father. Aegon silently read the letter while stone-faced. It was believed that, as he clutched the letter so hard, blood dripped from his hand. After burning the letter, Aegon silently mounted Balerion and flew off to Dragonstone, where he stayed for a night. Upon returning to King's Landing the next morning, he agreed with the peace terms and signed a peace treaty with Dorne, thus ending the First Dornish War, and Aegon never spoke of the letter again.
The contents in Nymor's letter are the subject of much speculation; Some claim that it was a simple plea that touched Aegon's heart, while others insist that it was a list of all the lords and knights that died during the First Dornish War. Some believed that it said that Queen Rhaenys Targaryen survived but is being held prisoner while under extreme torment, and that if Aegon agrees to end the war, then the Dornish will end Rhaenys' suffering. However, it is suspected by Grand Maester Clegg that the letter stated that if Aegon refused to agree with the peace terms, Prince Nymor is willing to spend all of Dorne's wealth to hire the mysterious assassin guild known as the Faceless Men to assassinate Aegon's son and heir, Prince Aenys, whom Aegon bore with Rhaenys. The reason behind this is because Clegg, following his visit to Dorne, claimed that the region had lost the strength to fight.
Establishing of the Kingsguard[]
Aegon's cheek being slashed by Visenya.
During his reign, King Aegon got into an argument with Visenya about the former's security and protection following the Dornish assassin attacks. When Visenya argues that she won't always be there to protect him, Aegon insist he has guardsmen around him for protection. In response, Visenya swiftly slashed her brother's cheek with her sword Dark Sister before the guards could even intervene. As Visenya called them out for being "slow and lazy," this brought proof that Aegon needed more appropriate protection, and he was forced to agree. As a result, the Kingsguard, an elite group of seven greatly trained knights, was formed, with Visenya choosing each member herself and modeling their vows on those of the Night's Watch, where they are sworn to serve and guard the king for life. In addition, while they were strictly forbidden from inheriting lands, wealth, and titles, as well as wedding women and fathering any children, the Kingsguard would not earn any reward for their duties but honor. Ser Corlys Velaryon, a son of Daemon Velaryon, became the first lord commander of the Kingsguard. Though Aegon had considered holding a tourney to determine which knight was worthy enough to be a Kingsguard, Visenya rebuffed this.
Reign and Death[]
Funeral of Aegon the Conqueror.
For many years, King Aegon ruled over his kingdom wisely and well, and his reign was famously called the Dragon's Peace. As King's Landing and its population grew, Aegon saw that his wooden fort was unsuitable for a king. He had it razed and began construction on the Red Keep, a more suitable royal seat for his family. For the remaining years of his life, Aegon ruled from Dragonstone, the ancestral seat of House Targaryen. In 37 BC, while he was showing the details of his conquests on the Painted Table to his grandsons, Prince Aegon and Prince Viserys, the now-aged Aegon suddenly died from a stroke at the age of 64.
His body was then clad in armor, and his hands were folded over the hilt of his sword. During his funeral, in which Visenya, Aenys, and Maegor attended, Aegon was cremated by Visenya's dragon Vhagar, in accordance with Targaryen and Valyrian tradition. Prince Aenys then succeeded his father as the new King and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, though his rule would prove to not be as good as his father, as Aenys proved to be a weakling. This would also go for King Aegon's youngest son, Maegor the Cruel, whose reign proved to be tyrannical and always at war.
Equipment[]
- Blackfyre: Aegon the Conqueror's personal blade was "Blackfyre," a bastard sword forged out of Valyrian steel. Valyrian steel was a special type of steel created by Valyrian smiths using secret, magical methods. Valyrian steel was far stronger, lighter, sharper, and more durable than regular steel, but the secrets behind its creation were lost in the Doom of Valyria. As such, Valyrian steel was considered finite and extremely valuable. After Aegon's death, Blackfyre became a symbol of the Targaryen kingship.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Aegon the Conqueror, like many elements of the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise, was at least partially inspired by British history. King Aegon I Targaryen's inspiration was William the Conqueror, the first Norman King of the Kingdom of England who earned his crown through conquest and whose descendants still rule the United Kingdom of Great Britain in the modern day.
- While explaining his decision to add an armor of Valyrian steel in his show House of the Dragon, screenwriter and showrunner Ryan Condal incorrectly stated that said armor would've been something Aegon would've had "from his time in Old Valyria." This is factually incorrect, as Aegon the Conqueror has never been in Old Valyria at all, which was destroyed, infested, uninhabitable, and a place of non-return long before he was even born.
- The Doom of Valyria occurred about a century before Aegon's Conquest of Westeros. The head of House Targaryen who abandoned the Valyrian motherland, 12 years before the Doom, was Lord Aenar Targaryen. After him, his successor heads were Gaemon the Glorious, Aegon, Maegon, the brothers Aelyx, Baelon, and Daemion, and finally Aerion, who was Aegon I's father. Valyria was destroyed and "cursed" during Aenar's rule. The only living character during Aegon I's lifetime who once used to live in Valyria is the dragon Balerion the Black Dread.
- While Condal mentioned that his decision to give House Targaryen an armor of Valyrian steel felt appropriate, "as like a House Targaryen family heirloom," it's worth reminding that House Targaryen's political place and status within the Valyrian Freehold used to be very minor, as they were one of the lesser Dragonlord houses, whose absence post-exile wasn't contested nor caused any political changes within the Valyrian state. The Targaryens were also little involved with magic, unlike the more powerful Dragonlord houses. In the novels Valyrian steel armor are established as extremely rare, highly expensive, and made of sorcery even during the Freehold's days, making said items rare even for Dragonlord/Valyrian houses, which is why they can't be found anywhere in Essos post-Doom. Most of Valyria's magic was lost with the Doom, and the Targaryens didn't own its knowledge. In Aeron Greyjoy's The Forsaken chapter, it's stated, "In all the Seven Kingdoms, no man owned a suit of Valyrian steel. Such things had been known 400 years ago, in the days before the Doom, but even then, they would've cost a kingdom."
- In the novels' continuity, there was never any living person who ever owned an armor of Valyrian steel for centuries. Not even Aegon the Conqueror had one, and Maegor the Cruel and Aegon II Targaryen wore ordinary steel armor in battle. Euron Greyjoy is the sole known post-Doom character in the entire universe of A Song of Ice and Fire who is known to own a Valyrian steel armor set, a full suit which is also magical, and this is portrayed as a shocking revelation and a unique possession exclusive to Euron.
External Links[]
- Aegon I Targaryen on the A Wiki of Ice and Fire.
- Aegon I Targaryen on the Wiki of Westeros.
