Aegon Targaryen

Aegon Targaryen was the first King of Westeros and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Also known as Aegon the Conqueror and Aegon the Dragon, he arrived on the shores of Blackwater with his sister-wives and three dragons. Though having a small army, he was able to lead a massive conquest against the seven kingdoms. After defeating the Kings of each Kingdom, he reduced their rank to that of lords. Upon conquering almost all of the realm, Aegon changed Aegonfort, where he had initially landed, into King’s Landing.

Aegon Targaryen Profile

• Name: Aegon I Targaryen.
• Dynasty: Targaryen.
• Full Name: Aegon of House Targaryen, the First of His Name.
• Year of Birth: 27 BC at Dragonstone.
• Year of Death: 37 AC.
• Titles: Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men. King of All Westeros, Lord of Dragonstone, Shield of His People.
• Year of Reign: 1 – 37 AC.
• Heir: Aenys Targaryen.
• Date of Coronation: 1 AC at Oldtown, 2 BC at Aegonfort.
• Parents: Lord Aerion Targaryen and Lady Valaena Velaryon.
• Wives: Visenya Targaryen and Rhaenys Targaryen.
• Children: Aenys I Targaryen and Maegor I Targaryen.
• Siblings: Visenya Targaryen and Rhaenys Targaryen.
• Race: Valyrian.
• Eye Color: Purple.
• Hair Color: Blond.

Appearance and Personality

Aegon Targaryen was an exceptionally handsome man with deep Valyrian features. He was tall and had cropped silvery-golden hair, glittering purple eyes, and broad shoulders. He was very dominating but charismatic and excellent at leadership. Aegon wielded a bastard Valyrian Steel sword called Blackfyre and wore a shirt of black scales to battle. Being a solitary man, he had few friends except Orys Baratheon, rumored to be his half-brother.

Aegon wore a crown of a Valyrian steel circlet adorned with big squared rubies. He got feared throughout the realm, and though harsh to offenders, he forgave those who bent the knee to him. Following the Valyrian tradition, Aegon married his sisters, Visenya, his older sister, and Rhaenys, his younger sister. He trusted them with ruling the realm and sparingly governed himself.

Biography

Early Life

Aegon Targaryen was born to Lord Aerion Targaryen and Lady Valaena Velaryon at Dragonstone in 27 BC. When he came of age, he claimed the dragon Balerion. Aegon was the second of three children, and after he came of age, he married his sisters, Visenya, his older sister, and Rhaenys, his younger sister. Most sources claim Aegon married Visenya out of duty, but Rhaenys, out of love. Before he arrived to conquer Westeros, Aegon helped Pentos and Tyrosh during the Century of Blood. He flew to Lys and burned the Volantene fleet invading invade the city.

Aegon’s Conquest

After Volantis lost and the Century of Blood ended, Aegon set his sights on the western continent, Westeros. As he had visited parts of the area, he created a table, the Painted Table, with the map of Westeros but refused to draw boundaries stating he believed the continent should be one realm instead of seven. 

To create a buffer between his kingdom and that of Harren Hoare, King of the Isles and the Rivers, Argilac Durrandon, the Storm King, proposed a marriage between his daughter, Princess Argella, and Aegon. However, Aegon rejected the proposal but offered to wed the Princess to his close friend, Orys Baratheon. Angered by the proposal, Argilac cut off the hands of the envoy and sent them back to Dragonstone. Upon getting Argilac’s message, Aegon met with his councilors and sent a raven to every lord in Westeros, declaring his claim to the throne six days later.

Aegon sailed to Westeros and landed at the banks of the Blackwater Rush. He constructed Aegonfort, a wooden castle, for his base of operation. House Rosby and Stokeworth first surrendered to Rhaenys and Visenya, and Houses Darklyn and Mooton got defeated. After his first series of victories, Aegon got crowned King by Visenya, and it was the first time he unveiled the three-headed Targaryen sigil. 

Upon getting crowned, Aegon and his sisters marched out. Aegon traveled northwest into the Riverlands, where Edmure Tully, Lord of Riverrun, supported him and led a rebellion against the ironborn. Aegon marched to Harrenhal and told Harren to yield his titles and castle. When Harren mocked Aegon that not even the dragons can bring Harrenhal to its knees, he flew atop the castle and spewed dragonfire. Though it survived, Harren and all of House Hoare got extinguished. Visenya defeated the Arryns, securing Crackclaw Point, and Orys and Rhaenys defeated the Durrandons in the Last Storm.

Aegon and his sisters regathered at Stoney Sept and led his army against Loren I Lannister, King of the Rock, and Mern IX Gardener, King of the Reach. Aegon destroyed Mern IX and all his heirs in the Field of Fire. Upon witnessing the carnage, Loren bent the knee, surrendering Casterly Rock.

Aegon then led his army against Torrhen Stark, the King in the North, who relinquished his titles when he saw the aftermath of the Field of Fire. Rhaenys flew to Dorne but failed to win over the Martells. Finally, Aegon marched to Oldtown, where Lord Manfred Hightower surrendered upon advice from the High Septon. With no one else to challenge him, the High Septon crowned Aegon King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, at Starry Sept.

Reign

After getting crowned King, Aegon picked Aegonfort as his seat of power. He built King’s Landing to replace the fort and created a throne from the swords of his defeated enemies, forming the Iron Throne. Aegon also formed the small council, the title of the Hand of the King, and the Kingsguard. He appointed Orys to be the Hand of the King and established the King’s Peace, forbidding conflict without permission of the Iron Throne.

Though he conquered the six kingdoms, Aegon allowed the lord to rule their region autonomously. He traveled with six maesters to educate him on the customs of each place he visited. Some laws Aegon left were the right of pit and gallows and the Lord’s Right to the First Night.

With the three sisters declaring autonomy, Aegon sent Torrhen Stark to end the rebellion, which ended successfully. He then led a fleet against the ironborn. After slaying Qhorin Volmark, Lodos, the priest-king, killed himself. The ironborn eventually surrendered.

First Dornish War

After getting crowned, Aegon set his eyes on Dorne again. He led a series of diplomatic missions to make Dorne a part of the Seven Kingdoms, but when the Martells refused, he tried to take the region by force. Though his first mission seemed successful, the Dornish War would last nine years and have many tragedies.

The first significant casualty for Aegon was Orys, who got captured by the Dornish people. When he returned, he was missing his sword hand. Aegon continued fighting, but all hell broke loose when Rhaenys got killed after a Scorpion shot her dragon, Meraxes, down. 

Upon Rhaenys’ death, Aegon’s rage multiplied as he spewed hell and fire over Dorne. He and his sister, Visenya, placed multiple bounties on dornish lords, and in return, the lords put rewards on him. After three attempts on his life got made, an elite squad of incredible warriors got formed to protect him, marking the beginning of the Kingsguard. The war ended when Princess Deria Martell traveled to King’s Landing with Meraxes skull and a letter. The next day Aegon flew to Dorne and agreed to a peace treaty.

Later Reign

After the First Dornish War, Aegon ruled over the six kingdoms peacefully. His reign was so good that it became the age of the Dragon’s Peace. As he cemented his power throughout Westeros, Aegon continued building King’s Landing. He created its walls after learning of some pirates sacking Tall Trees Town. He also constructed the Sept of Remembrance in Rhaenys’ honor. Aegon took his family back to Dragonstone to tear down Aegonfort and build a castle instead. It will become the Red Keep.

Legacy

Children

In 7 AC, Rhaenys gave birth to Aegon’s first son Aenys. The child was sickly, and rumors spread that Aegon did not father the child. However, they all disappeared when Aenys bonded with his dragon Quicksilver and got healthy. When Rhaenys died in the First Dornish War, Aenys got shattered. Many people feared he would not live long, and since Visenya never had children, they believed she was barren. However, she announced her pregnancy and gave birth to Maegor the following year. With no daughter, Aegon married Aenys to Lady Alyssa Velaryon.

Death

In 37 AC, Aegon died of a stroke while telling his grandsons, Aegon and Viserys, about his conquest and the Painted Table. He got cremated by fire from Vhagar, and after the procession, MAegor retrieved Blackfyre from the ashes. Though his reign was peaceful, Aegon’s death marked the beginning of conflict as many lords tried reverting to the old ways; this led to many wars during Maegor I and Aeny’s reign.

The Dance of The Dragons

The Dance of the Dragons was a significant event that thwarted Aegon I’s achievement. It was a Civil War between Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Queen Alicent Hightower. After Viserys I’s death, the Greens, Alicent, and Blacks, Rhaenyra, began fighting for the throne. Massive casualties occurred on both sides with the loss of King Aegon II, Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra Targaryen, and Aemond Targaryen. King Aegon III ascended the throne, but with the death of all the dragons, the Targaryens’ power started waning. 

Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire

A Game of Thrones

After the Mad King, King Aerys II Targaryen killed Lord Rickard and Brandon Stark, Robert Baratheon, and Eddard Stark started a rebellion against the Iron Throne. Rhaegar Targaryen, the heir, fell at the Battle of the Trident, and King’s Landing got sacked. Rhaegar’s wife and children, Elia Martell, Aegon, and Rhaella Targaryen, got killed, and Robert was crowned. However, Aery’s children, Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen escaped to Essos.

Relevance in Adaptation

Aegon I Targaryen was a massive influence in the stories of HBO’s Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. In HOTD, King Viserys, portrayed by Paddy Considine, tells Rhaenyra, his heir, of Aegon I’s dream about a great war between humanity and White Walkers. When Viserys mentioned the story to his wife Alicent on his deathbed, she misinterpreted and thought her husband meant for her son to become King.

In Game of Thrones, after Jon Snow becomes King in the North, his brother Bran sees the past and realizes he is Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen’s child, a descendant of Aegon I Targaryen, making Jon Aegon Targaryen.

Aegon I Targaryen: A Legacy

From ‘The Tales of Dunk and Egg’ to A Song of Ice and Fire, Aegon I Targaryen left a legacy that was to remain unfazed. He created a world he imagined and ruled with dignity and fairness. Aegon was the true definition of a King, but though all he did put the Targaryens on top, they still tarnished his legacy with a civil war that destroyed their iron-tight grip on the throne.

With more terrible Kings, the Targaryens lost the throne. However, though some may say Aegon’s legacy died with the end of the Targaryen rule, that is far from the truth. Everything he did to create a stable continent remained, and the system of governance he crafted survived the Targaryens’ fall.

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