without spoiling the current the slave girl and gimp stark said that dragons hadnt been around for thousands of years... someone else said that the targaryans established rule with the help of the dragons implying that the targaryans had a thousand year dynasty? that ended with the mad king? was this aegon the conqueror a targaryan? thanks
i'm gonna copy paste from a wiki of ice and fire to help you out. don't click any of the links because you probably will be spoiled. brb
Yes they won the throne with their dragons. But theyve been ruling for a very long time even after all the dragons died. And Aegon was a targaryen. Basically everything you said is correct to my recollection.
Game of thrones is set in 298 AL. the calendar used in the series starts the year after Aegon landed in westeros Precursor The war began in 1AL when Aegon Targaryen and his two sister-wives Rhaenys and Visenya landed with fewer than 1,600 men[1] on the east coast of Westeros, at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush. The Targaryens had held the island-fortress of Dragonstone as the westernmost outpost of the Valyrian Freehold for a century before the Doom destroyed Valyria. In the century after the Doom, the "Bleeding Years", they tried to expand their holdings. However, Aegon had been torn between unifying the continent of Westeros and conquering the Free Cities, which had been experiencing bloody strife in the aftermath of Valyria's fall. He rejected a call from several of the Free Cities to help unite them as a new Freehold and chose the far more ambitious course of invading Westeros. With very limited manpower, the Targaryens knew that their full-grown dragons would be their ultimate weapon. Before launching his invasion, Aegon ordered the construction of the Painted Table. A table cut into an accurate geographical map of Westeros. He apparently considered all of Westeros as one land, despite the fact that the continent was long split into Seven Kingdoms, and was determined to unify it under his rule. The Conquest The sequence of events in the War of Conquest is unclear. The following events took place, though not necessarily in this order: Conquest of the Riverlands and Iron Islands Aegon first struck northwest against the King of the Iron Islands, Harren the Black. King Harren ruled both the Iron Islands and the Riverlands from his newly-completed monstrous fortress of Harrenhal, the greatest Westeros has ever known, which is considered impregnable against siege or storm. When King Harren refused to surrender, Aegon used his dragons to overcome Harrenhal's defenses and burned Harren and his sons alive in what was later called Kingspyre Tower. The remaining ironborn fled back to the Iron Islands, Aegon hounded them all the way back with the aid of the Riverlords, where he demanded their fealty. The ironborn elected Lord Vickon Greyjoy of Pyke to lead them, and Greyjoy and Tully were among the first to swear their fealty to Aegon. For Tully's service, Aegon made them overlords of the Riverlands, making all other lords along the Trident to swear fealty to them.[2] The Submission of Crackclaw Point Following the death of Harren the Black at Harrenhal, Aegon had sent his sister Queen Visenya, to demand the submission of the Lords of Crackclaw Point. The lords understood that they had no chance, so they laid their swords at her feet. Visenya took them as her own men and they would owe no fealty but to the Iron Throne.[3] They bent the knee to her without qualm, and in return she promised them that they would be direct vassals of the Targaryens. Conquest of the Stormlands In the east, Orys Baratheon, Aegon's alleged bastard half-brother, led an army against Storm's End. King Argilac the Arrogant, soon proved the truth of his name. Rather than take shelter behind the walls of his fortress, he took the field, confident of victory. A pitched battle was fought and Orys Baratheon slew Argilac in single combat. It is unclear whether Orys commanded a separate host or was merely commanding a contingent of Aegon's own army. After the battle, Aegon I gave to Orys; Argilac's sigil, castle, lands and daughter as rewards for his victory.[2] Conquest of the Westerlands See also: Field of Fire Alarmed at the Targaryens sweeping success, King Loren Lannister of the Rock and King Mern IX of the Reach made an alliance and assembled their armies to face the invader. Their army, dubbed by historians 'The Host of the Two Kings', numbered 55,000; five thousand of them mounted knights, while the Targaryens had only 10,000 men, many of uncertain loyalty and reliability. The battle went badly for the Targaryens, with their smaller force severely weakened and in danger of routing. Aegon and his sisters deployed all three dragons at once, the only time this happened in the war. Their combined fires scoured the battlefield, immolating more than four thousand men (including King Mern himself) and giving the battle its name: The Field of Fire. King Loren bent the knee and was allowed to remain Lord of Casterly Rock. With Mern dead, Aegon accepted the surrender of Harlen Tyrell, Mern's steward, and appointed him overlord of the Reach. Aegon accepted their oaths of fealty, naming Loren as Lord of Casterly Rock and the Westerlands and Harlen as Lord of Highgarden and the Reach. This infuriated House Florent, who had a superior blood-claim to the Gardener line, but Aegon dismissed this.[2] Conquest of Oldtown When news arrived in Oldtown of the landing of Aegon and his sisters, the High Septon fasted and prayed for seven days and nights under the dome of the Starry Sept in Oldtown. He then announced that the Faith would take to not oppose the Targaryens, because the Crone had shown him that to do so would mean the destruction of Oldtown in dragonflame. Lord Hightower, a pious man, kept his forces at Oldtown and when Aegon's marched south towards Oldtown, he freely open his gates submitting to Aegon's authority. The High Septon then anointed Aegon and acknowledged his place as King of Westeros, destroying much of the remaining opposition among the Westerosi people.[4] Battle with Dorne Aegon led an invasion of Dorne in an attempt to secure that southern land as well. He took his army through the Red Mountains, but the Dornish, having learned of the Field of Fire and Harren mistakes, they refused to give open battle nor did they hide in their castles, instead striking supply lines and engaging in guerilla warfare and melting away before the dragons could be brought to bear. A thousand pinpricks did what a single pitched battle could not, and Aegon chose to withdraw and leave Dorne an independent nation. [5] Conquest of the North A host of northmen under the leadership of the King In The North, Torrhen Stark, marched south towards the Riverlands and Aegon mustered his troops and dragons to meet him on the banks of the Red Fork of the Trident, east of Riverrun. Torrhen intended to engage Aegon in battle, but viewing Aegon's vast host and his dragons made Torrhen realise his folly and instead he bent the knee in submission. Aegon named him Lord of the North and of Winterfell. In later years, an inn was built on the site of this event, known as the Inn of the Kneeling Man. Conquest of the Vale House Arryn, Kings of the Vale, also acknowledged King Aegon's supremacy, but the details of how this was accomplished are unclear. Aftermath Now in control of six of the Seven Kingdons, Aegon I Targaryen, now known as Aegon the Conqueror, announced the founding of a new castle, the Red Keep, and a new capital city, King's Landing, on the site where he landed on the shores of Westeros, Aegon had melted the swords of those who had opposed him into a throne, the Iron Throne, as a reminder of their submission to the Targaryens. Dorne remained unconquered and was acknowledged as a sovereign state under the rule of the Martells of Sunspear and Aegon devoted the remainder of his life to consolidation of his realm.
so is dorne still an independent nation in the current time line? the targaryens are from the lands east of westeros?
no. they were annexed a few kings after aegon I with a marriage pact. and yes, aegon's family came from valyria, a city that was destroyed hundreds of years ago due to a mysterious cataclysm known as the doom of valyria. aegon's family came to dragonstone (stannis' island castle) over a century before the doom, however.
stannis is currently taking residence in dragonstone? missed that part, dang that explains the map-table in their meeting hall
is dragonstone the ancestral seat of the baratheons? is that why the younger baratheon is taking rule from a camp?
no Dragonstone always belonged to the Targs. the Baratheons are from Storm's End, but when Robert won his war he needed his oldest brother (Stannis) to hold Dragonstone for him because Renly was too young. Stannis always felt that was a slight because Storm's End is a much more profitable seat than Dragonstone.
Dragonstone was the seat of the Targs so all the lords around there were loyalists and it was an area that was ripe to rise up against Robert. So Robert needed Stannis' strong leadership there to keep everyone in line.
word is the blonde dude assisting the khaleesi from that region? i assume that it's the coast immediately adjacent to dragonstone that was ripe for the uprising along with dragonstone itself
the castle architecture is one of my favorite parts of the series thus far - cant wait to see what storms end and casterly rock look like
if you mean the older knight, that Jorah Mormont. he's from Bear Island which is in the north. he's fled East from Westeros when he was caught selling poachers to a slaver and Ned Stark was going to kill him for it. coincidentally, the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch is his father and the sword he gave Jon is Jorah's by birthright, but he left it when he fled.
here's a map without any spoilers that i can see. jorah and his father (who is commander of the nights watch in case you missed that) are from bear island on the north west coast.
i assumed he was from somewhere south because of his appearance - it seems that people follow rough archetypes vis a vis their appearance and location which i appreciate for the tribalism it brings
It's the reason that they made Robert king after the rebellion. After they "wiped out" the targaryens the baratheons had the best claim to the throne.
I want to say Roberts claim to the throne was due to his grandmother being a Targaryen. Orys was only an alleged half brother of Aegon so I dont think that would have helped his claim much. A 300 yr old ancestor being an alleged half brother to Aegon isnt much of a claim imo I remember Robert telling Ned that he should have been king and Ned telling him that he(Robert) had a much better claim. So there was some doubt as to who should have taken over the throne but seeing as Robert had a Targaryen grandmother and most of the great lords backing he took over the throne.
No but he was never really involved in the war. Plus he had no shot at it. The Baratheon's, Starks and Arryns (the Vale) were all allies at that point. Tywin did the next best thing and had his daughter marry Robert and literally surrounded him with Lannisters
I'm not sure things wouldn't have been different had Tywin made it to the throne room before Ned Stark.
someone should write up a couple paragraphs on the tourney at Harrenhal and the events that came after
Yeah, didn't mean to say you were wrong. Just adding context. It wasn't like his forces were leaned on to lay siege to King's Landing. Just furthers your point that he didn't really do much, so he wouldn't expect to profit from it more than the other allies.
Alright here is pretty much how the war started and how shit went down. First here are a few important things to note. -Robert and Ned are wards of Jon Ayrrn which is how they became close friends. -Robert is bethroned to Neds sister Lyanna. -Ned has an older brother, Brandon, who is bethroned to Catelyn Tully. -Tywin Lannister had served as Hand for the Mad King for awhile. He had also proposed that Cersei marry Rhaegar but was basically laughed at and told something along the lines of "my son wont marry the daughter of my servant" or shit like that. - Targaryens usually marry each other to keep their blood pure but Aerys(Mad King) didnt have Daenarys til after Rhaegar was already married to Elia Martell of Dorne. -Jaime is already a member of the Kings Guard. -Ned is in love with Ashara Dayne who is from Dorne. Ok now here is how shit went down. -Prince Rhaegar wins a tourney at Harrenhal where he whooped just about every famous knights ass. Afterwards he gives Lyanna a winter rose crown and declares her the Queen of Beauty and Love while his wife is in the stands. -A year later Rhaegar kidnaps Lyanna and takes her to Summerhall. -Brandon Stark goes to Kings Landing and makes a scene yelling for Rhaegar to come out and duel him. -The Mad King has him arrested and sends a raven to Winterfell telling Rickard Stark he needs to come down to Kings Landing so this can be worked out. -Rickard arrives and is promptly arrested. -Aerys has a bonfire built in the Red Keep and has Rickard strung up over it in full armor. Brandon is brought in and has a rope tied around his neck and has his sword placed just out of his reach. Aerys tells him if he can reach his sword he can free himself and cut his father down. He then sets fire to the pit built for Rickard. -Brandon Stark basically strangles himself to death trying to reach his sword while Rickard is slowly cooked to death. -Aerys then sends a raven to Jon Ayrrn demanding the heads of his wards, Ned and Robert. -Jon Ayrrn refuses and calls his banners. -Ned goes back to Winterfell, where he is now lord, and calls his banners. Robert goes to Storms End to call his banners. -Jon, Robert, and Ned then lead their armies to Riverrun where Ned takes his brothers place and marries Catelyn and Jon marries the other Tully, Lysa. -The Tullys now tied in by marriage call their banners so rather quickly half the realm is now in rebellion. -Rhaegar gathers the remaining allies still loyal to the crown and head out looking for the rebels. -They meet near the trident and in the ensuing battle Robert kills Rhaegar. Robert then leads his army towards Kings Landing. - Just before Robert is set to arrive in Kings Landing Jaime shows up with an army himself flying the Lannister flag. -Aerys thinking that they are there to help orders the gates open and lets them in. -Shortly there after the Lannister army slaughters the City watch and Jaime goes to the Red Keep and kills Aerys and his new Hand. -Ned arrives shortly after this and sees Jaime sitting in the Iron Throne and iirc basically makes him get off the throne. -While all of this is going on The Mountain is off murdering Elia and her 2 young kids. -Aerys had his other 2 kids, Viserys and Daenarys, sent to Dragonstone for safe keeping but they flee the island just before Stannis laid seige. -With the war over Ned and a few of his best men go to Sunspear looking for Lyanna. They find her guarded by the best of the Kings Guard. -Ned tries to convience them to let her go but they refuse so it is basically like a 8 vs 3 fight. Only Ned and Howland Reed survive with Ned prrsonally killing the Sword of Morning who just happens to be the Ashara Dayne's brother. -Ned finds Lyanna at the top of a tower but she dies soon after. -Robert marries Cersei to bring and end to the war and combine the 2 most powerful families. -Ned returns the Dayne family sword and Ashara commits suicide after learned he killed her brother and got married. thats pretty much it iirc......I wrote this on my phone so i may off forgot a few things
Excellent job. Wasn't it Tywin that showed up at Kings Landing with an Army though? Wouldn't Jaime have been with Aerys the whole time since he was a member of the Kingsguard or did Aerys send him to convince Tywin to join the war on his side? I can't remember. Also this pic has been posted a lot but its just so awesome.
Basically the only other thing I can think of is that a few years after Robert won the throne Balon Greyjoy rebelled attempting to gain independence for the Iron Islands. -Greyjoys attack Lannisport and fuck some shit up. -Robert has enough crushes the rebellion with Ned and others and in the process Balon's two eldest sons are killed. -Theon, last remaining son, is taken as a hostage/ward at Winterfell to make sure Balon stays in line.
Youre right it was Tywinn....Jaime hadnt left his post yet. When Jaime found out that Aerys was going to destroy the city with wildfire he just went ahead and murked them
Fat Man really needs to write a book about these events. They're way too interesting to not be elaborated on.
Ironic point that's been posted before. Jaime is feared and maybe even hated by almost everyone in the realm and thought of as a despicable human being for being a kingslayer. He's done a lot of horrible things in his life, but the only thing anyone hates him for was actually his finest hour.