A Quick and Dirty Primer on Aegon’s Conquest of Westeros

After Game of Thrones came to an end in 2019, many HBO viewers felt burned out on Westeros. But House of the Dragon, a prequel focusing on House Targaryen, got people excited again when it premiered in 2022. That enthusiasm may have waned a bit in season two, but this year’s much-loved A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reinvigorated fans anew.

While there are still more TV spin-off series under consideration, as well as additional seasons of House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (not to mention a stage play), Warner Bros. is reportedly ready to bring the franchise to the next level with a feature film.

Those reports also teased the Game of Thrones movie will travel back to a key moment in Westeros’ history: Aegon’s Conquest, showing us how the Targaryens rose to power.

It’s early on the timeline, but it’s not ancient like that “Children of the Forest created the White Walkers!?†flashback on Game of Thrones. Aegon’s Conquest took place roughly 100 years before the events of House of the Dragon and roughly 300 years before Game of Thrones.

To put it even more in perspective, King Viserys I—the peaceful king we meet at the start of House of the Dragon, who then suffers a slow, horrific, and chaotic death—is the fifth Targaryen to sit on the Iron Throne. Daeron II, the ruler during A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is the 12th. The notorious “Mad King,†Aerys II, is the 16th or 17th, depending on whether you’re referring to the books or the TV show, since Game of Thrones eliminated a generation to simplify the family tree. Either way, he’s the last.

But it all goes back to Aegon I Targaryen, whose story emerges in George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, as well as in lore sprinkled across the A Song of Ice and Fire books and the HBO shows.

Who was Aegon the Conqueror?

Our buddy “Egg†was the fifth Targaryen to be saddled with the name “Aegon.†According to HBO, the sixth was some guy better known as Jon Snow. The name carries so much weight because the first Aegon accomplished more than any other Targaryen ruler that followed.

His rise came with the help of his sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys—who also happened to be his wives—and their trio of dragons: Balerion (ridden by Aegon), Meraxes (Rhaenys), and Vhagar (Visenya). If that last one sounds familiar, it’s because the enormous, ferocious Vhagar is also ridden by Prince Aemond Targaryen on House of the Dragon.

Aegon and his sisters had a Targaryen father and a half-Targaryen, half-Velaryon mother—a frequent alignment of the two families, as we saw in House of the Dragon. The movie will presumably be investing in very pale blonde wigs for these characters. Their family home was Dragonstone, which Team Black, led by Rhaenyra, uses as its HQ during the Dance of the Dragons in House of the Dragon. It later became Daenerys’ reentry point to Westeros in Game of Thrones.

Aegon carries the sword named “Blackfyre,†later passed down to King Aegon II (as we see in House of the Dragon). The weapon’s contentious ownership later became a spark that helped ignite the first Blackfyre Rebellion, which played a part in Dunk’s childhood flashback in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

The other House Targaryen sword of note is “Dark Sister,†carried by Queen Visenya and then, during the Dance of the Dragons, by Daemon Targaryen. Its last known owner was Lord Brynden Rivers, a.k.a. Lord Bloodraven—a Game of Thrones character who we’ll learn a lot more about if A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms gets a third season.

What inspired Aegon’s Conquest?

To make a long and violent story short, Aegon looked at his massive, table-shaped map of Westeros—we’ve seen it in House of the Dragon—and decided, instead of multiple kingdoms ruled by different royals, the realm should be united with just one guy in charge: Aegon Targaryen.

After angering one of those other royals by turning down a marriage contract—three wives would be a lot, even for a Targaryen—Aegon decided it was time to act. He gave all his opponents a heads-up with a flock of message-bearing ravens, then gathered his army and started attacking. The Conquest began along Westeros’ eastern shore, not far from Dragonstone.

It was a brutal takeover. Some foes fought back and regretted it, while others surrendered and received rewards in return. All the major noble houses were involved, and some were very well-armed. But only House Targaryen had dragons and could do things like send Balerion, a.k.a. the Black Dread, to torch Harrenhall, the realm’s largest castle. The message was clear: bend the knee or pay the awful price.

Another major battle, known as the “Field of Fire,†saw the mighty Targaryen dragons join forces—their only three-way team-up during the Conquest—to unleash their fury on the “Two Kings,†as the heads of House Lannister and House Gardener were known. The clash was so one-sided that House Gardener was all but wiped out; the Lannisters, of course, managed to persevere.

Around this time, Aegon and his sister-wives adopted the three-headed dragon as the Targaryen sigil, for obvious reasons.

Across all of Westeros, Dorne was a notable holdout. Multiple attempts at taking control of Dorne were launched in the ensuing years, but it held on to its independence for some time. It wasn’t until the reign of Daeron II, circa A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, that Dorne agreed to peacefully join the rest of Westeros.

What was the aftermath of Aegon’s Conquest?

Even with Dorne technically not in the fold yet, Aegon was still named “Lord of the Seven Kingdoms†(as well as “King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men†and “Protector of the Realmâ€). And it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Rebellions cropped up. The cluster of islands known as the Three Sisters briefly tried to crown their own ruler, and the notoriously prickly Iron Islanders also required some dragon-based discipline to fall into line.

Aegon is also who we can thank for ushering in some other Westeros hallmarks, including installing a Hand of the King as his top lieutenant and a small council to advise him. He established King’s Landing—more centrally located and accessible than Dragonstone—as Westeros’ capital. He ordered the building of the Red Keep and the walls and gates that enclose the city.

He also created the Iron Throne, a grim souvenir crafted from the swords of those he’d defeated. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, his reign after stomping all over Westeros was said to be relatively peaceful.

What do we know about the Game of Thrones movie?

Technically, we don’t know it’s an Aegon the Conqueror movie. All we know is that Beau Willimon (Andor) is handling scriptwriting duties. But the Hollywood Reporter‘s big Martin profile in January noted that the story of “King Aegon Targaryen’s conquest of Westeros is being developed by HBO as a possible drama series and by the Warner Bros. film team as a mammoth Dune-sized feature film.â€

Then, THR‘s story announcing Willimon’s involvement, which ran on March 3, picked up that thread—noting again that the project is focused on Aegon’s Conquest. The HBO series is also still on the table, apparently, but you have to imagine the studio, which is very likely coming under new ownership soon, won’t end up double-dipping on its Westeros content.

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