Who Is Aegon The Conqueror In Game Of Thrones?
Few names carry as much weight in Westerosi history as Aegon The Conqueror. Before the Iron Throne existed, before the Seven Kingdoms were seven kingdoms in any unified sense, there was a Valyrian exile with dragons and an appetite for conquest. Aegon I Targaryen didn’t just win a war. He redrew the map of an entire continent and built a dynasty that would dominate Westerosi politics for nearly three centuries.
So who was this man, really? Aegon the Conqueror wasn’t a commoner who clawed his way to power. He descended directly from Old Valyria, the seat of the greatest civilization the world had known and the birthplace of dragonriders. That bloodline, and the dragons that came with it, gave him tools no other claimant to Westeros could match. What follows is a closer look at how Aegon I Targaryen’s conquest of Westeros actually unfolded, the dragon that made it possible, the sister-wives who fought beside him, and the surprising blood tie connecting him to House Baratheon.
How Did Aegon I Conquer The Seven Kingdoms?
The Targaryens didn’t rise from nothing. After the Doom of Valyria, a catastrophe that wiped out the Valyrian Freehold, House Targaryen became one of only a handful of noble families to survive, alongside Houses Velaryon and Celtigar. What set them apart was blood. Targaryen blood carried the rare ability to bond with dragons, and that bond handed them control over the single greatest weapon in the known world.
When Aegon I turned his attention to Westeros, he didn’t rely on sheer troop numbers or clever alliances. He relied on dragon fire. One by one, the great kings of Westeros folded. Torrhen Stark, then King of the North, surrendered without a fight, earning himself the lasting nickname “The King Who Knelt.” Other rulers who tried to hold their ground found that resistance rarely lasted long against the Targaryen birthright.
Dorne was the exception. Unlike the rest of Westeros, the southernmost kingdom refused to fall in line, and the struggle to bring it under Targaryen control stretched on well past the two years of fighting known as Aegon’s Conquest. Aegon I Targaryen’s conquest of Westeros may have been swift elsewhere, but his descendants, including Aenys I and Maegor I, spent years locked in battle with the Dornish. Dorne was ultimately folded into the realm through a marriage pact rather than outright military defeat, and it kept much of its distinct culture and legal customs intact.
Which Was Aegon The Conqueror’s Dragon?
No account of Aegon the Conqueror is complete without Balerion the Black Dread dragon, the single most feared creature of his age. Balerion was born in Valyria itself and was carried out of the city when Aenar Targaryen, an ancestor of Aegon I, fled ahead of the Doom. By the time Aegon I came to claim him as his mount, Balerion wasn’t just a dragon. He was the last living dragon born in the Valyrian Freehold, and the largest dragon in existence after Valyria’s collapse.
Balerion had already proven himself in battle before the Conquest began, having been tested in combat against the Free City of Volantis. That fight turned out to be little more than a warm-up. Once unleashed on Aegon I’s enemies across the Seven Kingdoms, Balerion tore through armies numbering in the thousands and reduced stone castles to rubble with black flame.
Balerion’s role in Westerosi history didn’t end with the fighting, either. When the war was finally over, it was Balerion’s fire that melted down the swords of Aegon I’s defeated enemies, forging the twisted metal that became the Iron Throne itself.
Who Are Aegon The Conqueror’s Sisters?
Aegon I didn’t conquer Westeros alone. Riding beside him were his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, each commanding a dragon of her own: Vhagar and Meraxes. Aegon the Conqueror’s sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys weren’t symbolic companions. They were essential to the campaign’s success, bringing two more dragons and two more skilled riders to the fight.
Marrying within the family wasn’t unusual by Valyrian standards, but taking two sisters as wives simultaneously was rare even by those loosened conventions. The reasoning behind each marriage is believed to have differed. Visenya, the eldest of the three siblings, was likely wed to Aegon to secure his claim and succession. Rhaenys, by contrast, is said to have been a match built on genuine affection.
Their personalities reflected those different motivations. Visenya was known as a stern, formidable warrior, feared for her skill with the Valyrian steel blade Dark Sister. Rhaenys leaned toward the creative rather than the martial, and she earned a reputation as the finest dragonrider of the three thanks to her genuine love of flying.
How Was Aegon The Conqueror Related To The Baratheons?
If your knowledge of House Targaryen and House Baratheon comes strictly from later Game of Thrones events, you’d assume these two families were always bitter enemies. That assumption holds up during Robert’s Rebellion, the war that toppled the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen and wiped out most of his bloodline. But rewind to Aegon I’s original landing in Westeros, and the picture looks very different. Orys Baratheon’s relationship to Aegon the Conqueror was one of unwavering loyalty, not rivalry.
Their bond ran deeper than mere allegiance. Orys is widely believed to have been Aegon I’s bastard half-brother, though the claim was never officially confirmed. What is certain is that Orys served as Aegon’s closest confidant throughout the Conquest, trusted above anyone else in the king’s circle.
Orys commanded Aegon I’s forces during the fighting and was rewarded with the title of first Hand of the King once Aegon was crowned. The Baratheon name itself didn’t come into existence until Orys defeated King Argilac Durrandon in single combat, after which he was granted the title Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, officially founding the house that would one day sit on the very throne built from Balerion’s fire.
The Legacy of Aegon The Conqueror
Aegon the Conqueror’s story is really the story of how a single family, armed with dragons and a merciless strategic sense, reshaped an entire continent in less than three years. From Balerion’s devastating power to the loyalty of Orys Baratheon and the critical roles played by Visenya and Rhaenys, Aegon I’s rise to the Iron Throne was never a solo act. It was a campaign built on blood ties, dragonfire, and alliances that would echo through Westerosi history for generations. Anyone looking to understand the later conflicts of Game of Thrones, from Robert’s Rebellion to the War of the Five Kings, has to start here: with the man who conquered Westeros and the throne he forged from his enemies’ swords.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Aegon the Conqueror the Mad King?
No, Aegon the Conqueror is not the Mad King[cite: 17]. Aegon the Conqueror (Aegon I Targaryen) was the first Lord of the Seven Kingdoms who founded the Targaryen dynasty, whereas the Mad King was Aerys II Targaryen, the final Targaryen ruler before being overthrown during Robert’s Rebellion
How is Daenerys related to Aegon the Conqueror?
Aegon V Targaryen (also known as “Egg”) is Daenerys Targaryen’s great-grandfather
What killed Aegon the Conqueror?
Aegon the Conqueror died from a stroke
