Fall of King's Landing

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Fall of King's Landing
Conflict Dance of the Dragons
Date 130 AC
Place King's Landing
Result Victory for the blacks
Combatants
Rhaenyra Targaryen.svg Blacks Aegon II Targaryen.svg Greens
Commanders
House Targaryen.svg Prince Daemon Targaryen
House Velaryon.svg Lord Corlys Velaryon
City Watch of King's Landing.svg Ser Luthor Largent (changed sides)
House Hightower.svg Queen Alicent Hightower
House Hightower.svg Ser Otto Hightower
City Watch of King's Landing.svg Ser Gwayne Hightower
House Wylde.svg Lord Jasper Wylde
Strength
Army of Daemon Targaryen
Velaryon fleet
Gold cloaks
Caraxes (Daemon Targaryen)
Syrax (Rhaenyra Targaryen)
Seasmoke (Addam Velaryon)
Sheepstealer (Nettles)
Silverwing (Ulf White)
Vermithor (Hugh Hammer)
Few hundred knights, crossbowmen and men-at-arms
Casualties
Minimum Hundreds of green loyalists
Ser Otto Hightower
Lord Jasper Wylde
Ser Gwayne Hightower
Lord Rosby
Lord Stokeworth

The fall of King's Landing occurred in 130 AC during the Dance of the Dragons.[1]

Prelude

Prince Aemond Targaryen and Ser Criston Cole gathered their green forces to march on Harrenhal, which left King's Landing largely defenseless. This created an opportunity that the blacks seized.[1]

Prince Daemon Targaryen on Caraxes and Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen on Syrax flew over the capital and circled their dragons above Aegon's High Hill. The fleet of the Sea Snake, Lord Corlys Velaryon, then arrived to the east of Blackwater Bay.[1]

Battle

Fall of King's Landing, by Jota Saraiva

The sight of Daemon on Caraxes and Rhaenyra on Syrax over King's Landing sent the city into a panic. The Queen Dowager, Alicent Hightower, tried to send riders to bring back Aemond and ravens to leal lords, but her efforts were quickly stopped. Unknown to Alicent was that the gold cloaks, the City Watch of King's Landing, had turned. The gold cloaks were loyal to Daemon who had once been their leader. When he went to dispatch ravens, Grand Maester Orwyle was beaten and bound by gold cloaks as he arrived in his chambers. The seven commanders of the city gates who had been chosen for their loyalty to King Aegon II Targaryen were either imprisoned or killed the moment Caraxes was spotted over the Red Keep. Ser Gwayne Hightower, the second in command of the City Watch, was captured when he tried to sound the alarm. He was brought before Ser Luthor Largent, the commander of the gold cloaks. Gwayne denounced him as a turncloak to which Luthor replied:

Daemon gave us these cloaks and they're gold no matter how you turn them.[1]

Luthor then murdered Gwayne and had the city gates opened to the army pouring in from the Sea Snake's ships. Thirteen House Hightower knights and a hundred men-at-arms managed to hold the River Gate for eight hours from both attacks without and within the city. The other six gates, however, fell swiftly and the blacks' army entered the city unmolested through those gates. The city fell in less then a day. Seeing hope was lost, Queen Alicent ordered her forces to surrender.[1]

Aftermath

King Aegon II Targaryen escaped the fall of King's Landing. He was smuggled out by the master of whisperers, Lord Larys Strong, via secret passages. Aegon was protected by two of his Kingsguard knights, Ser Willis Fell and Ser Rickard Thorne, and was accompanied by his children, Princess Jaehaera and Prince Maelor.[1][2]

Lord Otto Hightower and Lord Jasper Wylde were executed for treason. Lords Rosby and Stokeworth tried to switch their allegiances back to Rhaenyra, but she refused, judging them to be "faithless friends" and ordered their executions. Queen Alicent Hightower and Princess Helaena Targaryen were held as captives. Ser Tyland Lannister was tortured for information on where he had hidden the crown's treasure. Grand Maester Orwyle was confined in the black cells.[2]

Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen seized the Iron Throne, though many lords noted she cut herself upon the throne, starting rumors that the throne had rejected her. At first the population of the city had welcomed Rhaenyra's ascent to the Iron Throne as Aegon II and Prince Aemond Targaryen had not been much loved. In time, however, with more executions happening daily and more taxes being raised to fund the wars, the population began to loathe Rhaenyra, calling her "King Maegor with teats".[2]

When Queen Alicent heard of Rhaenyra's planned campaigns against Prince Aemond and Prince Daeron, she made a new offer of peace. This time, she proposed that the Seven Kingdoms would be divided between the two claimants, with Rhaenyra keeping the crownlands, riverlands, the Vale of Arryn, the Iron Islands and the North and ruling from King's Landing, while Aegon II would rule a new realm from Oldtown that consisted of the Reach, the stormlands and the westerlands. Rhaenyra rejected this offer, and noted that her brothers had given up positions of honor that they may have had when they stole her birthright and took the lives of her sons.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant.