Difference between revisions of "Aegon III Targaryen"

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==Quotes by Aegon==
 
==Quotes by Aegon==
{{Quote|I mean to give the [[smallfolk]] peace and food and justice. If that will not suffice to win their love, let [[Mushroom]] make a progress. Or perhaps we might send a dancing bear. Someone once told me that the commons love nothing half so much as dancing bears. You may call a halt to this feast tonight as well. Send the [[lord]]s home to their own keeps and give the food to the hungry. Full bellies and dancing bears shall be my policy.{{ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Aegon III}}}} – the account of [[Munkun]] on the king's words to [[Torrhen Manderly]] upon ending the regency
+
{{Quote|I mean to give the [[smallfolk]] peace and food and [[Law and justice|justice]]. If that will not suffice to win their love, let [[Mushroom]] make a progress. Or perhaps we might send a dancing bear. Someone once told me that the commons love nothing half so much as dancing bears. You may call a halt to this feast tonight as well. Send the [[lord]]s home to their own keeps and give the food to the hungry. Full bellies and dancing bears shall be my policy.{{ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Aegon III}}}} – the account of [[Munkun|Grand Maester Munkun]] on the king's words to [[Torrhen Manderly]] upon ending the [[Regency of Aegon III|regency]]
  
 
==Family==
 
==Family==

Revision as of 16:12, 7 January 2018

House Targaryen.svg
Aegon III
House Targaryen.svg
AEGON III.jpg
Aegon III by Amok©
Monarch
Reign 131 AC - 157 AC
Full name Aegon Targaryen the Third of His Name
Titles
Predecessor Aegon II Targaryen
Heir Daeron Targaryen
Successor Daeron I Targaryen
Personal Information
Aliases
  • Aegon the Younger
  • Aegon the Dragonbane
  • Aegon the Unlucky[1]
  • The Broken King[2][3][4]
Born 120 AC[5]
Dragonstone[6]
Died 157 AC
King's Landing[6]
Family
Dynasty House Targaryen
Queens
Issue Daeron I Targaryen
Baelor I Targaryen
Daena Targaryen
Rhaena Targaryen
Elaena Targaryen
Father Daemon Targaryen
Mother Rhaenyra Targaryen
References
Books

Aegon III Targaryen, also known as Aegon the Younger, and later Aegon the Dragonbane, was the seventh Targaryen king to sit the Iron Throne.[8] He succeeded his uncle, Aegon II Targaryen, at the conclusion of the Dance of the Dragons, which saw the victorious supporters of his late mother Rhaenyra Targaryen install him on the throne. When he was a child, his dragon was Stormcloud.[9] Aegon kept the kingdoms united following the divisions of the civil war with the aid of his brother, Prince Viserys, whom he named Hand of the King when he came of age.[3]

Appearance and Character

Aegon had dark purple eyes and pale silvery hair.[5] He was pale, lean, and never smiled, because of the grief he carried from seeing his mother Rhaenyra devoured by Sunfyre, the dragon of his uncle, Aegon the Elder. Aegon the Younger wore a short beard but no mustache. His crown was a slender gold band.[10]

After the Dance of the Dragons, Aegon became brooding, cold, and melancholy. He always dressed in black.[3]

Biography

Youth

Born in the last days of 120 AC, Aegon was the first-born son of his father, Prince Daemon Targaryen, and the fourth-born son of his mother, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. As per Targaryen tradition, a dragon's egg was placed in his cradle, and Stormcloud eventually hatched from this egg.

Aegon was named after Aegon the Conqueror.[9] Queen Alicent Hightower, the second wife of his grandfather King Viserys I Targaryen, took offense to Aegon's name, since she had a son named Aegon herself, and felt that Rhaenyra and Daemon were trying to use the name as a slight against her. Due to the fact that the royal family now contained two young Targaryens named Aegon, Alicent's son came to be known as Aegon the Elder, whereas Rhaenyra's son was called Aegon the Younger.[5][9]

Aegon the Younger had three older half-brothers, Princes Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Velaryon, from his mother's first marriage, to Ser Laenor Velaryon, and two older half-sisters, Princesses Baela and Rhaena Targaryen, from his mother's second marriage, to Prince Daemon. Two years after Aegon's birth, Rhaenyra gave birth to another boy, Viserys, named after the boys' grandfather.[9]

Aegon lived with his mother, father, brothers, and half-sisters on Dragonstone, the ancestral seat of House Targaryen and his mother's seat as the Princess of Dragonstone. When his grandfather died in early 129 AC, Aegon and his family were away from the capital, as Rhaenyra was pregnant for the sixth time. This led to the birth of Aegon's sister, Visenya, but the girl was stillborn.[9]

The Dance of the Dragons

A war of succession began with the death of Aegon's grandfather, King Viserys I Targaryen. Though Aegon's mother, Rhaenyra Targaryen, had been named heir to the Iron Throne by Viserys, Aegon the Younger's half-uncle, Aegon the Elder, was crowned King Aegon II in King's Landing. This resulted in the Dance of the Dragons.[9]

In 129 AC, at the behest of their half-brother Jacaerys Velaryon, Aegon and his younger brother Viserys were sent to Essos while their mother Rhaenyra secured the Iron Throne.[9] During the journey their ship, the Gay Abandon, was captured by ships of the Triarchy. Aegon escaped by flying on his dragon Stormcloud for the first time, but Viserys was captured by Sharako Lohar. Aegon clung to Stormcloud's neck to reach Dragonstone, where he shared the news of what had befallen the fleet. The experience of his first flight was so frightening that Aegon returned to Dragonstone pale, shaking, and having lost control of his bladder. Stormcloud shortly died from the wounds he had received during the flight, and Aegon never rode a dragon again.[9][3]

Upon learning what had happened, fearing for the life of their brother Viserys, Prince Jacaerys flew to the fleet on his dragon, Vermax, but both died in the Battle of the Gullet that ensued.[9]

When Queen Rhaenyra took King's Landing in 130 AC, she named Aegon the Younger her cupbearer after he joined her from Dragonstone. Aegon hardly spoke a word during this time. After the Storming of the Dragonpit, he and Rhaenyra were forced to flee the capital. Rhaenyra, nearly mad with grief from losing her dragon Syrax and all her children except Aegon, refused to be parted from him at any time, and he became a "small pale shadow" to his mother.[9]

Unaware of the fall of Dragonstone, mother and son returned to see the charred corpses of the castellan, Ser Robert Quince, and some others who had been loyal to Rhaenyra hanging from the gates. Aegon was the first to realize what it meant and cried "Mother, flee!" but it was too late. They were brought into the courtyard, where Aegon II was waiting. Young Aegon watched in horror as his uncle's dragon, Sunfyre, devoured his mother.[9] Aegon was forever mentally scarred, and this event cemented his later fierce hatred for and terror of dragons. After Rhaenyra's execution, Ser Alfred Broome advised King Aegon II to kill the young Aegon, but the king decided to keep his nephew captive in the dungeon of Dragonstone.

The death of Rhaenyra did not end the war. Following the victory of Lord Kermit Tully and the Lads over the greens of Lord Borros Baratheon at the Battle of the Kingsroad half a year later, Aegon II was murdered by his own men.[2] Aegon the Younger inherited the throne as Aegon III in 131 AC.[3]

Reign

Since Aegon came to the Iron Throne aged eleven, several regents and Hands ruled in his name at the beginning of his reign. Numerous political schemes, plots, and assassinations happened in those five years as the regents fought one another for political power. Aegon's only companion in these first years was Gaemon Palehair, a former pretender to the throne, and now Aegon's servant, friend, whipping boy, and eventual food taster.[3]

Aegon was married to his cousin, Princess Jaehaera Targaryen, in 131 AC. As Jaehaera was the only surviving child of the late Aegon II Targaryen, the match was a political one, so both bloodlines could be seen to hold the throne in the hope of uniting the Seven Kingdoms and the factions who fought for each side. Since Jaehaera was eight years old at the time of the marriage, and Aegon was eleven, it was not consummated. Two years later, the marriage ended childless when Jaehaera died, of suicide or perhaps murder.[3]

Aegon later married Lady Daenaera Velaryon. She was only six years old when Aegon's half-sisters, Rhaena and Baela, presented her to him, the last of a thousand maids at the great ball of 133 AC. This ball had been declared by the Hand, Lord Unwin Peake, after the regents stopped his efforts to betroth his own daughter to the king. However, Lord Peake did not give up his attempts, and was greatly frustrated by Aegon's choice of Daenaera. His efforts to have the marriage put aside were opposed by both Aegon and the other regents, and resulted in his resignation as Hand in 134 AC. Later, an attempted poisoning was made on Aegon and Daenaera, which resulted in the death of Aegon's friend and food taster Gaemon Palehair.[3]

Aegon had only one true joy during the years of his regency: the return of his younger brother, Prince Viserys, in 134 AC or 135 AC. It was thought that Viserys had been killed at the Battle of the Gullet, and Aegon had never forgiven himself for abandoning his brother when he fled on Stormcloud. Viserys was eventually recovered from Lys by Admiral Alyn Velaryon, where he had been held in secret by merchant princes. The ransom was enormous, but Viserys's release was a joy regardless, and for the rest of his days he was the only person Aegon ever fully trusted.[3]

Viserys came to King's Landing with his new wife Larra Rogare and several of her kin. The ambitious Rogare family soon became embroiled in the conflicts of Aegon's regency. Although the Rogares at the Red Keep were apparently guilty of some crimes, their rivals in King's Landing blamed them for many more. In 135 AC, Lord Thaddeus Rowan was tortured in an attempt to find evidence against the Rogares, and Ser Marston Waters, the Hand of the King, sent men to capture Larra after arresting her brothers. Aegon and Viserys refused to surrender Larra, however, and the case against the Rogares collapsed.[3]

After Aegon came of age in 136 AC, he dismissed the regents and his Hand of the King, and named Prince Viserys as his Hand. Viserys served as Hand during the remaining years of Aegon's reign, and during the reigns of both of Aegon's sons. The crown dealt with several pretenders claiming to be Daeron the Daring, who perished during the Second Battle of Tumbleton but whose body had never been found or identified.[3]

As king, Aegon III strove to give the realm peace and plenty, but his coldness kept him from courting his lords and people. Aegon is often blamed for the death of the last dragon, having had a great distaste for dragons after the tragic death of Stormcloud and because he witnessed his mother being devoured by Sunfyre.[11] Although the maesters may have played a part in the death of the last dragons,[12] Aegon III became known as "Aegon the Dragonbane". At the urging of his brother, Prince Viserys, Aegon brought nine mages from Essos to attempt to hatch a clutch of dragon eggs with magic, but this ended in failure.[3][13]

Aegon was regarded as a broken king who ruled over a broken reign. His brother Viserys did the majority of the ruling as his Hand. Aegon was melancholy to the end of his days, found pleasure in almost nothing, and locked himself in his room to brood for days on end. He likewise came to dislike being touched, even by his beautiful wife and queen, Daenaera. Though their marriage was eventually fruitful, it was said Aegon took a long time to come to her bed, even after she flowered. His marriage to Daenaera gave him two sons, Daeron (born 143 AC) and Baelor (born 144 AC), and three daughters, Daena (born 145 AC), Rhaena (born 147 AC), and Elaena (born 150 AC).[3]

The reign of the Broken King ended with the Aegon the Younger's death at thirty-six years of age, from consumption, in 157 AC. Many of his subjects thought him far older, for his boyhood had been cut short, and the melancholy king is not remembered fondly.[3]

Legacy

Aegon III was succeeded by his fourteen-year-old son Daeron. Aegon was said to have always walked with a great grief, and the folly of his sons nearly tore the realm apart. After both Daeron and Baelor died childless, Aegon's brother Viserys II was crowned king. Viserys was followed by his own son, Aegon IV Targaryen.

Aegon's line did not discontinue altogether. Aegon's daughter, Daena the Defiant, had a bastard child, with her cousin, Prince Aegon. This bastard, eventually known as Daemon Blackfyre, became the first of the Blackfyre Pretenders, and contested his cousin Daeron II Targaryen, the legitimate son of Aegon IV Targaryen, for the Iron Throne. Daemon created his own House, House Blackfyre, and had seven sons and at least two daughters. The Blackfyre line continued for quite some time, until Maelys Blackfyre was slain during the War of the Ninepenny Kings in 260 AC.

Princess Elaena Targaryen also continued Aegon's line. She was married three times, and gave birth to seven children. Her first two children were illegitimate, fathered by Lord Alyn Velaryon: Jon and Jeyne Waters. Descendants of Jon live until this day, under the name Longwaters. Subsequently she married Lord Ossifer Plumm, by whom she had one child, Viserys Plumm (though he is rumored to have actually been fathered by King Aegon IV); and Lord Ronnel Penrose, by whom she had four children (Robin Penrose, Laena Penrose, Jocelyn Penrose, and Joy Penrose). Her third and final marriage, to Ser Michael Manwoody, was childless.

Small Council under Aegon III

During the reign of King Aegon his small council had the following known members:[3]

Council of Regents

The regency council of Aegon III, as originally constituted, consisted of:[3]

Subsequent replacements:[3]

Regents chosen by lot at the Great Council of 136 AC:[3]

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

On the Dothraki sea, Daenerys Targaryen thinks about dragons and what her brother Viserys told her of the last dragons. He had said that they died during the reign of Aegon III, the Dragonbane, no more than a century and a half ago, which does not seem so long ago to Daenerys.[11]

A Storm of Swords

After King Joffrey I Baratheon has ended his betrothal to Sansa Stark and has become engaged to Margaery Tyrell, he informs Sansa that he can still sleep with her, if he wants to. He tells her that "One of the Aegons" had a lot of whores, but fails to remember which Aegon it was, exactly, causing him to (incorrectly) list Aegon III as a possibility.[14]

A Feast for Crows

While discussing dragons, the acolyte Armen tells the nocive Roone that the last dragon died during the reign of King Aegon III Targaryen. However, Mollander, another novice, insists it was only the last dragon in Westeros who had died during Aegon's reign, against which Armen argues that the last dragon in Westeros had been the last dragon anywhere.[15]

A Dance with Dragons

Daenerys Targaryen remembers the stories her brother Viserys had told her, including the story about how Aegon III had seen his own mother, Rhaenyra Targaryen, devoured by the dragon of King Aegon II Targaryen.[16]

Quotes by Aegon

I mean to give the smallfolk peace and food and justice. If that will not suffice to win their love, let Mushroom make a progress. Or perhaps we might send a dancing bear. Someone once told me that the commons love nothing half so much as dancing bears. You may call a halt to this feast tonight as well. Send the lords home to their own keeps and give the food to the hungry. Full bellies and dancing bears shall be my policy.[3]

– the account of Grand Maester Munkun on the king's words to Torrhen Manderly upon ending the regency

Family

Ancestors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jocelyn
Baratheon
 
Aemon
 
Daella
 
Rodrik
Arryn
 
Baelon
 
Alyssa
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Corlys
Velaryon
 
Rhaenys
 
 
 
 
 
Aemma
Arryn
 
Viserys I
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alicent
Hightower
 
Daemon
[Note 1]
 
Rhea
Royce
 
Aegon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Laena
Velaryon
 
Daemon
[Note 1]
 
Laenor
Velaryon
 
Rhaenyra
 
Daemon
[Note 1]
 
Son
 
Baelon
 
Aegon II
 
Helaena
 
Aemond
 
Daeron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rhaena
 
Baela
 
Stillborn
son
 
Jacaerys
Velaryon
 
Lucerys
Velaryon
 
Joffrey
Velaryon
 
Viserys II
 
Visenya
 
Aegon III
 
Jaehaera
 
Jaehaerys
 
Maelor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes:
  1. 1.0 1.1 Prince Daemon Targaryen was married to Lady Rhea Royce from 97 AC to 115 AC, to Lady Laena Velaryon from 115 AC to 120 AC, and to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen from 120 AC to 130 AC.


Descendants

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aemma
Arryn
 
 
 
Viserys I
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alicent
Hightower
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daemon
 
Rhaenyra
 
 
 
 
 
Aegon II
 
Helaena
 
Aemond
 
Daeron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Viserys II
 
Larra
Rogare
 
Daenaera
Velaryon
 
Aegon III
 
Jaehaera
 
Jaehaerys
 
Maelor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aemon
 
Naerys
 
Aegon IV
 
 
 
 
Daena
 
Baelor I
 
Daeron I
 
Rhaena
 
Elaena
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daeron II
 
Myriah
Martell
 
Maron
Martell
 
Daenerys
 
Daemon
Blackfyre
 
Rohanne
of Tyrosh
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
House Targaryen.svg
 
 
 
 
 
House Martell.svg
 
 
 
 
 
House Blackfyre 2.svg
 
 
 


References