Tag: aegon iii targaryen

It’s weird that Aegon II is considered the victor of the Dance of Dragons (e.g. he’s listed as the 6th king, Stannis considers Rhaenyra a traitor, and it reinforces the idea that the Iron Throne can never go to a woman) when (1) Rhaenyra’s army won and (2) the succession actually ended up going through Rhaenyra, and not at all through Aegon II.

In the heat of debate over Rhaenrya, people keep forgetting that Aegon III was the son of Daemon Targaryen, younger brother of Viserys I, uncle of Aegon II, and son of Baelon Targaryen the chosen line of descent by the Great Council of 101. Since Aegon’s sons were dead by the end of the Dance, under the legal precedent that he himself had based his claim to the throne on, his rightful heir became the eldest surviving son of his brother (yes, Daemon died at the Godseye, but the principle that the heir of the heir inherits had also been established at 101). 

It was a lucky accident that the Dance ended in such a way that both sides could think they had won: the blacks could be happy that Aegon II was dead and that Aegon III was king, but the greens could console themselves that the legal principle of Salic Law from the Great Council had been upheld. After all, if the Dance had established that women could inherit, Aegon II had a daughter left alive (who was carefully betrothed to Aegon III to prevent that sort of thing causing trouble), and Daemon had two daughters who were older than Aegon III. (While we’re at it, it is interesting that GRRM has the Dance wipe out all three of the “strong” Velaryon boys so that Aegon would be the one to inherit)

At the end of the day, then, I think it calls into question how much those victorious armies were Rhaenrya’s, if they were so cheerfully willing to strike her name from the roll of monarchs (which was probably all to their advantage, given how hated Rhaenrya was after her brutal occupation of King’s Landing led to the storming of the Dragonpit) and abandon the cause she had given her life for, or whether by that point they were fighting for vengeance and to overthrow the green faction and replace them in the halls of power. 

If the dragons truly were poisoned by the maesters, is it possibly that Aegon III may have supported them in this? He was said to have been terrified of the dragons, and after the civil war that left him an orphan, I can see him viewing the dragons as a cause for destruction.

I doubt it. Aegon III might have personally been afraid of dragons, but he understood that dracocracy had been the foundation of his House from the beginning. 

All the evidence we have points to Aegon going to some lengths to bring them back:

“Did we learn nothing…from the nine mages?”

“Nine mages crossed the sea to hatch Aegon the Third’s cache of eggs. Baelor the Blessed prayed over his for half a year. Aegon the Fourth built dragons of wood and iron. Aerion Brightflame drank wildfire to transform himself. The mages failed, King Baelor’s prayers went unanswered, the wooden dragons burned, and Prince Aerion died screaming.“

“Yet together, Aegon and Viserys ably dealt with the remaining turmoil in the realm…they even attempted to restore the Targaryen dragons, despite Aegon’s fears—for which none could blame him after witnessing his mother being eaten alive. He dreaded the sight of dragons—and had even less desire to ride upon one—but he was convinced that they would cow those who sought to oppose him. At Viserys’s suggestion, he sent away for nine mages from Essos, attempting to use their arts to kindle a clutch of eggs. This proved both a debacle and a failure.”

For me, it works much better for Aegon to be genuine in those efforts – it’s the politically smart thing to do, as without dragons the Targaryens were doomed to diminishment; narratively, it’s a great case of the human heart at war with itself. Aegon steeled himself to overcome his worst nightmare for the good of his family, and still failed. No wonder they called him the Broken.