❖ FIRE & BLOOD Study Guide ❖
This document serves as a university-grade study guide and macro-historical outline of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. The following archive distills 136 years of the Targaryen Dynasty into a zero-filler synthesis—from the incendiary triumph of Aegon’s Conquest to the devastating, dragon-extinguishing climax of the Dance of the Dragons.
If you require a rigorous, structured timeline of the political machinations, succession crises, and dynastic warfare that shaped the Seven Kingdoms, proceed to the primary archive below.
ACCESS THE COMPLETE ARCHIVE: [Dragons of Flesh and Thread Series]
Period: 1 BC – 136 AC | Subject: The Targaryen Dynasty, from Aegon’s Conquest to the Regency of Aegon III.
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I. AEGON'S CONQUEST (1 BC – 1 AC)
Aegon I Targaryen utilized the Doom of Valyria’s sole surviving dragons to unify the disparate continent of Westeros. Dates are measured in BC (Before Conquest) and AC (After Conquest), formally beginning with his coronation at the Starry Sept in Oldtown.
The Targaryen Vanguard
Aegon the Conqueror: Rode Balerion the Black Dread. Wielded the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre. Stern, private, and decisive.
Visenya Targaryen (Elder Sister/Wife): Rode Vhagar. Wielded Dark Sister. A harsh, uncompromising warrior with a penchant for dark arts.
Rhaenys Targaryen (Younger Sister/Wife): Rode Meraxes. Playful, patron of the arts, and an avid flyer.
The Subjugation of the Seven Kingdoms
Isles & Rivers (House Hoare): Harren the Black refused to yield. Aegon burned Harrenhal with Balerion. House Hoare extinguished. Edmyn Tully named Lord Paramount of the Trident.
Stormlands (House Durrandon): Argilac the Arrogant was defeated at "The Last Storm." Slain by Aegon's champion and bastard brother, Orys Baratheon, who took Argilac’s daughter, sigil, and seat.
The Reach & The Rock (Houses Gardener & Lannister): King Mern and King Loren combined 55,000 men. Defeated at the Field of Fire by all three dragons. House Gardener was extinguished (replaced by the Tyrells), and Loren knelt.
The North (House Stark): Torrhen Stark marched south but recognized the futility of fighting dragons. Knelt at the Trident without bloodshed, forever remembered as "The King Who Knelt."
The Vale (House Arryn): Visenya landed Vhagar in the Eyrie’s courtyard. The Regent (Queen Shara) surrendered peacefully in exchange for a dragon ride for the boy-king, Ronnel.
Dorne (House Martell): Princess Meria Martell (the "Yellow Toad") refused to yield ("Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken"), initiating protracted guerilla warfare.
II. THE DRAGON'S PEACE & DORNISH WARS (1 AC – 37 AC)
Aegon’s reign was defined by administrative unification and the brutal, ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to conquer Dorne.
The First Dornish War (4 AC – 13 AC)
Tactics: Dorne utilized scorched earth and guerilla tactics, abandoning castles to the dragons and striking supply lines.
Major Losses: Rhaenys Targaryen and Meraxes were shot down by a scorpion bolt at Hellholt (10 AC). Orys Baratheon was captured and mutilated by the Wyl of Wyl.
The Peace: Following the death of Meria Martell, her successor Nymor sent an embassy with a mysterious, undisclosed letter to Aegon. Aegon read it, burned it, and signed a Treaty of Eternal Peace with Dorne.
Administrative Milestones
King's Landing & The Red Keep: Constructed a new capital at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush. Commissioned the Iron Throne, forged from the melted swords of his enemies.
The Kingsguard: Established by Visenya, modeled after the Night's Watch, to serve as the King's elite, chaste protectors.
Legal Integration: Aegon respected regional laws and customs (including the Right to the First Night) and exempted the Faith of the Seven from taxation to maintain peace.
III. THE SONS OF THE DRAGON (37 AC – 48 AC)
The immediate successors of Aegon I plunged the realm into chaos, primarily due to conflict with the Faith Militant over the Valyrian custom of incestuous marriage.
King Aenys I (37–42 AC)
Temperament: Weak, eager to please, and indecisive.
Succession: Triggered mass rebellion by wedding his own children (Aegon and Rhaena) to one another.
The Faith Militant: Fled King's Landing to Dragonstone; died of stress and illness while the realm burned.
Legacy: Fathered the eventual legitimate line (Jaehaerys I).
King Maegor I "The Cruel" (42–48 AC)
Temperament: Brutal, martial, and uncompromising.
Succession: Usurped the throne upon Aenys' death with Dowager Queen Visenya's backing.
The Faith Militant: Burned the Sept of Remembrance; waged a ruthless, bloody war against the Warrior's Sons and Poor Fellows.
Legacy: Murdered his nephews (Aegon the Uncrowned, Viserys); took multiple "Black Brides"; murdered the builders of the Red Keep to keep its secrets. Found dead, impaled upon the Iron Throne.
IV. THE CONCILIATOR & THE GOOD QUEEN (48 AC – 103 AC)
King Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne engineered Westeros' golden age—a half-century of peace, sweeping legal reform, and massive infrastructure development.
Taming the Faith and the Realm
The Doctrine of Exceptionalism: Engineered by Septon Barth, this doctrine legally and theologically exempted House Targaryen from the Faith's incest prohibitions, arguing they were a different race tied to dragons.
The Widow's Law: Protected the property and household rights of stepmothers and widows.
Abolition of the Right to the First Night: Spearheaded by Queen Alysanne after hearing the testimonies of smallfolk women in the North.
Infrastructure: Construction of the Kingsroad, the Dragonpit, King's Landing's sewer and well systems, and the funding of Deep Lake (The New Gift) for the Night's Watch.
The Tragedy of the Heirs Jaehaerys and Alysanne outlived the vast majority of their 13 children, leading to severe succession crises.
Princess Aerea: Claimed Balerion, vanished, and returned infected with horrific Valyrian parasites that cooked her from the inside out. (This prompted a strict royal ban on travel to Valyria).
Princess Daenerys: Died of the Shivers, proving Targaryens were not entirely immune to disease.
Princess Saera: Exiled for scandalous behavior; fled to Lysene pleasure houses.
Prince Aemon & Prince Baelon: Both exceptional heirs who died prematurely—Aemon by a Myrish crossbow bolt, Baelon of a burst belly.
V. THE SEEDS OF THE DANCE (101 AC – 129 AC)
Following Baelon's death, Jaehaerys convened the Great Council of 101 AC at Harrenhal to prevent civil war. The lords voted 20-to-1 to bypass Princess Rhaenys (and her son Laenor) in favor of Prince Viserys, establishing a precedent favoring male primogeniture.
The Reign of Viserys I (103 AC – 129 AC) Viserys I was an amiable, conflict-avoidant king whose inaction catalyzed the continent's greatest civil war.
The Blacks: Supporters of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Viserys' named heir by his first wife). Backed by Prince Daemon (her uncle/husband) and House Velaryon.
The Greens: Supporters of Aegon II Targaryen (Viserys' firstborn son by his second wife, Alicent Hightower). Backed by Otto Hightower (Hand of the King) and Criston Cole (Lord Commander).
The Strong Bastards: Rhaenyra’s first three sons (Jacaerys, Lucerys, Joffrey) were widely understood to be fathered by Ser Harwin Strong, though officially recognized as Velaryons.
The Catalyst: Viserys I died in 129 AC. The Green Council kept his death secret, imprisoned dissenters (murdering Lord Beesbury), and crowned Aegon II.
VI. THE DANCE OF THE DRAGONS (129 AC – 131 AC)
A devastating war of attrition that nearly extinguished both House Targaryen and the dragons.
Phase 1: Escalation & Bloodshed
Storm's End: Aemond Targaryen (on Vhagar) murders Lucerys Velaryon (on Arrax) over Shipbreaker Bay.
Blood and Cheese: Daemon retaliates ("A son for a son") by hiring assassins to murder Aegon II's firstborn son, Jaehaerys, in front of Queen Helaena, driving her mad.
Battle of Rook's Rest: A trap set by Criston Cole. Rhaenys and Meleys are killed by Aegon II (Sunfyre) and Aemond (Vhagar). Aegon II is severely burned and permanently crippled.
Phase 2: The Red Sowing & Shifting Tides
The Dragonseeds: Facing a dragon deficit, Jacaerys recruits bastards of Valyrian descent to claim riderless dragons (Addam Velaryon, Nettles, Hugh Hammer, Ulf White).
Battle of the Gullet: The Triarchy fleet attacks. Jacaerys and Vermax are killed, and Spicetown is destroyed, though the Velaryon fleet ultimately breaks the Triarchy.
Fall of King's Landing: Rhaenyra and Daemon take the undefended capital bloodlessly. Aemond and Criston Cole are trapped in the Riverlands.
Phase 3: Treason & Mutual Destruction
The Butcher's Ball: Criston Cole is ambushed and slaughtered by the Riverlords and Winter Wolves.
The Treasons of Tumbleton: Dragonseeds Hugh Hammer and Ulf White defect to the Greens, incinerating the town of Tumbleton and crippling the Black army's southern defense.
Battle Above the Gods Eye: Daemon (Caraxes) ambushes Aemond (Vhagar). Daemon leaps from his saddle, driving Dark Sister through Aemond's eye. Both dragons and riders perish in the lake.
The Storming of the Dragonpit: Driven to a frenzy by the Prophet known as the Shepherd, a mob of 20,000 storms the Dragonpit. Four dragons are killed. Joffrey falls to his death trying to ride Syrax, whose body is subsequently torn apart by the mob.
Second Tumbleton: Addam Velaryon (on Seasmoke) executes a surprise night attack to prove his loyalty. Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Tessarion all die. Prince Daeron and the betrayers (Hugh and Ulf) are killed.
Phase 4: Rhaenyra's Fall
Rhaenyra flees King's Landing, selling her crown for passage to Dragonstone. She is betrayed by her own garrison. Aegon II (hidden on the island with a maimed Sunfyre) feeds Rhaenyra to his dragon while her son, Aegon the Younger, is forced to watch.
VII. THE AFTERMATH & THE REGENCY (131 AC – 136 AC)
Despite Rhaenyra's death, the Black armies (the Riverlords and Northmen) continued advancing. Aegon II, refusing to surrender, was poisoned by his own council.
The Hour of the Wolf
Cregan Stark's Justice: The Lord of Winterfell occupied King's Landing, temporarily taking the office of the Hand to execute those who assassinated Aegon II (including Larys Strong).
The Union: Aegon III (Rhaenyra's son) was crowned and wed to Jaehaera (Aegon II's daughter), uniting the fractured bloodlines.
The Broken King's Minority (The Regents) Aegon III's regency was characterized by political maneuvering, plagues, and severe depression.
The Winter Fever: A plague that decimated the realm's leadership. Queen Jaehaera died shortly after, allegedly throwing herself from a window (suspected murder by Hand of the King Unwin Peake).
The Maiden's Day Cattle Show: To thwart Unwin Peake's attempt to marry his own daughter to the King, Aegon III's half-sisters presented the six-year-old Daenaera Velaryon, whom Aegon selected as his new Queen.
The Lysene Spring & The Secret Siege: Aegon's presumed-dead brother, Viserys, returned with his Lysene wife, Larra Rogare. The Rogare banking family briefly dominated Westerosi politics until their sudden financial collapse. In the ensuing political purge, Aegon III locked himself inside Maegor's Holdfast for 18 days, protected by the gladiator Sandoq the Shadow.
Majority: On his 16th nameday, Aegon III abruptly dismissed his regents, cancelled his royal progress, and assumed direct, solitary control of the Iron Throne, beginning his solemn reign as the Dragonbane.
Archival Note: Historical discrepancies exist regarding intimate motivations and localized violence during this period, primarily due to the conflicting primary sources of Septon Eustace, Grand Maester Munkun, and the court fool Mushroom.
