House Targaryen

House Targaryen of Dragonstone is a noble family of Valyrian descent who once ruled the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The Targaryen sigil is a three-headed dragon breathing flames, red on black. The house words are Fire and Blood. It eventually became the first royal house of the Seven Kingdoms, as House Targaryen of King's Landing.

The only family of dragonlords who survived the Doom of Valyria, the Targaryens left the Valyrian Freehold twelve years before the Doom. They resided for more than a century at Dragonstone on the island of the same name, until Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, began the first of the Wars of Conquest in 2 BC.

During Aegon's Conquest, the family built the Aegonfort in the new capital city of King's Landing. The Aegonfort was later torn down and replaced by the Red Keep, which remained their main seat for the duration of their dynasty, and which housed the Iron Throne. Their original castle was almost always given to the heir to the throne, the Prince of Dragonstone.

Traits and Customs
The phrase "blood of the dragon" refers to the Valyrian descent of the Targaryens, and more specifically to the fact that they were one of forty dragonlord families of Valyria. The typical Targaryen features remind strongly of the typical Valyrian features: pale skin, silver, platinum, or gold hair and eyes in a variety of shades of purple, or light blue.

The Targaryens can tolerate a bit more heat than most ordinary people; However, they are not immune to fire.

Another trait typical to Targaryens is the ability to have premonition-like dreams. The trait has been in the Targaryen family since before they relocated from Valyria to Dragonstone in 114 BC (and in fact, is what caused them to relocate).

The Targaryens are seen as prone to madness, presumably caused by their inbreeding.

Before the Conquest
House Targaryen was one of the forty ancient noble houses known as dragonlords who ruled the Valyrian Freehold, a great empire spanning much of Essos. The Targaryens were not one of the most powerful houses, however. The family resided in Valyria until Daenys Targaryen, also known as Daenys the Dreamer, the daughter of Lord Aenar Targaryen, had visions of a cataclysm that would come over Valyria. Aenar sold his estates in Valyria and moved his wives, children, other relatives, slaves, wealth, and five dragons (including Balerion) to Dragonstone, an island at the entrance of Blackwater Bay and the westernmost outpost of Valyrian influence, where he took possession of a castle of the same name, in 114 BC. Twelve years later the Doom descended on the city of Valyria, leading to the collapse of the Freehold. The Targaryens were the only dragonriders of Valyria to survive. In the century that followed, four of the five dragons of House Targaryen died, with only Balerion surviving. Two more dragons, Vhagar and Meraxes, were hatched from eggs on Dragonstone, however.

During the century after the Doom, which became known as the 'Century of Blood' due to the violent struggles for power in Essos, Volantis attempted to seize power over Valyria's colonies. Most of the other Free Cities rebelled against Volantis, and towards the end of the Century of Blood, the young Lord Aegon Targaryen, rider of the dragon Balerion, was approached by Pentos and Tyrosh to form an alliance. Aegon, mounted on his dragon Balerion, flew first to Pentos to meet its prince, and then to Lys, where he set the Volantene fleet aflame. With Volantis's rule at an end, he returned to Dragonstone, and focused his attention to the lands west, which had always been of interest to him.

Aegon's Conquest
Aegon Targaryen, Lord of Dragonstone, aspired to unite the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros under one ruler. Slightly more than a hundred years after the Doom of Valyria, in 2 BC, he began his conquest, in which he was aided by his two sister-wives, Rhaenys and Visenya. All three were dragonriders, and used their dragons, Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar in battle. Aegon's Conquest lasted for two years. It began with Aegon's landing at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush with a small force, and ended when Aegon was anointed king by the High Septon in Oldtown. In total, he had managed to conquer six of the seven kingdoms, with only Dorne remaining defiant. During the war House Gardener, which had ruled the Reach, and House Hoare, which had ruled the Iron Islands and the riverlands, were extinguished, while House Durrandon, which had reigned over the Stormlands, was continued through the female line. From the swords of his enemies, Aegon created the Iron Throne, and the dynasty he began would last until the present day. Aegon had constructed a wooden castle, the Aegonfort, at the place where he had first come to shore, and the town that grew around it became King's Landing, the kingdom's new capital. Dragonstone remained in the possession of the Targaryens as well, and was one of Aegon's favorite places. The region around King's Landing became known as the Crownlands.

In 4 AC, Aegon's wars of conquest continued with the First Dornish War, during which he and Rhaenys attempted to bring Dorne under Targaryen rule as well. A bloody war, during which Queen Rhaenys Targaryen was killed with her dragon, Meraxes, at Hellholt in 10 AC. An assassination attempt on Aegon that same year led to the creation of the Kingsguard, who would guard the kings of the realm for centuries to come. The First Dornish War eventually ended in 13 AC, after Prince Nymor Martell, the Prince of Dorne, had sent his daughter Deria to King's Landing with a letter and the skull of Meraxes. Though the contents of the letter have never been revealed, Aegon agreed to an end of the war the next day.

Sons and Grandsons of the Dragon
Aegon I Targaryen died in 37 AC, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Aenys I Targaryen. Almost immediately, Aenys faced four rebellions which had grown out of dissent, dreams of the old days or of vengeance, and of the fact that Aenys and his younger brother, Maegor, had both been born from incestuous marriages. A bandit named Harren the Red, claiming to be a grandson of Harren the Black, took Harrenhal and killed Lord Gargon Qoherys. In the Vale, Lord Ronnel Arryn and his family were taken hostage by his younger brother, Jonos Arryn. On the Iron Islands, a man claimed to be the priest-king Lodos, finally returned from visiting his father after more than three centuries. And in Dorne, the Vulture King raised thirty thousand followers against the Targaryens. The rebels were swiftly defeated by the actions of Aenys's subjects and Maegor. Lord Goren Greyjoy killed the so-called priest-king, and sent his head to King Aenys. Lord Royce of Runestone defeated the supporters of Jonos Arryn, though this caused the death of Lord Ronnel and his family when Jonos threw them out of the Moon Door in the Eyrie. Prince Maegor, who had claimed the dragon Balerion after his father's death, eventually flew up to the Eyrie and had Jonos and his followers executed. The Vulture King had made the mistake of splitting his large army, and was defeated during the Vulture Hunt, in which Lord Orys Baratheon and several other Marcher lords, including Lord Dondarrion, Lady Caron, and Lord Sam Tarly, marched against him. And the last rebel, Harren the Red, was eventually caught by Aenys's Hand of the King, Lord Alyn Stokeworth. Though Stokeworth was killed by Harren in the fighting that ensued, Harren himself was slain shortly after. As Stokeworth's replacement, Aenys named Maegor as his Hand.

The next challenges Aenys faced came from the Faith of the Seven. Even though the Targaryens had been followers of the Faith of the Seven since before the Conquest, the Targaryens held themselves apart from the laws of gods and men. By marrying both his sisters, Aegon I had continued both the Valyrian practice of incestuous marriage, which was considered a sin in the eyes of the Seven, as well as the more rarely practiced custom of polygamy, even though the Faith of the Seven considered marriage only possible between one man and one wife. Even though Aegon I had always been careful regarding the Faith, the High Septons had never declared his marriages lawful, though they had not spoken up against Aegon's polygamous and incestuous marriages either. However, when Queen Visenya Targaryen had suggested, in 23 AC, that her son Maegor should be married to Aenys's infant daughter, Princess Rhaena, the High Septon had protested, and Maegor had been married to the High Septon's niece, Ceryse Hightower, instead. After sixteen years of marriage, however, Maegor remained childless. Following the birth of Aenys I's sixth child in 39 AC, Maegor took a second wife, Alys Harroway. This greatly angered the Faith, and Aenys gave his brother the choice between abandoning Alys, or going in exile. Maegor chose the latter option, after which he left for Pentos.

The Faith remained discontent. Though they had not objected to Aenys's own marriage in 22 AC, to his cousin Alyssa Velaryon, new troubles arose in 41 AC when Aenys married his eldest daughter, Rhaena, to his eldest son and heir, Prince Aegon. The uproar this marriage caused led to the start of the Faith Militant uprising. Aenys fled to Dragonstone, but fell sick and died in 42 AC. Dowager Queen Visenya immediately called Maegor back from his exile, allowing him to claim the throne. Maegor took King's Landing back from the Faith Militant, though he would spent his entire reign fighting against them. In addition, he fought against Aenys's heir, Aegon, and killed both him and his dragon Quicksilver in 43 AC.

Maegor's reign was a cruel one. He finished the construction of the Red Keep, which had begun in 35 AC, during his reign, though he honored his moniker "the Cruel" when he killed all the construction workers after work was completed. He had come back from his exile with a third wife, Tyanna, but was still without an heir towards the end of his reign. Denouncing the claims of Aenys's only surviving son, Jaehaerys, Maegor married his three Black Brides, one of whom was Jaehaerys's sister, Rhaena, and named Rhaena's daughter as his heir until he had a child of his own. While support for Jaehaerys grew, support for Maegor dwindled. When Maegor died mysteriously in 48 AC, Jaehaerys succeeded him. A wise ruler known as 'Jaehaerys the Conciliator', Jaehaerys ruled wisely for fifty-five years, during which time he made peace with the Faith. He faced a difficult decision in 92 AC following the death of his heir, Prince Aemon, when he had to name either Aemon's daughter, Rhaenys, or Aemon's brother, Baelon, as his heir. Jaehaerys chose Baelon, but Baelon died in 101 AC, which caused Jaehaerys to become the first king to call a Great Council, where Baelon's son was chosen as Jaehaerys's heir. Jaehaerys died two years later, in 103 AC, and was succeeded by his grandson, Viserys I Targaryen.

The Dance of the Dragons
King Viserys I's reign had troubles of its own. By his first wife, Lady Aemma Arryn, to whom he had been married since 93 AC, he had one surviving daughter, Rhaenyra Targaryen. Aemma died in 105 AC in childbed, as did her son, Baelon, after which Viserys officially declared Rhaenyra to be his heir, having the lords of the realm swear fealty to her. Though Viserys remarried in 106 AC, and had three sons, Aegon, Aemond, and Daeron, and one daughter, Helaena, by his new wife, Queen Alicent Hightower, he insisted that Rhaenyra remained his heir. Rivalry between Rhaenyra and Alicent resulted in two fractions being formed at court, called the blacks and the greens. Alicent's three sons loathed Rhaenyra's three eldest sons, Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey Velaryon, all three rumored to have been bastards fathered by Ser Harwin Strong, as they considered themselves to have been robbed of their birthright: the Iron Throne.

Both Rhaenyra and her uncle, Prince Daemon, the younger brother of Viserys I, had been married into House Velaryon, and both had children by their respective spouses. When both Rhaenyra's husband Laenor and Daemon's wife Laena died in 120 AC, they married each other, and had three more children (Aegon the Younger, Viserys, and the stillborn Visenya). Meanwhile, King Viserys's son Aegon and daughter Helaena had been married as well, with three children resulting from their marriage (Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor).

When Viserys died in 129 AC, his widow, Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, and the Lord Commander of his Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole, defied Viserys's last will, and crowned Viserys's son Aegon the Elder while Rhaenyra, unaware of her father's death, resided on Dragonstone. Unwilling to submit to her brother, Rhaenyra declared war, and the resulting conflict over the succession, called the Dance of the Dragons divided the kingdom. During this bloody war, thousands died, as did most of the Targaryen dragons. After Aegon 'the Usurper' was killed on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra emerged as the victor of the Dance.

Reign of the Black Queen
Rhaenyra's son Aegon II would follow her to the throne, and would father three more Targaryen monarchs; Baela, Aegon and Jaehaerys. It would be Jaehaerys II Targaryen who would be the one to continue the royal line, through his daughter and the current monarch, Daenaerys Targaryen.

The Kings and Queens of the Iron Throne

 * Aegon I Targaryen (the Conqueror)
 * Aenys I Targaryen
 * Maegor I Targaryen (the Cruel)
 * Jaehaerys I Targaryen (the Conciliator)
 * Viserys I Targaryen (the Old King)
 * Rhaenyra I Targaryen (the Black Queen)
 * Aegon II Targaryen (the Unbroken)
 * Baela I Targaryen (the Good)
 * Aegon III Targaryen (the Year-King)
 * Jaehaerys II Targaryen (the Bitter)
 * Daenaerys I Targaryen (the Mother)