Targaryen

In Valiriya, the Targaryen were among the forty noble and ancient houses fighting for power and wielding dragons, but they were far from the most powerful of them. Twelve years before the Rock of Valiria, the daughter of the noble Einar Targaryen - Deinis The dreamer saw the Rock and the fall of the empire in flame. She persuaded her father to leave Valiria, and he sold his possessions in Freehold and the Land of Long Summer and moved with all his wives, wealth, slaves, dragons, brothers, sisters and children to Dragon Stone - a gloomy island fortress under a smoking mountain in the Narrow Sea, already two hundred years as the former extreme western possession of the empire. In Valiriya itself, this act was considered a manifestation of weakness and recognition of its defeat.

The Targaryens ruled the Dragonstone for the next hundred years - this time they called it the Blood Age. The position of the island provided them with power over the Black Sea Bay and allowed the Targaryen and their closest allies, the Velarions from Driftmark, to enrich themselves at the requisitions from passing merchant ships. The ships of the Velarions and another allied Valyrian house, the Seltigars of the Claws, guarded the middle part of the Narrow Sea, while the Targaryen dominated the skies - on the backs of their dragons.

Gaimon Targaryen, brother and husband of Deinis the Dreamwalker, succeeded Einar the Exile and became known as Gaimon the Glorious. Gaimon's son Eigon and his daughter Elaine ruled together after his death. After them, lordship gradually passed to the son of Eigon and Elaine, Meigon, his brother Ayris and the sons of Ayris - Eiliks, Beylon and Damon. The last of the three brothers was Damon, whose son Eirion inherited the Dragon Stone. Eirion married Valena Velarion, their only son and second child was the future Conqueror. Eigon took both his sisters, Cherry and Reinis, as wives.

Of the five dragons exported from Valiria, four died; only Ballerion survived until the days of Eigon. However, dragons hatched from two dragon eggs, Vhagar and Merakes.

For most of the century that passed after the death of Valiria, the Targaryen house was mostly occupied by the east rather than the west, and was little interested in the affairs of Westeros. Eigon I Targaryen was the first to think about conquering the Sunset Kingdoms. In the years before the Conquest, Eigon ordered the painted table to be cut, which had the shape of the mainland of Westeros, with geographical features applied to it. In their youth, Eigon and Vishenya visited the Citadel in Old Town, and also participated in the falconry on Arbor as guests of Lord Redwin. It is possible that they also visited Lannisport.

When the future Conqueror was still young, Volantis offered to join him and his dragons in an alliance against other Free cities, the remnants of the once great Valiria, but he refused this offer. However, when Volantis invaded Tirosh, Eigon, with his dragon Ballerion the Black Horror, joined the Storm King and Pentos and sided with Tyrosh.

Throughout its previous history, Westeros has been fragmented. In the Age of Heroes there were hundreds of small kingdoms of the First People. The later invasions of the Andals and Roinars, the wars between neighboring kingdoms led to the redistribution of borders, but no one was able to subjugate the entire continent.

By the time of Eigon Targaryen, however, only seven states remained on the territory of Westeros:

• the power of the kings of the Islands and Rivers, the home of the Hoars (Iron Islands, River Lands, partly Royal Lands);
• Power of the Storm Kings, home of the Durrandons (Storm Lands, partly Royal Lands);
• Power of the Kings of the Cliff, home of the Lannisters (Western Lands);
• the power of the kings of Prostor, the house of Gardeners (Prostor);
• the power of the kings of the North, the house of Starks (North);
• power of the kings of the Valley, home of the Arrens (Arren Valley);
• the power of the princes of Dornia, the house of Martell (Dorn).

Argilac Durrandon, the last Storm King, attempted to form a marriage with Aigon Targaryen. Together they fought against Volantis, and Argilak had the opportunity to assess what an ambitious and formidable neighbor he was dealing with. Argilak offered Aigon the hand of his daughter Argella, and as a dowry - the land between the Eye of God, the Trident and the Blackwater, that is, the future Royal lands - the closest part of the continent to the Dragon Stone. Argilac considered these lands to be his own, and they have indeed been part of the Durrandon kingdom for several centuries, but in recent decades they have been ruled by the kingdom of Islands and Rivers. This meant that if he tried to occupy them on behalf of Argillac or on his own, Eigon would inevitably get involved in a war with the King of the Islands and the Rivers Harren Hoar, and even if he managed to stay in these parts, the new kingdom would serve as nothing more than a buffer between two hostile by states. Argella was Argillac's only daughter, so Aigon’s children would have taken the throne of the Storm Kingdom from her. Eigon, however, was not happy with this proposal, and he refused, noting that he already had two wives - probably, according to the Valyrian customs, Eigon’s marriage with his own sisters was not taken seriously enough on the continent, at least he did not stop Argilak from proposing Aigon's hand to Argella. Eigon put forward a counter proposal: to marry his half-brother Argis, Oris Baratheon, and to give Hook Massey and the north of Stormlands to the Waybill in the south and to the origins of Mander in the west - that is, lands controlled by Argilak. Since Oris was illegitimate, that is, a man of low, shameful origin, Argilak considered this proposal offensive; in a rage, he ordered the hands of Ambassador Eigon to be chopped off and sent them to the Dragon Stone in the casket with the comment "Only these hands will you receive from me."

Unsuccessful negotiations with Argilak prompted Eigon to act: he summoned his few vassals, including Lords Seltigar, Velarion, Bar-Emmon and Massey, consulted with them, held a demonstrative prayer in the Dragon Stone septum and sent an ultimatum to the seventh day - not just Argilak and to all the kings, in the Citadel of the Old Town, to the Lords great and small. Eigon proclaimed himself king of all Westeros and demanded to bow before him - those who support him will retain their lands and titles, the rest will be cast down to dust.

Together with his sister-wives, Hanging and Reinis, Eigon set off to conquer Westeros. In the place where they landed (the mouth of the Chernovodnaya River), the city was later founded, which became the capital of the Seven Kingdoms - Royal Harbor. The small surrounding lords from the Rosby clan, the Stockworth surrendered to the dragon kings, in contrast to the Twilight Dole lords from the Darklin family who tried to give battle. Eigon soon created the Small Council - the royal government and divided the army into three parts.

One army led by Vysenya Targaryen tried to conquer the Arren Valley, but the fleet of conquerors suffered a crushing defeat in the battle of Chaigay city. Another army, led by Reinis Targaryen, invaded the territory of the Stormlands, where Lord Oris Baratheon defeated the army of Storm King Argilak and killed the representative of the Durrandon clan. Eigon the Conqueror himself went to the River Lands, which obeyed the King of the Iron Islands, Harren the Black - the founder of Harrenhall Castle. Lord Edmin Tully and his vassals - other river lords crossed to the side of Eigon and besieged Harrenhall, where Harren locked himself with the army. However, the dragon of Eigon named Ballerion burned down Harrenhol Castle, which led to the death of Harren, and at the same time to the establishment of Targaryen’s power over the shores of the Trident.

However, the opponents of the Targaryen - the king of the West Lauren Lannister and the king of Prostor Mert Gardener - managed to gather a large army and oppose the conquerors. Eigon had five smaller forces (8000 swords), moreover, most of his soldiers belonged to the river lords, who had only recently come over to his side. Despite this, he nevertheless set off on a campaign to the southwest. At the town of Kamennaya Septa, both sisters, Visheniya and Reinis, joined them with their dragons. Eigon's army crossed the Blackwater and clashed with the combined forces of Prostor and the Western lands in a clean field south of the river, at the place where the Golden Road would lie in the future. As a result, the battle broke out in the Flaming Field, in which Eigon and his sisters prevailed, firing their dragons against the enemy army. The King of Prostor died on the battlefield, and the representative of the Lannister clan, having been captured, swore allegiance to Eigon, before which Haygarden soon opened his gates.

Despite this, Winter King Torrchen Stark opposed the Targaryen with his army and camped on the north bank of the Trident. Although his brother, the head of the Night Watch Brandon Snow, was about to kill the dragons, Torrhen himself soon changed his mind and swore allegiance to Eigon. At the same time, the Queen of the Mountains and the Sharra Arren Valley strengthened the garrison of watch castles under the Eagle's Nest, preparing for a siege. However, Vishenya made the trip on her dragon to the Arren Valley and managed to get Sharra and her son to submit to the conquerors with the help of diplomacy. Soon, Eigon took Staromest, where the High Septon held the solemn coronation of the conqueror Westeros, and managed to conquer the Iron Islands, where the locals chose the representative of the Greyjoy family as ruler.

However, Princess Dorn Marya Martell refused to swear allegiance to the invaders. Although Aigon's army invaded Dorn and occupied the Martell Castle of the Sunspear, the Dornians soon raised a successful rebellion, during which Reinis and her dragon died. The war against Dorn ended with the death of Meria Martell in 13 from Z.E .: her heir Nimor Martell was tired of the war and chose to negotiate peace. His daughter Deria brought the Merakes skull and conditions of peace to the Royal Harbor: the Martells did not intend to swear allegiance to the Targaryen and demanded that Dorn's sovereignty be preserved. These conditions angered the court of Eigon, but a certain letter, handed personally to Eigon, was attached to the open conditions. After reading it, Eigon was angry, but accepted the Dornish conditions. This treaty provided Dorn with a century and a half of independence.

Kings from the Targaryen Dynasty (dates of reign in years from the landing of Aegon are indicated):

Ayegon's successor was his eldest son, Aenis, a weak and painful king, during which powerful liberation riots took place in Harrenhall, Arren Valley and the Iron Islands. During his reign, Lords and church orders raised a rebellion of the Holy Army, one of the reasons for which was an incestuous connection within the ruling dynasty.

Meyegor, Eyanis's younger brother, first suppressed the rebellion as his right hand, and then ascended the throne and went down in history as Meyegor the Cruel. It was he who built the Red Castle in the capital and ordered the execution of all builders. Major himself was found dead on the Iron Throne in the midst of a general rebellion that was directed against himself.

Despite the brutality of Meyegor, only the next ruler from this dynasty, Jeyeheiris Peacemaker, the son of Ejenis, who declared the amnesty rebellion, managed to end the civil war. Jayheiris with his sister Alice and right hand septon Bart ruled for many years and remained in history as the Old King; his rule was remembered as a time of peace and prosperity. After the death of Jayheiris, his grandson, Viseris, ascended the throne. The reign of the king was calm, in contrast to his personal life. His wife, Eima Arren, was able to give birth to the king only daughter Reyenira and died, without leaving behind her sons. From childhood, the girl was brought up as the future queen of the Seven Kingdoms, the Princess of Dragon Stone. Vizeris was persuaded to do this by his future father-in-law and right hand, Sir Otto Hightower, because of his conflict with the king’s brother, Prince Damon. Some time later, Viserys married a second time to Lady Alicente Hightower. She bore the king three sons. Even before his death, Viserys in his will indicated his daughter Reyenir as his heiress and future queen. However, after the death of Viseris, Sir Christon Kohl and Queen Alicenta proclaimed King Visieris' eldest son, Aegon. The country literally split in two: some sided with Reyenira, others with Eeygon. The civil war, called the "Dance of the Dragons." During the war, not only ordinary people and noble lords were killed, but also many representatives of the clan. Eyegon fed Reyenir his dragon, Sunfire, and ascended the throne, but died six months later due to injuries and injuries sustained during the war. The death of Reyenira was watched by her little son - Eyegon, who, after the death of his uncle, became the new ruler. During the fierce war, all the dragons died. Only King Eyegon had a small and decrepit female who soon died. It was rumored that the king himself had poisoned her, but Archimaster Marvin claims that the masters of the Citadel were involved in the death of the dragon.

Since the conquest, only Dorn has remained an independent kingdom. After the death of Eyegon III, his son, Deyeron I, nicknamed the Young Dragon, became the king. He sat on the throne at the age of fourteen and immediately got involved in the war to conquer Dorn. Not much is known about the war: Deyeron managed to subdue Dorn, but he failed to keep him. When the Dornians rebelled, Deyron returned to Dorn again and died there, and Dorn again became an independent kingdom. After the death of Deyeron, the throne was inherited by his brother - Beyelor the Blessed, who was distinguished by extraordinary piety and religiosity and went down in history as a saint and a miracle worker. As a teenager, Bayelor married his sister Dayien. Instead of consummating the marriage and having an heir, Bayelor locked his wife and two other sisters in the tower. After spending his life in fasting and prayer, he eventually died, leaving the throne to his uncle Withers II, who served as the right hand of both Deyeron and Beylor. Viserys ruled for only a year before dying. His son, Aegon IV, ascended the throne after Viseris II. Eyegon IV began reign, being young and handsome, and ended up old and depraved. He was married to his younger sister Neyeris. Two children were born in the marriage - the son Deyeron II the Good and the daughter Daenerys. In addition to his legal wife and children, the king had nine concubines and many bastards. Four of them - the Great Bastards - played a particularly important role in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. Before his death, Eyegon IV legalized all the bastards. One of them, Deymon Blackfire, rebelled against his half-brother, Deyron, to ascend the throne himself. The rebellion was crushed, and Blackfires expelled from Westeros. However, the descendants of Dayamon later still tried to overthrow the Targaryen.

King Deyeron was able to annex Dorn to the Seven Kingdoms by two dynastic marriages: he married the Dornish princess Miriya Martell, and his younger sister married the Dornish prince Maron Martell. Four children were born in the marriage of Deyeron and Miriya: Beyelor Targaryen (Broken Spear), Ayeris I Targaryen, Reigel Targaryen, Meyekar Targaryen.

Crown Prince and heir to Deyeron died during a tournament in Ashford. After himself, Bayelor left two sons - Valarra and Mataris. The princes, along with their grandfather, King Deyeron, died during the Great Spring Poetry. The iron throne was occupied by the second son of Deyeron - Ayeris I. Ayeris was a weak ruler, he was distinguished from Beylor Blessed only by the fact that he was not a religious fanatic, but a scribe. He devoted most of his life to reading. He was married to Eielinor, but the marriage was not consummated and they did not leave any heirs. Deyeron's third son, Reyegel, was painful and moronic, so much so that he danced naked through the halls of the Red Castle. Therefore, after the death of the childless Ayeris I, the throne passed to the fourth son of Deyeron - Meyekar. The king was stern and touchy. He was married to a girl from the House of Dane, but the king had six children: Deyron, Aeyeron, Aeyemon, Aeygon, Reiga and Rei. Crown Prince Deyeron was a drunkard and died of a venereal disease; Ayerion was insane and killed himself by drinking wild fire; Eyemon, who received the Meister chain, voluntarily abdicated in favor of his younger brother, leaving for the Night Watch, where he became the master of the Black Castle in the service of the Lord Commander. The Iron Throne occupied Aegon. As king Eyegon V was beloved among the people, but his rule was ambiguous. Eeygon had five children: Duncan, Jayeheyris, Deyeron and the daughters of Reiel and Scheyer. The king, along with his eldest son, died during a fire in the Summer Castle. The throne was inherited by his second son - Jayeheyris. Eyegon Reig's daughter married Lord Baratheon and is the grandmother of Robert, Stannis and Renly.

Jeyheiris II reigned for only three years and was succeeded by his son, Ayeris, who remained in the memory of the people as the Mad King. At the insistence of his father, Ayeris married his sister Reyel. Three children were born in the marriage: Reyegar, Viseris and Daenerys. In his youth, Ayeris II was beautiful, generous and charming, although he easily gave vent to anger. Over the years, he became extremely suspicious, jealous and cruel, prone to outbursts of rage. After the Twilight Dole rebellion, the oddities that others around him had noted before intensified: Ayeris perceived any events incomprehensible to him or the tiniest acts of disobedience as evidence of a terrible conspiracy against his person and invented sadistic executions for those whom he considered his enemies.

King Ayeris II suffered from a psychiatric disorder that took very dangerous forms. In particular, he was prone to bouts of painful cruelty, paranoia, and hallucinations . Ayeris brought pyromancers closer to him, which also caused discontent among the Lords and among the people.

In 281, in Harrenhall, which belonged to the Went family, the famous jousting tournament took place, which was attended by the Mad King himself, who was afraid of the designs of his eldest son, Reyegar. It was at this tournament that Reigar Targaryen proclaimed the Queen of Beauty to be the daughter of the Guardian of the North, Ricard Stark Lianna, and at the same time, Jaime , the eldest son of the Guardian of the West and the former right hand of Tywin Lannister, joined the Royal Guard. Soon, Reyegar kidnapped Lianna and made her his captive in the Tower of Joy in Dorn.

Rickard Stark and his eldest son Brandon demanded justice from Ayeris, but were executed brutally. Moreover, Ayeris demanded that John Arren, Lord of the Eagle's Nest, give him to kill his students - Eddard Stark , after the death of his father and brother, who became the new Lord of Winterfell, and Robert Baratheon, Lord of the Storm Reach and fiancée Lianna. However, the Guardian of the East responded with a rebellion, although Lord Grafton of the Tea City was on the side of the loyalists. Robert Baratheon managed to replace the Graftons and crush the rebellion of his vassals, the Grandison and Kafferen, in Stormlands, while Eddard Stark managed to arrive to the North and arm his vassals. However, Lord Haygarden Mays Tyrell with the forces of his vassal Lord Randill Tarley managed to defeat the army of the Lord of the Storm Reach at the Battle of Ashford and even to besiege the Baratheon family castle for a whole year. Despite this, John Arren and Eddard Stark brought their armies to the shores of the Trident and managed to secure the support of Lord Riverran Hoster Tully, while marrying his daughters Lisa and Katylin. Meanwhile, the right hand of King Lord Griffon Roost John Connington decided to capture Robert Baratheon in Stone Sept. However, during the Bell battle against the army of Winterfell and Riverran, he was defeated and was subsequently exiled.

Despite the fact that the bell battle did not decide the outcome of the war and the Targaryen were still far from defeated, King Ayeris realized that he was dealing with a real threat to his power, the largest since the Blackfire uprising. He called for the help of Prince Dorn Liven Martell, entrusted the remains of the Connington army to the commander of the Royal Guard, Sir Barristan Selmi, and decided on a desperate step - mining the Royal Harbor with pyromancers. Soon, Reyegar Targaryen himself led an army of loyalists against the rebels and decided to fight on the banks of the Trezubets River. However, the royal army suffered a crushing defeat, and the Dragon Stone prince himself died at the hands of Robert Baratheon.

Hearing about this, the Mad King sent his pregnant wife along with his son Viseris to the Dragon Stone, but kept his daughter-in-law Elia Martell hostage with the children and was preparing to create a grand fire in the Royal Harbor in front of the rebel army. At the same time, the army of the West, led by Tywin Lannister, arrived at the walls of the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, who until the last moment kept aloof. The great master Pitzel convinced Ayeris to open the gates of the city, which led to the disaster. As a result, Tywin Lannister committed a rout in the Royal Harbor, Jaime killed the Mad King, and Elia Martell died along with her son Aegon and daughter Reyenis. However, Eddard Stark soon entered the capital, and Robert Baratheon made peace with Tywin Lannister, agreeing to marry his daughter Cersei.

At the same time, Greyjoy tried to shed the power of the Iron Throne, but their attack on the Space failed. After this, Lord Winterfell accepted the surrender of the Tyrell army in Stormlands and unsuccessfully tried to save his sister, who had died in the Tower of Joy, from captivity. At the same time, Lord Robert's brother Stannis Baratheon captured the Dragon Stone, but loyal people managed to hide Viseris and his sister Daenerys in the Free Cities.

After his victory, Robert Baratheon became the new ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

Century after century, the Targaryens passed off sister for brother - starting with Aegon the Conqueror, who took his own sisters as wives. Keep blood clean. Viserys told her a thousand times that the blood of kings flows in their veins, the golden blood of ancient Valiria, the blood of the Dragon. Dragons did not connect with field animals, and the Targaryen did not interfere with their blood with the blood of the common people.

- J. Martin . Game of Thrones (replica Daenerys I)

To preserve the purity of Valyrian blood, the Targaryen tried to marry mainly within their own family, and the best option was to marry their own sister (to marry a sibling). Deyenis the Dreamer was the wife of her brother Gayemon, their common children, Aeygon and Elaine, were also married. Eyegon I, the Conqueror, at the same time took his own sisters - Cherry and Reyenis - as wives. Kings from the house of the Targaryen, Jaheeris I, Bayelor, Aegon IV, Jaheiris II, and Ayeris II were married to their sisters (Alisanne, Deiene, Neyeris, Scheire and Reyell, respectively). The son of Eyegon and Vishenya Meyegor married a cousin, the daughter of Eyegon from Reyenis. The second husband of the princess (the self-proclaimed queen) Reyenira was her uncle Deyemon Targaryen. Deyen the Unruly, daughter of Aegon III and wife of King Beylor, gave birth to bastard son Deyemon Blackfire (Targaryen by father and mother, but born out of wedlock) from cousin Aegon IV.

Daemon Blackfire had romantic feelings for his half-sister Daenerys (future Princess Dorn). There were also unconfirmed rumors of a romance between Queen Neyeris and her older brother, Royal Guard Knight Eyemon; according to the theory popular in Westeros, it was he (and not the legal husband and at the same time another older brother Neyeris) who was the father of the future king Deyeron II. The lovers were half-brother and sister Brinden Rivers and Shira Starfish, the bastards of the same Eyegon IV from different mothers. Daenerys Targaryen, daughter of the Mad King, before marriage to Drogo believed that she would become the wife of her brother Viseris. Viseris also often accused her sister of having been born too late, so Viseris could not marry her, and he had to look for a bride among representatives of other houses. King Eigon V became convinced that this custom was harmful to his family, and engaged his children to representatives of other noble families of Westeros - however, his son and daughter, in love with each other, escaped, secretly entered into marriage and, having entered into a relationship with each other made its termination impossible.

In those frequent cases when there were not enough single women in the family, the Targaryen tried to take wives of Valyrian origin: for example, they married three women from the Velarion's vassal house; sometimes they took wives from the Free Cities, where the descendants of the Valyrians also lived. Reyegar Targaryen was originally supposed to marry a noble lady from the Free Cities - Lord Steffon Baratheon (Targaryen by mother) died precisely after a fruitless journey through the Free Cities, where he was looking for a prince for a bride. The prince’s wife eventually became his distant relative Elia Dorniyska (a descendant of Daenerys, sister of Deiron II, married to Maron Martell).

• Daenerys Targaryen , nicknamed the Born-born, Burning, Mother of Dragons, is practically the only surviving heiress of Ayeris the Second, the widow of the Dothraki khala Drogo, leading an active conquest policy. Owner of the world's only three living dragons.
• Визерис Таргариен — брат Дейнерис (вместе с сестрой — единственные оставшиеся в живых Таргариены), назвавшийся Визерисом, третьим носителем этого имени, лордом Семи Королевств, прозванный Нищим Королём и Королём-Попрошайкой. Продал свою сестру в жёны кхалу Дрого в обмен (как он думал) на обещание отвоевать Семь Королевств и свергнуть Роберта Баратеона. Убит на пиру в Вэйес Дотрак после того как пытался угрожать Дейнерис. Разгневанный кхал Дрого «короновал» его, вылив ему на голову расплавленное золото.
• Эймон Таргариен — мейстер Чёрного Замка в Ночном Дозоре, сын Мэйекара I Таргариена и брат Эйегона V Таргариена (Эгга), в своё время отказавшийся вступить на Железный Трон как старший из выживших сыновей короля Мейекара (двое старших сыновей — Дейерон и Эйерион — умерли при жизни отца), уступив его младшему брату Эйегону, после чего добровольно ушёл в Ночной Дозор. Один из самых старых людей в Семи Королевствах (на момент его смерти в «Пире Стервятников» ему было 102 года).
• Эйгон Таргариен — претендент на Железный Трон, сын Рейегара Таргариена, принца Драконьего Камня, внук Эйериса II Безумного Таргариена, племянник Дейенерис Бурерождённой, в конце «Танца с драконами» высадился в Вестерос и его позиция является наиболее выгодной. Однако вместе с тем до сих пор неясно, действительно ли это принц Эйгон или самозванец.
• Джон Сноу — сын Лианны Старк и Рейегара Таргариена (в сериале ).

Кроме того, в цикле « Повести о Дунке и Эгге », действие которого развёртывается примерно за восемь десятилетий до начала цикла «Песнь Льда и Пламени», фигурирует Эгг Таргариен (будущий Эйегон V), являющийся одним из двух главных героев, а также его старшие братья — принцы Эйерион и Дейерон, его отец, принц Мейекар (будущий король), и дядя, принц Бейлор.

Агентство Bloomberg составило рейтинг самых богатых семей в телесериале « Игра престолов », снятого по мотивам цикла « Песнь Льда и Огня ». Дом Таргариенов занял в рейтинге первое место благодаря обладанию драконами — по мнению экспертов, «источниками почти несравнимой силы» ^[3] .