Aegon II Targaryen was the sixth Targaryen king to sit on the Iron Throne, succeeding his father, Viserys I Targaryen as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. His ascent was disputed by his older half-sister, Rhaenyra Targaryen who had been their father's designated heir. They fought for the throne in the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons in which both siblings perished.
Contents
- 1 Character
- 2 History
- 2.1 Youth
- 2.2 Dance of the Dragons
- 2.3 Death and Legacy
Character[]
Aegon resembled his father in appearance, though not in personality. He had only a wispy mustache and a sullen look to his face. He wore the crown ofAegon the Conquerorand carried theValyrian steelswordBlackfyre, the Conqueror's blade.He was lazy, sulky, and gluttonous.Grand MaesterKaethalso described him as grasping.He was also very promiscuous, and it was widely known that he fathered severalbastards. When news came that his father died, Aegon was not found with his wife and children, but in the bed of hisparamour.
History[]
Youth[]
Aegon’s father, KingViserys I Targaryen, had three children by his first wife, QueenAemma Arryn. Two were sons who died in infancy. Only Princess Rhaenyra survived to adulthood. Lacking a son to succeed him, Viserys had started to groom Rhaenyra to be his heir. He taught her how to rule and made her part of his small council. In105 AC, shortly after the death of Aemma andher son, hundreds of lords and landed knights had done obeisance to the princess and sworn solemn oaths to defend her rights.
A year later, in106 AC, King Viserys married again, this time to LadyAlicent Hightower, who bore him three sons: Aegon,Aemond, andDaeron. Alicent also birthed Viserys a daughter,Helaena. Despite now having three sons, however, Rhaenyra remained King Viserys's heir, a decision he left in his will.
Aegon's mother, Queen Alicent, did not agree with her husbands decision to name Rhaenyra heir to the throne over Aegon. When attempts to persuede him to do otherwise failed, Alicent attempted to convince her husband to have Rhaenyra and Aegon marry. Viserys did not agree. The two siblings were ten years apart in age, and had never gotten along. King Viserys knew that Alicent only proposed the match to get Aegon on the throne, and thus married Rhaenyra to SerLaenor Velaryoninstead.
Queen Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra did not get along either, and the enmity between the two women was passed on to their children: Aegon and his brothers, Aemond and Daeron, did not get along with their Velaryon nephews, and resented the three boy for having stolen their "birthright", the Iron Throne itself. Prince Aegon was convinced that Rhaenyra's three Velaryon sons were fathered by SerHarwin Strong, and stated such to his younger brother Aemond. It has been said by Grand MaesterGyldaynthat forcing Aegon and his siblings to be close to Rhaenyra's sons (attending the same feasts, balls and revels, and having them train together in the yard, and study together) only caused their mutual dislike to grow.
It is unknown when Prince Aegon became a dragonrider, but by the time he was thirteen years old at least, Aegon had succesfully bonded withSunfyre.
In122 AC, Prince Aegon married his sister, PrincessHelaena Targaryen, inKing's Landing. Their first children, the twinsJaehaerysandJaehaera, were born a year later, as were Aegon's first two bastards, one boy he had fathered on a girl on the Street of Silk, and one girl he had fathered on one of his mother's servants.In127 AC, Princess Helaena gave birth to Aegon's youngest son, PrinceMaelor.
Despite the various attempts of King Viserys to get Aegon, his siblings, and their Velaryon nephews on friendlier terms, Aegon remained resentfull of Rhaenyra's children. When, in127 AC, PrinceJacaerys Velaryonasked Princess Helaena for a dance, Aegon took offense. They argued, and might even have fought, had theKingsguardnot intervened.
Dance of the Dragons[]
When King Viserys I died in129 AC, PrincessRhaenyrawas still the heir to the throne. With Rhaenyra pregnant onDragonstone, at the moment of Viserys' death, however, the greens inKing's Landinghid the news of Viserys' death, keeping the King's body in his room for seven days, until their preparations for Aegon's coronation was done. It would be SerCriston Cole, Lord Commander of theKingsguard, and later known asthe Kingmaker, who crowned Aegon king. According toSeptonEustace,Aegon at first did not want the crown, until Ser Criston persuaded him that if he did not take it, Rhaenyra would kill Aegon and his children.
Rhaenyra refused to be denied her crown, disputing Aegon's ascension. The realm was split into two factions, known asthe greensandthe blacks, and the civil war known as theDance of the Dragonsbegan. Aegon kept his grandfather, SerOtto Hightower, as hisHand of the King. Some time in this period, for unknown reasons, Aegon had Grand MaesterGerardysfed to his dragon.
Early in the war, Aegon's heir, PrinceJaehaerys, was murdered in theRed KeepbyBloodandCheese, agents ofMysaria, Prince Daemon's spymaster. His sister-wife Helaena quickly began to sink into depression and madness, due tothe role she had playedin the events leading to Jaehaerys' death.
Because of his grandfather's delays in waging war, Aegon stripped Ser Otto of the Handship and awarded it to Criston the Kingmaker. Ser Criston immediately took to the offensive. Aegon himself took the field in a trap set by Cole atRook's Rest, where he and his brotherAemond Targaryenfought and killed PrincessRhaenys Targaryen, the Queen Who Never Was, and her dragon,Meleys. Aegon and his dragonSunfyrewere badly maimed. Aegon suffered from burns and broken bones. His armor had melted into his left arm, and it would take him a year to recover, his mind clouded bymilk of the poppy, causing him to sleep nine hours out of every ten. Only his mother, Queen Alicent, and his Hand, Ser Criston, were allowed to disturb his rest. Prince Aemond took over the rule in his stead asPrince Regent. Aegon remained bent and twisted for the rest of his life, half his body covered in burn scars.
When his half sister Rhaenyratook King's Landingand theIron Thronein130 AC,Larys Strongsecretly smuggled Aegon out of the city. Disguised as one of thesmallfolk, Aegon hid onDragonstoneand convinced several blacks to defect and help him take the island. During the coup, he fought LadyBaela Targaryen, both of them mounted on dragons. When the dragons fell to the earth during the fight, Aegon tried to jump off Sunfyre's back, shattering his legs. He carried great pain with him for the rest of his life, but refused milk of the poppy, due to his experience with from his recovery from Rook's Rest. Meanwhile, his wife, Queen Helaena, had ended her grief by suicide in the capital and his second and youngest sonMaelor Targaryen was killed by a mob inBitterbridge.
In late130 AC, Rhaenyra chose to flee to Dragonstone where, unaware of the coup, she was captured, judged a traitor, and fed by Aegon to his dragonSunfyre, as he and Rhaenyra's son,Aegon the Younger(the future king Aegon III), watched.The war continued, however, as Rhaenyra's supporters continued her cause supporting her son, Aegon the Younger, despite the boy being King Aegon's prisoner. Upon King Aegon's return toKing's Landing, LordCorlys Velaryonwas released from his imprisonment, pardoned, and named to Aegon'ssmall council.
Death and Legacy[]
After the defeat ofBorros Baratheon's army by theLadsand the approach of LordCregan Stark's army towards the capital, Lord Corlys knew defeat was imminent. He counselled King Aegon to take theblack, but the king refused and instead gave orders to have the ear of his nephew, Aegon the Younger, cut off and sent to the Lads as a warning - if his bloodline died, so would Rhaenyra's. Aegon then climbed into his litter, to be carried to his chamber, and was given a cup of wine along the way to ease his pain. When his escort arrived at his private chamber and lifted the litter's curtains, Aegon II was found dead with blood on his lips. Thus died Aegon the second of his name in131 AC, dead by poison. Who exactly poisoned the king remains unknown to history, though twenty-two men would later be arrested for the crime.
Aegon II had no male heirs left, which led to his nephewAegon III Targaryen(Rhaenyra's son) ascending to the throne and marrying Aegon II's daughter,Jaehaera, thus uniting the two branches of House Targaryen. She would die two years later and with her ended the royal line of the marriage of King Viserys I and his second wife Alicent Hightower.
Despite being considered as part of the Targaryen dynasty, unlike Rhaenyra who would be remembered as a usurper, history would not be kind on Aegon (though history is equally unkind to his half sister,Rhaenyra). In the tomeLives of Four Kings,Grandmaestar Kaethwould describe Aegon II as "grasping", and comparing him with some of the worst Targaryen kings: the weaklingAenysand the tyrannicalMaegor the Cruel.
