Aegon's Conquest

Aegon's Conquest, also known as the War of Conquest or simply the Conquest, was the first of the Wars of Conquest initiated by Aegon Targaryen to conquer the continent of Westeros. Supported by his sister-wives, Rhaenys and Visenya, and their dragons, Meraxes and Vhagar, as well as his own, Balerion, Aegon successfully unified six of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros under the invading forces of House Targaryen within two years. Only Dorne was able to successfully resist Aegon's conquest. Despite its name, the conflict was not entirely resolved on the field of battle, as some regions and houses of Westeros actively supported the Targaryen war effort, while others voluntarily surrendered to their might. 
Upon the conclusion of his conquest, Aegon was crowned by the High Septon as the first King of the Andals and the First Men, establishing the ruling Targaryen dynasty of the Seven Kingdoms for the next three centuries. Aegon's coronation date subsequently became the basis for the Westerosi calendar, with maesters tracking years from before and after Aegon's ascension to the throne.
==History==
The Targaryen family had moved from Valyria to the island stronghold of Dragonstone some years prior to the Doom. When the Doom took place, the Targaryens were the only family with dragons to survive the cataclysm. During the following century, the remnants of the Valyrian empire tore themselves apart, leading to the formation of the Free Cities and the liberation of Ghiscar and the cities of Slaver's Bay.
Roughly one century after the Doom, Aegon Targaryen and his sister-wives, Rhaenys and Visenya, were in the island of Dragonstone. Before Aegon invaded Westeros, the Storm King Argilac of House Durrandon, feared that Harren the Black of House Hoare, the ruler of the Iron Islands and Riverlands, would soon attack his lands. Argilac sought an alliance with Aegon, but the communication didn't go well, ending up with Argilac (known as "the Arrogant") amputating Aegon's envoy. This was the excuse that Aegon had been waiting to use his armies and force on Westeros; he sent ravens to all Seven Kingdoms demanding their submission. 
Aegon landed strategically at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush, in the disputed lands between the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers and the Kingdom of the Stormlands, so that Argilac and Harren could not decide on who should take action against him. He raised a primitive castle, where three centuries later would be the city of King's Landing. He unfurled his own banner in the manner of the houses of the Seven Kingdoms, with a red three-headed dragon breathing fire upon a black field, and declared himself King of the whole continent.
===War in the Riverlands===
Aegon's forces made war upon Harren the Black. Aided by a popular uprising against the Ironborn led by House Tully, Aegon eventually bottled Harren up in his massive castle of Harrenhal. Harren refused to surrender, considering his castle impenetrable. Aegon had his dragon, Balerion, burn the castle with such ferocity that the towers melted like candles, roasting Harren and the other remaining members of House Hoare alive. Afterwards, Aegon raised the Tullys to become the Lords Paramount of the Trident and commanded the Ironborn to elect a new ruling house. They chose House Greyjoy of Pyke, who swore fealty to Aegon and became the rulers of the Iron Islands.HBO Viewer's Guide, Season 2 appendices Ascent of the Dragons
===War in the Stormlands===
At the same time, Aegon's bastard half-brother, Orys Baratheon, led an army against Argilac the Arrogant. Argilac chose to give battle in the field and was defeated and killed, eliminating House Durrandon. Orys took his castle of Storm's End, his sigil and words, and Argilac's daughter Argella to wife. Aegon rewarded him by naming him Lord of Storm's End and allowing him to found House Baratheon.
===War in the West===
The forces of House Lannister and House Gardener combined and marched to meet Aegon's army in battle. At a field in the Reach that became known as the Field of Fire, Aegon unleashed all three dragons and decimated the enemy host within minutes. House Gardener was destroyed. Their stewards, the Tyrells, surrendered the Reach to Aegon and were named Lords Paramount of the Reach. The Lannisters also bent the knee and became Wardens of the West.
===Stand-off with the North and the Vale===
House Stark mobilized for war, but upon a demonstration of Aegon's superior forces, King Torrhen Stark bent the knee to save his army from certain destruction. For his submission, Aegon named him Warden of the North. The Starks thus emerged from the war without actually fighting.
Upon the defeat of the Lannisters and the Gardeners, House Arryn mobilized their army in anticipation of an invasion of the Vale of Arryn. However, upon seeing a dragon, boy-king Ronnel Arryn surrendered peacefully in exchange for a ride. The Arryns were the last great house to surrender in Aegon's Conquest.
The High Septon declared that the Faith of the Seven would also support Aegon, ending much of the last resistance to the invaders.
===Invasion of Dorne===
Aegon's forces made an abortive attempt to conquer Dorne, but the Dornish chose to melt away into the mountains and deserts and pursue guerrilla tactics rather than give open battle, where they would be vulnerable to dragonfire. Aegon eventually decided to allow Dorne to retain its independence, ending his conquest.HBO Viewer's Guide, Season 2 appendices Westeros Through the Ages
==In the books==
In A Song of Ice and Fire, Aegon's Conquest unfolds much the same as in the novels. However, Martin later expanded the detail of the war significantly in The World of Ice and Fire.
In this book, it was revealed that the Targaryens fled Valyria after Daenys Targaryen had a prophetic vision of the Doom. Her father, Aenar, led an exodus to Dragonstone (which had been a Valyrian outpost for two centuries at that time). The prophecy was proved correct when the Doom took place twelve years later.
A century later, Aegon the Conqueror (born 27 years before the Conquest) began making his plans. He visited Westeros in secret and gathered intelligence on the loyalties and divisions between the noble houses. However, the war started due to an act of hostility by the Storm King. Argilac Durrandon proposed an alliance with Aegon against the ironborn, as he feared that once Harren Hoare had completed Harrenhal, he would invade the Stormlands. Argilac proposed marrying his daughter, Argella (not Argalia, a name invented for the TV series by Bryan Cogman), to Aegon to cement the deal. Aegon, already married (twice over), instead suggested that Argella marry his half-brother Orys. Argilac, furious, had Aegon's envoy's hands cut off and sent back to him, saying those were the only hands a bastard could expect of him.
Aegon sent ravens to the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms, demanding their loyalty and threatening them with destruction. Sharra Arryn, Queen-Regent of the Kingdom of Mountain and Vale, instead offered a mutual alliance on the condition that Aegon marry her and make her son, the infant King Ronnel Arryn, his heir. Princess Meria Martell of Dorne offered a military alliance aimed at destroying the Storm King, but nothing more. Aegon ignored both offers.
Aegon's army of fewer than 3,000 troops landed at the mouth of the Blackwater, where he declared himself King of the Seven Kingdoms. In a rapid campaign of movement, his forces quickly captured Rosby, Stokeworth, Duskendale, and Maidenpool. He then split his forces in three: the Targaryen fleet commanded by Daemon Velaryon would sail north, escorted by Visenya and her dragon, to land at Gulltown and begin the conquest of the Vale. Orys and Rhaenys would lead an army south to deal with Argilac. Aegon himself would march on Harrenhal.
The Targaryen fleet was intercepted by the Arryn fleet out of Gulltown, and a furious sea battle took place. The Targaryen fleet was destroyed, but Visenya was able to burn most of the Arryn fleet in retaliation, resulting in a stalemate. It was a strategic victory for the Arryns, however, as they prevented an invasion of the Vale.
Aegon's invasion of the Riverlands was spearheaded by him on dragonback, burning the ironborn longships on the rivers and the Gods Eye (and killing several of Harren's sons). Impressed, Lord Edmyn Tully of Riverrun led a popular uprising against the ironborn. Houses Tully, Bracken, Blackwood, Mallister, and Frey marched on Harrenhal and joined forces with Aegon. However, even this alliance only gave him 8,000 troops, far too few to take the castle. Harren insulted Aegon and refused to surrender. Aegon burned the castle with Balerion, killing Harren. The ironborn surrendered.
Hearing of Harren's fate, Argilac refused to be slaughtered like an animal and instead chose to give open battle. When a massive thunderstorm erupted as the armies assembled, Argilac took it as a sign and attacked. Outnumbering the Targaryen host 2-1, Argilac's forces gained the upper hand and outflanked Orys's forces. However, Rhaenys and her dragon Meraxes entered the fray, destroying a part of Argilac's army while Orys engaged Argilac in personal combat and slew him. Argella declared herself the Storm Queen and tried to fight on, but her bannermen betrayed her and handed her over to Orys. Orys treated her with kindness and accepted the surrender of Storm's End.
The Lannisters and Gardeners marched against Aegon's forces. Aegon regrouped with his sister-wives at Stoney Sept before marching south to the Reach. They destroyed the Host of the Two Kings on the Field of Fire and accepted the surrender of their bannermen. Aegon meant to press on to Dorne with his combined host but then learned that King Torrhen Stark and 30,000 Northmen were marching south. He rushed north to meet them at the Trident. Torrhen had planned to give battle, even entertaining a plan put forward by his bastard half-brother Brandon Snow to assassinate the dragons through stealth. Still, upon seeing Aegon's vaster numbers and dragons, he knew he could not subject Westeros to another field of fire. He sent three maesters to negotiate a surrender and then knelt before Aegon, who named him Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North.
The Arryns had also assembled a mighty host at the Bloody Gate and were preparing for war. However, choosing a different tactic, Visenya flew her dragon straight into the courtyard of the Eyrie, where the young boy-king Ronnel was playing. When his mother came out of the castle, she found Visenya had already negotiated the peaceful submission of House Arryn with Ronnel in return for being given a ride on her dragon. The Arryns also bent the knee to Aegon.
Rhaenys led an army into Dorne, only to find the holdfasts empty and the armies of Dorne scattered into small bands that constantly harassed her supply lines. Frustrated, she flew to Sunspear to confront Princess Meria Martell, the so-called Yellow Toad of Dorne. Meria, eighty years old, blind and almost bald, defied Rhaenys to her face, telling her that Dorne would never surrender. Fearing that the cost of taking Dorne would be ruinous, Aegon agreed to allow it to remain independent.
Aegon triumphantly entered Oldtown and was proclaimed King of Westeros, ending the Conquest after two years.
==Gallery==
Aegon_and_sisters.jpg|Aegon and his sisters on Dragonstone
Balerion the Black Dread.png|Aegon the Conqueror rode Balerion, the Black Dread.
Rhaenys Targaryen.jpg|Rhaenys rode the dragon Meraxes
Visenya Targaryen.jpg|Visenya rode the dragon Vhagar
Burning of Harrenhal.jpg|Aegon riding Balerion at the Burning of Harrenhal, defeating the ironborn.
Orys vs Argilac.png|Orys Baratheon duels Argilac Durrandon to the death in the Last Storm, conquering the Stormlands for the Targaryens.
Field_of_fire.jpg|The Field of Fire was the climactic battle of the Targaryen Conquest, the only battle at which all three dragons were unleashed at the same time. 
MernCorpse.jpg|The combined armies of the Westerlands and the Reach were burned at the Field of Fire
Field of Fire Complete Guide to Westeros.png|King Mern IX Gardener and his heirs were killed at the Field of Fire.
Harlen Tyrell surrender to Aegon the Conqueror.png|With the Gardener line extinguished, the Targaryens elevated the Gardeners' cousins House Tyrell as the new rulers of the Reach under them.
Loren lannister.png|King Loren I Lannister was defeated and his army destroyed at the Field of Fire, but he survived; afterwards he wisely surrendered, and was allowed to continue to rule the Westerlands - under the Targaryens.
Visenya takes the Eyrie.jpg|After the Field of Fire, House Arryn thought they could hide behind the Vale's mountains - Visenya simply flew Vhagar over the mountains straight to the Eyrie, and accepted their bloodless surrender.
The King who Knelt.png|King Torrhen Stark of the North only managed to gather his scattered forces and march south after the Field of Fire.
Torrhen kneels.jpg|Hearing of the power the dragons displayed at the Field of Fire, and seeing the Targaryens' now huge army of conscripts, Torrhen Stark chose to surrender peacefully. In return, Aegon I allowed the Starks to continue to rule the North, under the Targaryens.
Dorne resists the Targaryen Conquest.png|Dorne, ruled by House Martell, was the only one of the Seven Kingdoms to successfully resist the Targaryens - by resorting to guerrilla warfare. When a dragon arrived they would hide in the desert, and as soon as it left they would ambush the Targaryen armies and harass their supply lines, until the Targaryens decided Dorne was more trouble than it was worth and withdrew to focus on reining in the other six kingdoms. 
==References==
===Notes===
==External links==
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