Iron Throne

The **Iron Throne** is the seat of the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and is often used as a metonymic device to refer to the authority of the King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men or to the polity born after Aegon's Conquest. The king often holds audiences and dispenses justice from atop it in the Red Keep's throne room, the Great Hall. The chair is cold and hard, with many jagged edges.

## Customs

In the king's absence, only his Hand may sit on the throne. Such privilege does not extend to royal regents. However, three exceptions exist: Queen Rhaenys Targaryen and Queen Visenya Targaryen, who were King Aegon I Targaryen's partners in power; and Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, who sat the throne when she took King's Landing during the Dance of the Dragons.

## Appearance

The Iron Throne is an asymmetric monstrosity of spikes and jagged edges and
twisted metal. The throne was constructed by Aegon I Targaryen from the melted, twisted, beaten, and broken blades surrendered by his enemies, or wrenched from the hands of the dying. According to the songs, it took a thousand blades to make. George R. R. Martin has described the Iron Throne as "massive", "ugly", and "asymmetric". The throne is a symbol of conquest.
The Iron Throne is located on a high platform in the throne room within the Red Keep. It can be reached by climbing steep iron steps in the Great Hall, and the small council has a table at the base of the throne.

Because of the fanged steel behind, it is impossible to lean back on the iron seat of the Iron Throne. Aegon I intended for it to be uncomfortable, believing that "a king should never sit easy". The points of the twisted blades fan out like talons from arms of the throne. Even after three hundred years, some of the blades are still sharp enough to cut.

The Iron Throne is known for being dangerous to its occupants. King Viserys I Targaryen cut his left hand to the bone after stumbling, and Maester Gerardys had to remove two fingers to save his life. According to Septon Eustace, an armor-clad Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen was seen with cuts on her legs and left hand after sitting the throne for the first time, which led some to believe she had been rejected by it. King Aerys II Targaryen was cut so many times that he became known as "King Scab".

According to the stories, the Iron Throne is capable of killing a person, and has done so before. King Maegor I Targaryen, for instance, was found dead on the Iron Throne, his arms slashed open from wrist to elbow on jagged barbs, and with a blade through his neck, emerging beneath his chin. Although various culprits have been considered as having possibly murdered Maegor the Cruel, many still believe the king had been killed by the throne itself.

## History

### Aegon the Conqueror

Following his conquest of six of the Seven Kingdoms in Westeros, Aegon I Targaryen proclaimed himself their king, and was crowned by the High Septon at Oldtown. From the swords of his enemies, Aegon created the Iron Throne, and the dynasty he began would rule for nearly three hundred years. According to the songs, the throne was constructed with a thousand blades, heated by the dragonflame of Balerion, Aegon's dragon. According to history, however, the throne was forged by armorers.
The Iron Throne stood at Aegon's wooden castle, the Aegonfort, which was located at the place where he had first come to shore. The town that grew around it became King's Landing, the kingdom's new capital. Aegon reconciled the Iron Islands under his rule in 2 AC, and continued his wars in 4 AC with the First Dornish War, in an attempt to subdue the seventh of the Westerosi kingdoms.

The Iron Throne kept out of war following the conclusion of the First Dornish War in 13 AC. Other wars with Dorne would follow under Aegon's successors: the Second Dornish War in 37 AC at the start of Aenys I Targaryen's reign, the Third and Fourth Dornish War during the reign of Jaehaerys I Targaryen, and the Conquest of Dorne during the reign of Daeron I Targaryen.

During Aegon's reign, one of his queens Rhaenys and Visenya Targaryen would sit on the Iron Throne while Aegon and his other sister were away from the capital for one of his progresses. In 35 AC, Aegon had the Aegonfort where the Iron Throne stood torn down. As construction of the Red Keep began, the Iron Throne remained where it had stood.

### Aenys I and Maegor I

Aegon's immediate successor, his eldest son Aenys I, faced several rebellions at the start of his reign in 37 AC, which were resolved by his bannermen and brother, Prince Maegor, during the course of the year. Aenys later faced problems with the Faith of the Seven, first following his brother's polygamous marriage in 39 AC, and next after he married his son and daughter, Aegon and Rhaena, to one another in 40 AC. The Faith rose in rebellion against the Iron Throne, eventually forcing Aenys and his family to flee King's Landing for Dragonstone. Aenys died the following year of illness.

Aenys's brother Maegor returned from his exile and claimed the throne over the late king's eldest son, Prince Aegon, who was unable to travel to King's Landing. While Maegor took the throne, Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon proclaimed Aegon king on Driftmark, but few came forth to support him. Called "the pretender" and "Aegon the Uncrowned", Aegon took up arms against Maegor in 43 AC after he slipped into the capital to claim the dragon Quicksilver. Aegon fell to Maegor during the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye later that year, however.

During his six-year rule, Maegor continued to fight the Faith and did so harshly, causing the deaths of thousands. Notably, he ordered the construction of Maegor's Holdfast within the Red Keep in 43 AC. The Red Keep was completed in 45 AC, after which Maegor had all the workers killed to prevent the castle's secrets being spread. Aenys I's youngest son, Prince Jaehaerys, announced his claim to the throne at Storm's End early on in 48 AC. Maegor's main supporters flocked to Jaehaerys's side, leaving him with insufficient men to defend himself. Maegor was found dead seated on the Iron Throne by Queen Elinor Costayne hours after his last war council. The cause of Maegor's death is still debated; several potential murderers have been put forth, with some suggesting that Maegor had been killed by the throne, and others that Maegor had taken his own life.

### Jaehaerys I and Viserys I

Following his death, Maegor I was succeeded by his brother's youngest son, Jaehaerys I Targaryen. Jaehaerys reigned for fifty-five years. He recognized first his sister's eldest daughter Aerea Targaryen as his heir, followed by his own daughter Daenerys and later his son Aemon. Aemon's death in 92 AC resulted in a crisis in the line of succession, forcing Jaehaerys to choose between Aemon's daughter and only child, Rhaenys, and his own second son, Baelon. When Baelon was named, the pregnant Rhaenys proclaimed that the king had not only passed over her, but also her "unborn son". Upon Baelon's death in 101 AC, Jaehaerys called the first Great Council at Harrenhal, to appoint his new heir. For thirteen days, the fourteen claims were discussed by the lords of the realm. The lords assembled eventually chose between Rhaenys's son Laenor Velaryon and Baelon's eldest son Viserys. The elder Viserys was chosen with the great majority of the votes.

Viserys's reign gave peace and plenty to the realm. In 126 AC, after passing judgement seated on the Iron Throne, Viserys injured himself severely on the barbs. Maester Gerardys managed to save the king's life. The amputation of two of Viserys's fingers,  Following the death of his second son, Prince Baelon, Viserys officially proclaimed his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, as his heir. Viserys remarried after the death of his first wife, but despite having three sons during his second marriage, he continued to view Rhaenyra as his heir.

### The Dance and Regency

At Viserys I's death in early 129 AC, Aegon the Elder, his eldest son, claimed the throne, making use of Rhaenyra Targaryen's presence at Dragonstone during her pregnancy. Brother and sister fought over the throne during the two and a half years that followed, a struggle called the Dance of the Dragons. In 130 AC, Rhaenyra took King's Landing and sat the first night on the Iron Throne to accept fealty from those present at the Red Keep. Even though Rhaenyra wore armor at that time, Septon Eustace, one of the supporters of Aegon II, claims that Rhaenyra had cuts on her legs and the palm of her left hand once she got up from the throne. Eustace claimed this was an indication that "the Iron Throne had spurned her".

Once Rhaenyra fled King's Landing half a year later after the Storming of the Dragonpit, two new "kings" declared themselves during the Moon of the Three Kings: Trystane Truefyre, a young squire who took possession of the Red Keep and sat on the Iron Throne, and Gaemon Palehair, a small child. Aegon II fed Rhaenyra to his dragon, Sunfyre, after the fall of Dragonstone. Trystane and Gaemon were eventually arrested by Lord Borros Baratheon. Since Aegon was away at Dragonstone, the Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower received the submission of Lord Corlys Velaryon from the lower steps of the Iron Throne.

The crippled Aegon was unable to climb the steps of the Iron Throne when he returned to the capital, so he instead used a carved and cushioned wooden seat below. Aegon was killed with poison half a year later after the Battle of the Kingsroad, and his body was laid upon a bier by the Iron Throne when the Lads arrived at the Red Keep. Rhaenyra's eleven year-old son, Aegon the Younger, was crowned king, and married to Aegon II's daughter and only remaining child, Jaehaera Targaryen, uniting the claims. Lord Cregan Stark briefly served as Hand of the King during the so-called Hour of the Wolf. Although Cregan might have sat the Iron Throne as Hand, he instead used a simple wooden bench beneath it.

When Lord Corlys Velaryon died in 132 AC during the regency of Aegon III, his body was placed beneath the Iron Throne for seven days. Unlike Cregan Stark, Lord Unwin Peake used the Iron Throne while serving as Aegon's Hand. Aegon sat on the throne during the Maiden's Day Ball.

### Daeron I, Baelor I, and Viserys II

Aegon III Targaryen was succeeded in 157 AC by his fourteen-year old son, Daeron, who led the conquest of Dorne. The Young Dragon was slain by Dornishmen four years later, however, and then succeeded by his brother Baelor I. When Baelor the Blessed died in 171 AC after a forty-day fast, the succession of the Iron Throne was again unclear. The claims of Baelor's three sisters were discussed, but dismissed, after which Baelor's uncle, Viserys II Targaryen, was crowned. Viserys reigned for only a year, but it said he truly ruled and preserved the land for much longer, as he had been Hand of the King during the time of his brother Aegon III's reign, as well as the reigns of his nephews Daeron and Baelor. Despite the shortness of his reign, Viserys implemented several new reforms.

### Daeron II and Daemon Blackfyre

After Viserys II Targaryen died of a sudden illness, his eldest son ascended the Iron Throne as Aegon IV, who is remembered in history as "the Unworthy". On his deathbed, Aegon legitimized all of his bastards, including Daemon Blackfyre, his bastard son by his cousin Daena Targaryen. , in which Daemon Blackfyre fought King Daeron II Targaryen for the Iron Throne.

Aegon's heir, King Daeron II Targaryen, brought Dorne peacefully into the realm early on in his reign, by wedding his younger sister Daenerys to his good-brother Maron Martell, the Prince of Dorne. Aegon IV had previously gifted Daemon Blackfyre with the Targaryen sword Blackfyre, typically considered the "sword of kings". This, combined with the growing Dornish influence at court, brought resentment against Daeron II.

In 196 AC, Daemon announced his claim to the Iron Throne, beginning the First Blackfyre Rebellion. When he died during the Battle of the Redgrass Field later that year with his two eldest sons, his remaining children fled to Essos. Four other rebellions would follow in the decades that followed. The second and third rebellions took place during the reign of Aerys I Targaryen, the fourth during the reign of Aegon V Targaryen,  and the fifth and final rebellion as part of the War of the Ninepenny Kings during the reign of Jaehaerys II Targaryen.

### Later Kings

Following the death of Daeron II Targaryen's eldest son, Baelor, and Baelor's two sons Valarr and Matarys, Daeron was succeeded by his second son, Aerys I Targaryen. The new king's first heir was his brother, Rhaegel. After Rhaegel's death, Aerys acknowledged Rhaegel's only son Aelor as his heir, but Aelor died in 217 AC during a mishap caused by his twin sister and wife, Aelora. Aerys's third heir was Aelora. However, she was mad with grief and committed suicide sometime later, leaving Aerys to recognize his fourth and last heir to the throne, his youngest brother Maekar. When Aerys died in 221 AC, Maekar succeeded him.

Maekar I's reign lasted until 233 AC, when the king fell in battle fighting a rebellious lord on the Dornish Marches during the Peake Uprising.

A Great Council was convened after Maekar's death, and his fourth son was chosen as King Aegon V Targaryen. Aegon the Unlikely perished in 259 AC in the tragedy of Summerhall, however, and was succeeded by his second son, Jaehaerys II, who died three years later of illness.

### The Mad King

Jaehaerys was followed by his son, Aerys II. Although his reign began promising, Aerys's madness slowly grew. By 280 AC, he had become known as the “Mad King” and “King Scab”, for he had cut himself on the Iron Throne many times.

Following the abduction of Lyanna Stark by Aerys's son, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, the Mad King executed her father and brother, Lord Rickard Stark and Brandon Stark, in the throne room in 282 AC. Ser Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard stood at the foot of the Iron throne during the executions. Lord Jon Arryn refused Aerys's order to kill Rickard's heir, Lord Eddard Stark, and Lord Robert Baratheon at the Eyrie, however, beginning Robert's Rebellion against House Targaryen.

The Vale of Arryn, the north, and parts of the stormlands and riverlands rose against Aerys, and the westerlands joined the rebels after Rhaegar's death in the Battle of the Trident. During the Sack of King's Landing by Lord Tywin Lannister's host, the Mad King ordered his pyromancers to destroy the capital with the wildfire plot. Jaime, Tywin's eldest son, hauled Aerys off the steps of the Iron Throne and cut his throat, even though the Kingsguard was sworn to protect the king. Jaime climbed the steps and waited on the Iron Throne to see who would claim it, eventually climbing down after the arrival of Ned Stark to the throne room. Rhaegar's children, Rhaenys and Aegon, were murdered by Ser Amory Lorch and Ser Gregor Clegane during the Sack. Tywin had the children's bodies covered in crimson cloaks and placed before the Iron Throne to await the arrival of Robert, who claimed the throne as king.

Aerys's wife, Rhaella Targaryen, died giving birth to Princess Daenerys on Dragonstone. Aerys's surviving son, young Viserys, fled with Daenerys in exile to the Free Cities.

### Robert Baratheon

King Robert I Baratheon ascended to the Iron Throne in 283 AC. Robert came to strongly dislike his kingship; according to Donal Noye, becoming king changed Robert, and not for the better. Finding ruling his realm tedious, Robert refers to the Iron Throne as "that damnable" and "monstrous uncomfortable" chair. Meanwhile, his love for tourneys and feasts beggared the realm, and despite the fact that Aerys II Targaryen had left treasure vaults overflowing with gold, Robert's spending has left the crown in debt of over six million golden dragons.

In 289 AC, Balon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands, proclaimed the independence of the Iron Islands and led Greyjoy's Rebellion against the Iron Throne. The rebellion was put down within a year, and Robert pardoned Balon after the siege of Pyke.