Quick answer: Aegon III Targaryen (reigned 131-157 AC), the son of Rhaenyra and Daemon, was the survivor-king of the Dance of the Dragons. He watched his uncle’s dragon devour his mother when he was about nine or ten, was crowned at ten, and reigned for twenty-six years. The last Targaryen dragon died in King’s Landing in 153 AC, during his reign, and he became known as “the Dragonbane,” though the name probably says more about his grief than about what he did.
The Boy in the Room Where It Happened
Aegon was born in late 120 AC on Dragonstone to Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen. In late 129 AC, as the war turned against the Blacks, he and his younger brother Viserys were sent across the narrow sea. Their ship, the Gay Abandon, was captured by Triarchy ships in the Gullet. Aegon escaped by flying his dragon, Stormcloud, for the first time, and in the flight he left his brother behind. Stormcloud was badly wounded and died within an hour of reaching Dragonstone. Aegon never rode a dragon again.
In 130 AC, at Dragonstone, he was made to watch while Aegon II‘s dragon Sunfyre devoured his mother. The boy who walked away from that was never the same.
Crowned at Ten
Aegon II died in 131 AC, reportedly murdered by his own men. The Hour of the Wolf, in which Cregan Stark seized the capital and oversaw trials of the Green leaders, ended the war, and Aegon III was crowned in mid-131 AC at the age of ten. He married Aegon II’s daughter Jaehaera, Helaena’s surviving child (see Helaena Targaryen), in 131 AC to bind the Black and Green lines. Jaehaera died in 133 AC, apparently by suicide, though rumors of murder circulated. Aegon later married Daenaera Velaryon, chosen at a Maiden’s Day ball.
A regency ruled in his name through a procession of Hands: Cregan Stark, then Tyland Lannister (who died of winter fever in early 133 AC), then Unwin Peake, who undid the king’s appointments, kept him largely sidelined and tried to marry him to his own daughter. Thaddeus Rowan and Marston Waters followed, and Torrhen Manderly was chosen as Hand by lords at a gathering in 136 AC. For the war this closed, see who won the Dance of the Dragons.
Why “the Dragonbane”?
The epithet needs context. The last Targaryen dragon was a small, stunted green female who lived in King’s Landing and laid five eggs that never hatched. Her name is unknown. She died in 153 AC, during Aegon III’s reign, and he was called the Dragonbane afterward. Rumor held that he poisoned her, a story attributed to his fear of dragons after watching one eat his mother. The truth is murkier. The Dance had already destroyed most of the dragons: of the twenty alive at the end of Viserys I’s reign, only three survived the war. Aegon III reigned over the end of dragons, whether or not he caused it.
The Long Gray Reign
He ruled twenty-six years, a dutiful, melancholy king uninterested in glory. After the Dance, quiet was a kind of statecraft: the war did not reignite and the dynasty held. Aegon III died in 157 AC at the age of thirty-six; no cause is recorded. His children included Daeron I the Young Dragon and Baelor I the Blessed, as well as daughters Daena, Rhaena and Elaena. The line that nearly ended at Dragonstone ran on through his gray reign. You can trace that line on the interactive Targaryen family tree.
Aegon III at a Glance
| Detail | Record |
|---|---|
| Born | Late 120 AC, Dragonstone |
| Parents | Rhaenyra Targaryen and Daemon Targaryen |
| Reign | 131-157 AC |
| Dragon | Stormcloud (died within an hour of his escape from the Triarchy) |
| Wives | Jaehaera Targaryen (d. 133 AC) and Daenaera Velaryon |
| Children | Daeron I, Baelor I, Daena, Rhaena, Elaena |
| Died | 157 AC, King’s Landing, aged 36 |
FAQ
Why was Aegon III called the Dragonbane?
Because the last Targaryen dragon died in King’s Landing in 153 AC, during his reign. A rumor said he poisoned her, based on his supposed fear of dragons after watching Sunfyre devour his mother. The sources do not establish how she died.
Did the dragons die out because of Aegon III?
The Dance of the Dragons did most of the damage: of about twenty dragons alive at the end of Viserys I’s reign, only three survived the war. Aegon III reigned over the end, and the name stuck.
Who ruled after the Dance of the Dragons?
Aegon III, Rhaenyra’s son, crowned in 131 AC at the age of ten. A regency under a succession of Hands ruled for about five years.
What happened to Aegon III’s mother?
Rhaenyra was killed at Dragonstone in 130 AC when Aegon II’s dragon Sunfyre devoured her. Aegon, about nine or ten, was made to watch.
Was Aegon III a good king?
A joyless one, but a successful peacekeeper. His 26-year reign saw no return of the civil war, and his sons Daeron I and Baelor I inherited an intact kingdom.