King Aegon III Targaryen, also known as Aegon the Dragonbane, was the seventh king of the Targaryen dynasty to sit on the Iron Throne of Westeros.
Early life[]
Aegon was the fourth son of Rhaenyra Targaryen and the grandson of King Viserys I. His mother expected to inherit the throne upon Viserys' death, but instead her younger half-brother was crowned as Aegon II. The resulting dynastic civil war became known as the Dance of Dragons. Aegon was scarred during this war by witnessing his mother being swallowed whole by his uncle's dragon, and developed a fierce hatred and terror of the creatures afterwards.
Aegon II died not long after Rhaenyra, and Aegon inherited the throne as Aegon III. Since Aegon II's two sons and two brothers died during the war, he married his cousin Jaehaera to reconcile both factions.
Reign[]
Aegon III's reign was relatively free of incident, and was mainly concerned with mending the rift in the kingdom caused by the civil war.
Because he was crowned when he was only eleven, several regents from both former factions competed against each other to gain influence, until Aegon came of age when he was sixteen. Thanks to the rather drastic, but decisive actions of Lord Cregan Stark, his court was swiftly cleaned from the most harmful influences.
He married his cousin Jaehaera, to bring together both lineages, but the marriage was childless. His second wife, Daenaera Velaryon, on the other hand gave him two sons and three daughters. He was a competent if unspectacular ruler. During his rule the last Targaryen dragon, a little sickly green creature, died and her three eggs did not hatch. This, combined with his well-known hatred of dragons, led to Aegon III being called the 'Dragonbane' by some.
Upon his death in 157 AL, Aegon III was succeeded by his young son Daeron, the Young Dragon.
Character and appearance[]
Aegon III was apparently doted on by his mother, and her death in front of him was a shocking event that left an indelible mark on his character. He was sombre for much of his life after this point, rarely smiling, and traditionally dressed in black as a symbol of mourning. Apparently the only time he smiled after the war was when his younger brother Viserys, who he had thought dead for years, returned safely from Essos. Not much more is known of his character, although he does seem to have successfully kept the kingdom reunited following the divisions of the civil war.
It is known that Aegon hated the company of others, with almost the singular exception of his brother Viserys. To say that he was not a good king is actually rather debatable, as he proved much better than his predecessor, Aegon the Elder, who didn't even want to be king originally. Aegon made pretty solid repairs to damage done during the Dance of the Dragons, and brought some prosperity to the realm. His decision to make Viserys his hand was a stroke of brilliance, as Viserys would serve ably as hand to Aegon himself, and both of his sons, managing the Seven Kingdoms while Aegon brooded, Daeron started a war that made the realm bleed, and Baelor fasted himself into an early grave.
In appearance, Aegon III was pale, lean and unsmiling. He had a short beard but no moustache. He dressed in black throughout his life, down to his gloves, and wore a three-headed dragon on a golden chain around his neck. To avoid division, he did not wear either of the crowns of Rhaenyra or Aegon II, instead preferring a simple, unormented golden band.