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Although this page is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.
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- "When Aegon returned to King's Landing, he found assassins waiting for him in the streets of his own capital. If not for Visenya, the Conqueror would not have enjoyed his conquest for very long."
- ―Varys
The attempted assassination of Aegon I Targaryen was the final event of the First Dornish War. It was an attack orchestrated by Dorne and House Martell to assassinate Aegon I Targaryen and definitively end the conflict.[1]
History[]
Prelude[]
Late in the First Dornish War, Queen Rhaenys Targaryen was slain alongside her dragon mount, Meraxes, during an assault Rhaenys personally led on Hellholt. Her death deeply enraged her siblings, King Aegon I Targaryen and Queen Visenya Targaryen, who subsequently flew to Dorne atop their dragons, Balerion and Vhagar. There, the two launched a genocidal campaign against the Dornish people, destroying every castle and city in the region with the exception of Sunspear, Dorne's capital and the seat of House Martell. Aegon and Visenya hoped the mass destruction would break the Dornish people's will to fight and revolt against Princess Meria Martell to bring an end to the conflict. The Targaryen monarchs, however, were shocked to find the Dornish remaining defiant and continuing to be loyal to the Martells. With their campaign having failed, Aegon I and Visenya returned to King's Landing and evacuated their forces from Dorne.[2]
Attack[]
After the Dragon's Wroth, the Dornishmen sought revenge on House Targaryen for the mass destruction and loss of life the Targaryens inflicted on Dorne. When Aegon I and Visenya returned to King's Landing following the failure of their campaign, they were attacked by assassins sent by Dorne on the streets of capital. Aegon himself was almost killed in the confrontation were it not for Visenya's timely intervention, and all of the assasins were killed.[3]
Aftermath[]
Feeling threatened, Aegon bolstered his security, forming a group of his most loyal and skilled men, the Kingsguard, to serve as his and the royal family's personal bodyguards. Following the attack, Meria Martell passed away in her sleep, leading her exhausted son's to sue for peace. Aegon I, also exhausted from the conflict, acceded to the peace deal, ending the First Dornish War with Dorne victorious and their independence secured.[4]
In the books[]
According to The World of Ice & Fire, after the Dragon's Wroth, Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wife Visenya placed bounties on the heads of Dornish lords, who retaliated by also placing bounties on the Targaryens and their allies. Half a dozen Dornish lords were successfully assassinated, though only two of their killers ever lived to collect their bounties. King Aegon was attacked on three occasions, and Visenya was attacked on several occasions as well. One day, when the two were assaulted on the streets of King's Landing, only Visenya's swift intervention saved her brother's life. This attack led to the creation of the elite royal bodyguard known as the Kingsguard in 10 AC, with each member being solely chosen by Visenya herself, who modeled their vows on those of the Night's Watch. Lord Fell was killed in a brothel in King's Landing, while the savage Wyl of Wyl committed various atrocities, particularly in Fawnton and Old Oak.
References[]
External links[]
| Aegon's Conquest | |
| First Dornish War |
Occupation of Sunspear · Defenestration of Sunspear · Assault on Oldtown · Attack on Hellholt · Dragon's Wroth · Attempted assassination of Aegon I Targaryen |