The Dance of the Dragons: A Timeline
101 AC
The Great Council of Harrenhal. Jaehaerys I, knowing he would not long survive, summons the lords of the realm to settle the succession. Fourteen claims are put before the council; all but two are set aside. In the final vote, Prince Viserys — grandson of Jaehaerys through the male line — defeats Laenor Velaryon, grandson through the female line, by a margin rumored to be twenty to one.
103 AC
Death of Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the Old King, after a reign of fifty-five years. Viserys I ascends the Iron Throne.
105 AC
Late in the year, Queen Aemma Arryn dies in childbed. The son she died delivering — Prince Baelon, the heir for a day — did not survive her by a day. King Viserys names his daughter Rhaenyra his heir and Princess of Dragonstone, commanding the lords of the Seven Kingdoms to swear fealty to her.
106 AC
Viserys I weds Lady Alicent Hightower, daughter of his Hand. House Velaryon does not attend the wedding. Prince Daemon Targaryen and Lord Corlys Velaryon, shunning the celebration, meet at High Tide on Driftmark to plan their private war against the Kingdom of the Three Daughters for control of the Stepstones.
108 AC
Prince Daemon slays Craghas Drahar, called Craghas Crabfeeder, Prince-Admiral of the Triarchy, in single combat.
109 AC
Daemon declares himself King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea. Lord Corlys places the crown upon his head. Otto Hightower is dismissed as Hand of the King.
111 AC
A great tourney is held at King's Landing to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Viserys's marriage to Alicent. At the opening feast, Queen Alicent wears green and Princess Rhaenyra wears Targaryen black and red. Note is taken. From this night forward the queen's faction is called the Greens and the princess's faction the Blacks.
114 AC
Princess Rhaenyra weds Ser Laenor Velaryon at Dragonstone. The groom is twenty, the bride seventeen.
120 AC
A year of compounding tragedy.
- Lady Laena Velaryon dies early in the year in childbed at Driftmark, the son she labored to deliver dying with her.
- Ser Harwin Strong and his father Lord Lyonel, Hand of the King, perish in a fire of unknown origin at Harrenhal.
- Ser Laenor Velaryon is stabbed to death by his companion Ser Qarl Correy at a fair in Spicetown later in the year. At Laenor's funeral on Driftmark, the ten-year-old Prince Aemond claims the riderless Vhagar — the last living dragon from the age of Aegon's Conquest. The claiming comes to blows with Rhaenyra's sons; Aemond loses an eye.
- Less than six months after the deaths of Laena, Laenor, and Harwin, Rhaenyra secretly weds her uncle Prince Daemon at Dragonstone.
127 AC
A feast of reconciliation, commanded by the ailing Viserys I, who wishes to see his family united before he dies. Both households attend. Declarations of friendship are made and cups raised. When the king retires for the evening, the peace retires with him.
129 AC
The Dance Begins
- 3rd day of the 3rd moon — Death of Viserys I in his sleep at the Red Keep. He was fifty-two years old and had reigned for twenty-six years. Queen Alicent conceals the king's death.
- 10th day of the 3rd moon — Aegon II is crowned in the Dragonpit. The death of Viserys is announced to the realm. Rhaenyra, on Dragonstone, refuses to yield. Daemon crowns her with the iron crown Viserys had made for her.
- Daemon seizes Harrenhal for the Blacks. Lords across the realm begin declaring their allegiances.
- Jacaerys Velaryon flies to the Eyrie and then Winterfell, securing the Pact of Ice and Fire — the Vale and the North for the Blacks. His brother Lucerys is sent to Storm's End, where he finds Prince Aemond already present. Aemond pursues Lucerys into the storm over Shipbreaker Bay. Lucerys and his dragon Arrax are killed.
- In retaliation, hired assassins known as Blood and Cheese infiltrate the Red Keep and murder Prince Jaehaerys — Aegon II's eldest son and heir — before his mother's eyes.
Sack of Duskendale
| Date | 129 AC |
| Place | Duskendale, Crownlands |
| Result | Green victory |
| Combatants | |
| House Targaryen / Blacks | House Targaryen / Greens |
| House Darklyn | House Targaryen House Rosby House Stokeworth |
| Commanders | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Lord Gunthor Darklyn | Ser Criston Cole |
| Strength | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Town garrison | ~2,400 (plus forces of Rosby & Stokeworth) |
| Casualties | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Lord Gunthor Darklyn (executed) | — |
Battle of the Burning Mill
| Date | 129 AC |
| Place | The Burning Mill, Riverlands |
| Result | Black victory |
| Combatants | |
| House Targaryen / Blacks | House Targaryen / Greens |
| House Blackwood | House Bracken |
| Commanders | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Lord Samwell Blackwood | Ser Amos Bracken Ser Raylon Rivers |
| Casualties | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Lord Samwell Blackwood (killed) | Ser Amos Bracken (killed) |
Battle of Rook's Rest
| Date | 129 AC |
| Place | Rook's Rest, Crownlands |
| Result | Green victory |
| Combatants | |
| House Targaryen / Blacks | House Targaryen / Greens |
| House Targaryen (Blacks) House Staunton | House Targaryen (Greens) House Rosby House Stokeworth |
| Commanders | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Princess Rhaenys Targaryen riding Meleys | Ser Criston Cole King Aegon II Targaryen (Sunfyre) Prince Aemond Targaryen (Vhagar) |
| Casualties | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (killed) Meleys (killed) | King Aegon II gravely wounded Sunfyre badly burned |
130 AC
Battle of the Gullet
| Date | 5th day of 130 AC |
| Place | The Gullet, Blackwater Bay |
| Result | Strategic Black victory, at great cost |
| Combatants | |
| House Targaryen / Blacks | Triarchy |
| House Velaryon House Targaryen (Blacks) | Kingdom of the Three Daughters |
| Commanders | |
| Blacks | Triarchy |
| Prince Jacaerys Velaryon (Vermax) Addam Velaryon (Seasmoke) Ulf the White (Silverwing) Hugh Hammer (Vermithor) Nettles (Sheepstealer) | Sharako Lohar |
| Casualties | |
| Blacks | Triarchy |
| Prince Jacaerys Velaryon (killed) Vermax (killed) Prince Viserys captured, taken to Lys Velaryon fleet reduced by a third Spicetown sacked, High Tide burned | 28 of 90 ships returned home |
Battle of the Honeywine
| Date | Third week of 130 AC |
| Place | The Honeywine, the Reach |
| Result | Black victory (slowed Green advance) |
| Combatants | |
| House Targaryen / Blacks | House Targaryen / Greens |
| House Rowan House Tarly House Beesbury House Costayne House Caswell | House Hightower House Targaryen (Greens) |
| Commanders | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Lord Thaddeus Rowan Tom Flowers Ser Alan Beesbury Lord Alan Tarly Lord Owen Costayne | Lord Ormund Hightower Prince Daeron Targaryen (Tessarion) Ser Jon Roxton |
| Strength | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Unknown | Nearly 20,000 |
| Casualties | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Tom Flowers (killed) Lord Owen Costayne (mortally wounded) | Lord Ormund Hightower (killed) |
- Daemon and Rhaenyra take King's Landing while Aemond is absent raiding the Riverlands. The city falls in less than a day. Rhaenyra sits the Iron Throne. The Iron Throne cuts her hands.
The Butcher's Ball
| Date | 130 AC |
| Place | South of the Gods Eye, Riverlands |
| Result | Decisive Black victory |
| Combatants | |
| House Targaryen / Blacks | House Targaryen / Greens |
| House Dustin (Winter Wolves) House Blackwood Riverlords | House Targaryen (Greens) Kingsguard |
| Commanders | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Lord Roderick Dustin Ser Garibald Grey Red Robb Rivers Alysanne Blackwood | Ser Criston Cole (Hand of the King) |
| Strength | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| ~7,000 | ~4,000 |
| Casualties | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Unknown | Ser Criston Cole (killed) Hundreds killed in rout |
First Battle of Tumbleton
| Date | 130 AC |
| Place | Tumbleton, the Reach |
| Result | Green victory (through treachery) |
| Combatants | |
| House Targaryen / Blacks | House Targaryen / Greens |
| House Caswell House Merryweather House Footly | House Hightower House Targaryen (Greens) Two Betrayers (turncloak dragonriders) |
| Commanders | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Ser Garibald Grey Lord Roderick Dustin | Lord Ormund Hightower Prince Daeron Targaryen (Tessarion) Ulf the White (Silverwing) †turncloak Hugh Hammer (Vermithor) †turncloak |
| Strength | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| ~6,000 | Nearly 20,000 |
| Casualties | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Lord Roderick Dustin (killed) Tumbleton burned by Vermithor and Silverwing | Lord Ormund Hightower (killed) Ser Bryndon Hightower (killed) |
Second Battle of Tumbleton
| Date | 130 AC |
| Place | Tumbleton, the Reach |
| Result | Tactical Black victory; strategic draw |
| Combatants | |
| House Targaryen / Blacks | House Targaryen / Greens |
| House Tully House Blackwood Riverlords | House Hightower House Peake House Roxton |
| Commanders | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Ser Addam Velaryon (Seasmoke) Lord Benjicot Blackwood Lord Kermit Tully | Ser Hobert Hightower Prince Daeron Targaryen (Tessarion) Hugh Hammer (Vermithor) Ulf the White (Silverwing) |
| Strength | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| ~4,000 rivermen | Numerically superior |
| Casualties | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Ser Addam Velaryon (killed) Seasmoke (killed) Under 100 men lost | Prince Daeron Targaryen (killed) Hugh Hammer (killed) Ulf the White (poisoned after battle) Vermithor (killed) Tessarion (killed) Over 1,000 men killed |
Battle Above the Gods Eye
| Date | 22nd day of the 5th moon, 130 AC |
| Place | Above the Gods Eye, Riverlands |
| Result | Mutual destruction |
| Combatants | |
| House Targaryen / Blacks | House Targaryen / Greens |
| House Targaryen (Blacks) | House Targaryen (Greens) |
| Commanders | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Prince Daemon Targaryen (Caraxes) | Prince Aemond Targaryen (Vhagar) |
| Casualties | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Prince Daemon Targaryen (killed, body never recovered) Caraxes (killed) | Prince Aemond Targaryen (killed) Vhagar (killed) |
- Rhaenyra's reign collapses from within. The Storming of the Dragonpit. The riots of King's Landing. She flees the city.
- 22nd day of the 10th moon — Rhaenyra is captured at Dragonstone. Aegon II feeds her to his dragon Sunfyre before the eyes of her son Aegon the Younger. She is called the Half-Year Queen.
- 9th day of the 12th moon — Sunfyre dies of his wounds on Dragonstone.
131 AC
The Final Battle
- The war continues without Rhaenyra. Three Black armies march on King's Landing. Aegon II, cornered, is found dead in his litter — poisoned wine, most believe. He was twenty-two years old.
Battle of the Kingsroad
| Date | 131 AC |
| Place | The Kingsroad, Crownlands |
| Result | Black victory — final battle of the Dance |
| Combatants | |
| House Targaryen / Blacks | House Targaryen / Greens |
| House Tully House Blackwood House Frey House Mallister House Bracken House Vance House Darry | House Baratheon |
| Commanders | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Lord Kermit Tully Lord Benjicot Blackwood Alysanne Blackwood Lady Sabitha Frey | Lord Borros Baratheon |
| Strength | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| ~6,000 rivermen | ~6,000 Baratheon men |
| Casualties | |
| Blacks | Greens |
| Unknown | Lord Borros Baratheon (killed by Lord Kermit Tully) |
- 7th day of the 7th moon — Prince Aegon the Younger weds Princess Jaehaera Targaryen. He is crowned the same day as Aegon III Targaryen. The Dance of the Dragons is done.
- Lord Cregan Stark seizes control of King's Landing in what becomes known as the Hour of the Wolf, presides over trials of those accused of poisoning Aegon II, then relinquishes power and returns north. Corlys Velaryon is named Hand of the King.
- A council of seven regents is established to govern during Aegon III's minority. The Long Regency begins.
131 – 132 AC
The realm is battered. Winter sets in. Famine grips the North. The Iron Islands raid the western coasts. The Stepstones fall to the flamboyant Tyroshi adventurer Racallio Ryndoon. The last dragons dwindle and die one by one. Alys Rivers holds Harrenhal with her son, whom she claims is Aemond's trueborn heir; a Kingsguard knight sent to remove her is killed, possibly by sorcery.
132 AC
- 6th day of the 3rd moon — Death of Lord Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, on the serpentine steps of the Red Keep. He was seventy-nine. His grandson Alyn, sixteen, attempts to claim his seat on the regency council and is sent home to Driftmark.
- Lord Unwin Peake takes Corlys's place on the regency council.
- Baela Targaryen flees an arranged match to Lord Thaddeus Rowan and weds Alyn Velaryon on Driftmark.
- Rhaena Targaryen weds Ser Corwyn Corbray, her own choice, approved by the regents.
133 AC
- 3rd day of the new year — The Winter Fever arrives in King's Landing. Three of every four who contract it die. Among the dead: Ser Tyland Lannister, the Hand of the King; Ser Willis Fell of the Kingsguard; Alicent Hightower, the Dowager Queen. Aegon III moves among the sick daily, holding their hands — the smallfolk call it the king's healing touch.
- 22nd day of the 9th moon — Death of Queen Jaehaera Targaryen. She was ten years old. Circumstantial evidence points toward Lord Peake; nothing was ever proved.
- The Maiden's Day Ball. Peake proposes his daughter Myrielle as Aegon's new queen. Lords across the realm object. Over a thousand maidens attend the ball. Baela and Rhaena arrive on horseback with young Daenaera Velaryon — orphaned, silver-haired, six years old — riding with them. Aegon smiles at her and makes his choice. Peake rides behind the royal litter with a face described as grim as death.
- Peake, outmaneuvered but not finished, argues successfully for a new law raising the age of marriage and succession to eighteen. The argument — that older brides survive childbed at higher rates and stillbirths are less common — is medically sound and impossible to oppose publicly. The law passes.
134 AC
- Lord Alyn Velaryon returns from his western voyage. He does not return alone — he has retrieved Prince Viserys, Aegon III's younger brother, believed lost since the Battle of the Gullet four years prior. The reunion lifts something in the young king that had not moved since the day his mother died.
- Baela presents Alyn with their newborn daughter, named Laena after her mother.
135 AC
- White ravens fly from Oldtown. The long winter is over.
- The Lysene Spring: the Rogare Bank atop Visenya's Hill pays rich returns, Lysene ships crowd the Blackwater Rush, and trade flourishes for the first time since before the Dance.
- Rhaena Targaryen flies her dragon Morning over King's Landing for the first time. The sight of a living dragon moves the city to joy.
- Rhaena is widowed when Ser Corwyn Corbray is killed at Runestone during an attempt to settle the Vale succession dispute.
- Gaemon Palehair — who had served as Aegon's whipping boy, suffering punishment in the king's place — is poisoned alongside Daenaera Velaryon. Grand Maester Munkun's swift intervention saves Daenaera. Gaemon dies. Daenaera is sent home to Driftmark.
- The Secret Siege. Ser Marston Waters arrests the Hand and the Rogare-aligned regents and names himself Hand. Aegon III and his brother Viserys barricade themselves in Maegor's Holdfast for eighteen days. Viserys exposes the false confession used to justify the coup. Marston Waters is killed. The coup fails.
136 AC
- The Great Assembly. Lords summoned to choose new regents and a new Hand. Unwin Peake arrives with fifteen hundred men and is ignored. Three new regents are chosen by lot. Torrhen Manderly of White Harbor is named Hand. Peake departs court, never to return.
- Trials are held for those involved in the Secret Siege. Most take the black.
138 AC
- On the morning of his eighteenth nameday, King Aegon III walks into the council chamber, dismisses his regents and his Hand, and begins his personal rule. The regency is over. There will be no progress. Aegon III rules in his own right.
- Larra Rogare gives birth to a daughter, Naerys — her third child by Prince Viserys.
139 AC
Larra Rogare departs Westeros and returns to Lys, citing her perpetual unhappiness. Her three children — Aegon, Aemon, and Naerys — remain with their father, Prince Viserys. Those who had known the formerly charming, lively prince note a marked sternness in him thereafter.