The mother of Dragons reignited the blood and fire of Westeros. Nonetheless, for a long time, it was everything that the Seven Kingdoms had. Once upon a time, her family dominated the Land with the strength of a living flame. House of the Dragon will take you back to the time when House Targaryen was at the height of its dominance.
Though, when precisely did it happen? Who others from prominent households participated in that bloody civil war? Here is when the events of the spinoff series occur in relation to the main Game of Thrones chronology.
House of the Dragon Timeline
Since the showrunners have revealed the miniseries will take place centuries before the events of the original Game of Thrones, the likelihood of seeing familiar faces like Arya Stark or Cersei in a special appearance is, to put it mildly, low. Because of changes made in adapting George R. R. Martin’s novels for television, it will be difficult to pinpoint when the show takes the premise in the chronology, which runs from before to after Aegon’s triumph and uses the notation BC and AC.
The events of Game of Thrones were said to have occurred around 298 AC, thus it’s possible that this miniseries may be set around 100 AC. Nevertheless, neither Martin nor showrunners have verified this.
How House of the Dragon Connects to Game of Thrones
The central theme in House of the Dragon would take place over a considerably shorter time frame, however, the show will span a much longer amount of time altogether. In 103 A.C., the Old King, Jaeherys I, sets the ball in motion. There was no clear line of succession after the longest-reigning Targaryen monarch. A Great Council had already declared his grandson Viserys successor to the crown before he passed away, and thus Viserys became king.
Upon his demise, Viserys I hoped to dodge any inquiries about who might succeed him as king. So in 105 AC, King Aegon IV had all the Lords of Westeros vow to recognize his child Rhaenyra as Princess of Dragonstone as well as his successor. After the tragic loss of his spouse, while laboring, Viserys made her his first choice. Rhaenrya was going to be the first female ruler of Westeros since he had no living sons.
That, unfortunately, wasn’t without debate. Viserys favored her above his brother Daemon, the obvious rightful heir. Yet it wasn’t until a year later that things really began to go south. Together with Alicent Hightower, Viserys bore a son named Aegon. Although her elder half-sister was the more deserving successor, Queen Alicent had her eye on the Iron Throne for her son.
Notwithstanding the King’s best attempts to restore the truce and his desire that Rhaenrya continues running his kingdom, tensions between Rhaenyra and Alicent’s followers and the latter’s grew throughout Viserys’ rule. After King Viserys was killed in 129 AC, a long-simmering conflict that had already seen considerable bloodshed escalated into a full-scale civil war.
The Dance of the Dragons was a devastating two-year event that finally ended in 131 AC. This puts the show’s timeline around two centuries before the events of Game of Thrones.
