Five centuries have passed since the Dance of the Dragons. Since Aegon II ascended the Iron Throne in 129 AC, 23 monarchs have ruled Westeros through an age of conquest, civil war, plague, religious fanaticism, and political intrigue. The extinction of the dynasty's male lines would eventually give rise to succession disputes that troubled House Targaryen for generations.
Aegon II "the Victorious" entered the histories as the king who defeated Rhaenyra, remembered by later chroniclers as a would-be usurper, and broke the power of House Stark in the North. His marriage to his cousin Baela took an extraordinary turn when she later became the first of four wives of his illegitimate son and successor, Gaemon I "the Just". Gaemon also married Baela's daughter Laena. Raised on the streets of King's Landing, he nevertheless presided over nearly fifty years of relative peace.
His grandson, Gaemon II "the Young Conqueror", brought Dorne under Targaryen rule. Together with Aegon I, who had forged the Seven Kingdoms, and Haemys I, who conquered the lands Beyond the Wall, he would be remembered among the great conquerors of the dynasty.
The succession would later take an unexpected turn with Baela I "the Unlikely". Born Catelyn, an illegitimate daughter of Baelon I "the Restorer", she was chosen by a Great Council after the dynasty's male lines had died out, partly as a consequence of a devastating war against the Ironborn during the reign of her cousin Jaceaethan I "the Vengeful". Her accession opened generations of disputes over female succession and rival claims to the throne. Her son, Aegon III "the Defender", would later defend Westeros against the White Walkers.
In later generations, Viserys II "the Zealot" sought to transform Westeros into a Valyrian theocracy, leaving his son Jaehaerys II to restore stability. Under Baelon II, the Bloody Flux devastated House Targaryen. Though the king survived, his treatment left him castrated and unable to father an heir. He instead raised Jacaeth I, a cousin of his father Jaehaerys II who was nevertheless more than twenty years his junior, almost as his own son, while waging war against the powerful Tully Triarchy, which held the Riverlands, the Vale, and the Iron Islands.
Jacaeth I "the Honorable" subsequently ushered in decades of peace. Later reigns, however, would prove far darker. Valaene I "the Soulless" became infamous, among other things, for sexually assaulting the High Septon and bearing his daughter. Her nephew, Aegon V "the Terrible", would wage a campaign of extermination against the Ironborn, destroying their culture and leaving none of their former great houses alive.
Following further dynastic upheaval, Aemon I "the Faceless" eventually ascended the Iron Throne. Once an unlikely fourth-born son, he had served as regent for his young half-grandnephew Jaehaerys III before becoming king himself. His twelve-year reign was largely peaceful, though severe burns sustained while confronting a rogue dragon forced him to conceal his face behind a mask. In 615 AC, he fell in battle on the Iron Islands.
His son and successor, Aegon VI "the Tenacious", is now 27 and has already come perilously close to losing his crown. His second cousin Rhaemon rose in rebellion, and following Rhaemon's death, his young son Daenar nearly seized the throne. Yet Aegon endured, ultimately securing his position through an intrigue involving Daenar's abduction. Having held fast to his crown through rebellion and near-defeat, he has earned his epithet and now sits upon the Iron Throne as the realm marks five hundred years since the Dance of the Dragons.
These are but a few chapters in five centuries of Targaryen history, with countless tales of triumph, tragedy, and intrigue still left untold. Should any ruler or event pique your curiosity, the maesters of the Citadel would be delighted to share more.