WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon and George R.R. Martin's book, Fire & Blood!There were 10 confirmed Aegon Targaryens before Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, half of whom would play massive roles in history by becoming King of Westeros. Game of Thrones’ major families are known for reusing many names throughout their lineage, such as House Stark commonly using the name Rickon or Brandon. House Targaryen, however, is especially notable for paying homage to past members of their family as namesakes, with Aegon being the most common name due to its association with the most famous Targaryen in Westerosi history.
Both the first and last major Targaryens in Westeros are named Aegon Targaryen, with many kings giving this moniker to their heirs in hopes of bringing more greatness upon their house. House of the Dragon’s reveal of Aegon the Conqueror’s Song of Ice and Fire dream also gives the tradition and legacy of House Targaryen’s name a deeper meaning. Many Aegons likely received their names out of the belief that they would fulfill the Conqueror’s prophecy by sitting on the Iron Throne and defeating the White Walkers, which would ultimately be true for Jon Snow in Game of Thrones’ ending. Here’s a breakdown of all 11 known Aegon Targaryens in Game of Thrones history and what happened to them.
1 King Aegon The Conqueror
The first known Aegon Targaryen is the one who conquered Westeros alongside his sister-wives Rhaenys and Visenya. The dragonrider had been the Lord of Dragonstone before experiencing a prophetic dream, which told him that a Targaryen king or queen strong enough to unite the realm would sit on the Iron Throne and lead the battle against the White Walkers. While the rest of Westeros perceives it as such, Aegon’s Conquest wasn't simply an ambitious search for power, but an obligation and responsibility to defend the living against the dead.
While Aegon was unsuccessful in conquering Dorne during his lifetime, he would still unite six of the seven kingdoms under his rule as one Westerosi realm. With the power of his dragon Balerion, his seat on the Iron Throne, and the complete reconstruction of King’s Landing, King Aegon I Targaryen began a dynasty that would last for 300 years. Aegon would die of a stroke 37 years into his reign, with his powerful legacy leading numerous Targaryens to name their heirs after him. Of course, Game of Thrones confirms Aegon’s dream did come true, with his descendant uniting the realm against the feared cold and dark.
2 Aegon The Uncrowned
Game of Thrones’ second Aegon was the grandson of the Conqueror. The eldest child of Aegon I Targaryen’s son King Aenys I Targaryen was also named Aegon, but he wouldn’t become the King of Westeros. After the death of King Aenys I, his younger half-brother Maegor the Cruel, the Conqueror’s son, usurped the Iron Throne from Aenys’ son Prince Aegon. Maegor stealing the throne earned his nephew the nickname Aegon the Uncrowned, although Aegon’s mother Alyssa still declared him king. While fighting for his throne, Aegon perished when dueling Maegor on their dragons Quicksilver and Balerion, respectively.
3 Aegon Targaryen (Son Of Jaehaerys I)
Since Maegor left no children upon his death, Aenys’ thirdborn son and Prince Aegon’s younger brother Jaehaerys ascended the Iron Throne. King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and his sister-wife Alysanne Targaryen had 13 children, only nine of whom lived to be teenagers and adults. Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s firstborn child was named Aegon Targaryen after their brother and grandfather, but the baby was born too early and died only three days after he was born. House of the Dragon gives more context to Jaehaerys naming his first son Aegon, as the Old King was the one who fiercely believed in the Conqueror’s dream and passed its importance onto his heir King Viserys I Targaryen.
4 Aegon Targaryen (Son Of Baelon)
King Viserys I and Prince Daemon Targaryen provide the greatest exploration of brotherhood in House of the Dragon, but they once had another sibling who bore the name of the Conqueror. Viserys and Daemon’s father Baelon, the thirdborn son of Jaehaerys, had a child named Aegon when Daemon and Viserys were still children. Baelon and his sister-wife Alyssa Targaryen’s third son was born three years after Daemon, but he died before reaching his first birthday.
5 King Aegon The Elder
One of the most notable Aegons in Game of Thrones history is King Aegon II Targaryen, also known as Aegon the Elder. Aegon is the son of King Viserys I Targaryen and Queen Alicent Hightower, and the younger half-brother of Rhaenyra Targaryen. House of the Dragon reveals that Aegon was given his name after Viserys saw his ascendance in a dragon dream. Viserys’ dream told him that he would have a son bearing the Conqueror’s crown, which ended up being true in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 9 when Aegon usurped the throne from his sister Rhaenyra.
Called Aegon the Elder due to his nephew sharing his name, the House of the Dragon character will be king for the majority of the series. Aegon and his sister Rhaenyra will begin a civil war as they fight for the Iron Throne, with Rhaenyra briefly taking King’s Landing from her brother. Aegon ends up killing Rhaenyra and reclaiming the Iron Throne, but is soon poisoned by his own men. Since his trueborn children were killed during the Dance of the Dragons, King Aegon II Targaryen's death means he's succeeded by Rhaenyra’s eldest living son.
6 King Aegon The Younger
Aegon the Younger was the first child born to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen and Prince Daemon Targaryen, but he had five older siblings from his parents’ previous marriages. Aegon also had a younger brother Viserys, who survived the Dance of the Dragons alongside their half-sisters Baela and Rhaena Targaryen. After the deaths of Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Velaryon, Aegon the Younger became the heir to his mother Queen Rhaenyra, who was killed by the dragon of her half-brother King Aegon. While Aegon II wanted to execute Rhaenyra’s son, he was advised to keep the Younger alive, which led to Rhaenyra’s oldest living child inheriting the Iron Throne.
It’s unclear whether Rhaenyra passed the Conqueror's dream onto Aegon the Younger before her death in House of the Dragon, but it seems likely considering how dedicated she was to its legacy and how vulnerable she was to being killed. Nonetheless, Aegon the Broken reigned in Westeros for 26 years and had five children, with two of his sons succeeding him on the Iron Throne. King Aegon III Targaryen is most notable in Game of Thrones history for rebuilding Westeros after his mother and uncle’s deaths as well as seeing the last of the dragons die out during his reign – until Daenerys Targaryen magically hatched her dragons 150 years later.
7 King Aegon The Unworthy
The next Game of Thrones figure named after Aegon the Conqueror is the child of King Viserys II Targaryen, the son of Rhaenyra and Daemon and the younger brother of King Aegon III. Following King Viserys II’s death, his eldest son Aegon IV Targaryen succeeded him on the Iron Throne, but his reign is not remembered well. Also called Aegon the Unworthy, the fourth ruler to bear the Conqueror’s name is known as one of the worst kings in Westerosi history. King Aegon IV Targaryen sired numerous bastards, grew to be corrupt and morbidly obese before his death, and legitimized his baseborn children on his deathbed, which led to five generations of Blackfyre Rebellions.
8 King Aegon The Unlikely
Following King Aegon IV Targaryen, the next Aegon was his great-grandson. Aegon V Targaryen, also known as “Egg,” was the fourth-born son of King Maekar I Targaryen, earning him his nickname “the Unlikely” due to his birth order. Before Aegon became King of Westeros, his brothers Daeron and Aerion died, while his brother Aemon joined the Night’s Watch as a Maester and ceded his claim. Consequently, King Aegon V Targaryen, who squired for the fabled Ser Duncan the Tall in his youth, ascended the Iron Throne upon his father’s death. Egg primarily dealt with uprisings during his reign before dying in the Tragedy at Summerhall while trying to hatch dragon eggs.
9 Aegon Targaryen (Son Of Aerys II)
Catching up to Game of Thrones’ timeline, the son of the Mad King Aerys was the ninth confirmed Aegon in Westerosi history. Aegon was the fifth of King Aerys II Targaryen’s eight children, though only three – Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys – would live to adulthood. Aerys and his sister-wife Rhaella’s son Aegon was born two months premature, having died just a year after his birth. As such, Game of Thrones' Daenerys and Viserys were never able to meet their brother named after the Conqueror.
10 Aegon Targaryen (Son Of Elia Martell)
Prince Rhaegar Targaryen had two children with Elia Martell before her death, with his firstborn son being named Aegon Targaryen. Rhaegar was notably obsessed with the Prince That Was Promised prophecy, so naming his son Aegon was no coincidence. In Game of Thrones’ books, Dany has a vision of Rhaegar holding his son and saying, “Aegon. What better name for a king…He is the prince that was promised, and his will be the song of ice and fire.” The latter part of Rhaegar’s quote happened to be inscribed on the Conqueror’s Valyrian steel dagger, indicating he saw his son as Aegon’s prophesied savior.
In Game of Thrones, the infant Prince Aegon was killed by the Mountain at the end of Robert’s Rebellion, supposedly leaving none of Rhaegar’s heirs alive. However, the books feature a character called Young Griff who claims that he’s Aegon Targaryen and that his death was faked, though this plot wasn’t included in the TV show. Since the books haven’t been completed, it’s still unclear if Young Griff is actually Rhaegar’s elder son Aegon.
11 Jon Snow
The last Targaryen in Westeros has a fitting moniker, as Jon Snow’s real name was revealed as Aegon Targaryen in Game of Thrones’ season 7 finale. After believing that he was the bastard son of Ned Stark, Jon discovered that he was actually the trueborn son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, who married in secret before their deaths. As Rhaegar’s son, Jon was not only the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, but also the prophesied Prince That Was Promised and the Targaryen king that Aegon saw in his dream.
However, Jon won’t ascend the Iron Throne after being banished to the Night’s Watch, as he killed Queen Daenerys Targaryen. Still, he could technically be called King Aegon VI Targaryen given his short stint as the King in the North. While it may not have been given proper attention in the final season, Jon Snow’s reckoning with his true parentage and identity as the last Aegon Targaryen will be further explored in the character’s upcoming Game of Thrones sequel series.