The Entire Game Of Thrones Timeline Explained

This article contains a discussion of suicide.

Anyone who's watched "Game of Thrones" knows that it's a massive, sprawling universe centered largely around the country of Westeros, a huge landmass that happens to be home to the Iron Throne. The person who sits on that throne rules what's known as the "Seven Kingdoms" but is actually nine regions — the North, the Iron Islands, the Vale, the Riverlands, the Stormlands, the Westerlands, the Reach, the Crown, and Dorne — and wields an enormous amount of power, so it makes sense that people are always squabbling over that pointy chair.

This entire universe was created by George R.R. Martin in his nobel series "A Song of Ice and Fire" — which released the first book, "A Game of Thrones," in 1996 — and in 2011, HBO brought the world to the small screen with an adaptation helmed by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. To say the show, titled "Game of Thrones," was a massive success is an understatement; fantasy went "mainstream" thanks to its pop culture footprint, and by the time the show ended in 2019, it earned a whopping 59 Emmy Awards. It's also spawning spinoffs — "House of the Dragon" and "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," both of which also found a home on HBO.

So what is the entire timeline of the literary and cinematic universe that's home to "Game of Thrones?" Well, quite a lot happens before "Game of Thrones" — and even before "House of the Dragon," a prequel to the original series — so let's get into it. Here's the "Game of Thrones" timeline, explained ... though it should be noted that, because this story spans hundreds of pages in Martin's books, we've done some condensing. 

Before the First Men come to Westeros, it's inhabited by non-human creatures like the Children of the Forest ... but in 12,000 BAC, those First Men show up around Dorne and start overtaking the country. ("BAC" is the first form of time measurement we'll encounter in this timeline, and it stands for Before Aegon's Conquest; obviously, we'll circle back to Aegon and his conquest before long.) War breaks out between the Children and First Men, and they eventually sign a peace treaty and retreat to separate corners of the continent. Thus, the "Age of Heroes" begins (and, in "Game of Thrones," we learn that the Night King is created by the Children in this time period).

This is also when Westeros experiences its first "Long Night" on record (and when we say first on record, we mean that the Children may have lived through Long Nights but didn't keep track; this one was noted by the First Men). Potentially spurred by the existence of the undead ice zombie known as the Night King, this Long Night is a seemingly endless winter that kicks off in 8,000 BAC and allows White Walkers to infiltrate Westeros and massacre the First Men. The Children and First Men come together to beat back the White Walkers, the legend of Azor Ahai is born, and a man named Brandon Stark leads the charge against the White Walkers ... and wins. A Wall is built to separate Westeros from the far North, and the people beyond the wall deem themselves "free folk," or "wildlings."

Around 6,000 BAC, the Andals, who hail from the free landmass known as Essos, cross the Narrow Sea and find their way to the Vale, attacking the Children of the Forest as they move further North. (They end up wiping out the Children and ending their line.) During this same timeframe, the Iron Islands are settled by a group of men who come up with the incredibly original name "Ironborn."

The invasion of the Andals changes quite a bit about the overall landscape of Westeros, which includes the fall of Valyria. During the invasion — around 5,000 BAC — the people of the Valyrian peninsula find dragons and are able to tame them using magic; though the Valyrians fight great battles with their dragons, they can't escape nature, and when a volcano range known as the Fourteen Fires erupts, the city is leveled and covered in ash. The area around Valyria, which includes the Free Cities, sees some infighting but eventually settles down. The Andals are now just ... regular guys in Westeros, and great Houses start forming, including House Bolton, House Martell (in Dorne), and House Frey; House Targaryen, meanwhile, marks its territory in Dragonstone. This is also the time when the Rhoynar migrate from Valyrian and marry Andals and First Men alike, creating a rich cultural tapestry in Westeros.

We can now dispense with the BAC time classification and move to AC, which signifies "After Conquest. King Aegon I, known as Aegon the Conqueror, decides to put the free cities aside and invade Westeros, and he's got a secret weapon: three dragons that survived the Doom of Valyria and are the only remaining dragons known in Westeros or beyond. Aegon absolutely decimates everything in his path, including a newly built Harrenhal, and the Tullys of Riverrun are one of the first major Houses of Westeros to join Aegon's side. House Lannister begins this entire thing fighting Aegon, but as he fells their forces, Aegon graciously allows the Lannisters to continue their line. The king designates specific areas of Westeros for different great houses — Lannisters get the Westerlands, House Tyrell gets the Reach, and after Aegon's bastard half-brother Orys Baratheon kills a major enemy of Aegon's known as the Storm King, the Baratheons get the Stormlands. Basically, Aegon is so powerful that he's able to take over Westeros outright, which is why he's such a legendary figure for centuries afterwards.

After giving Dorne permission to remain independent, Aegon is recognized as the true king of the Seven Kingdoms in Oldtown and builds King's Landing, which becomes the capital of all of Westeros. This kicks off one of the most significant dynasties in the history of Westeros.

There are, to put it lightly, a lot of Targaryen rulers, and a lot of them share names (Aegon is a popular choice, which makes this entire enterprise pretty confusing at points). Aegon I dies and his son Aenys, the product of a relationship between Aegon and one of his sisters, is born (you may notice that incest is also a common thing with the Targaryens as we continue). That guy only gets five years on the throne before he dies prematurely and is replaced by Maegor, Aenys' half-brother, who steals the throne from Aenys' children. An unpopular king, Maegor dies by suicide rather than face a revolt, and the throne passes to Aenys' son Jaehaerys I. 

Jaehaerys rules for 55 years over a pretty peaceful situation — we're now at 103 AC — and King Viserys I Targaryen is named as his successor. Played on "House of the Dragon" by Paddy Considine, Viserys is a kind and good-hearted ruler who narrowly wins the throne over his cousin Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best on the series), who becomes known as the Queen Who Never Was. Viserys has a problem, though: he only has one child, and it's a girl named Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock during the first five episodes of "House of the Dragon"). When his wife Aemma (Sian Brooke) dies in childbirth with their son and the baby also perishes, Viserys finally anoints Rhaenyra as his one true heir, but he also marries her childhood friend Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey in those same five episodes) and has children with her, threatening Rhaenyra's claim to the throne ... particularly because Alicent and Viserys' first child is a boy.

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Viserys I Targaryen dies of old age in 132 AC, and that's when the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons begins. ("House of the Dragon" uses George R.R. Martin's text "Fire & Blood" as its source material.) In his dying moments, Viserys says Aegon, and though he's talking about a prophecy from Aegon the Conqueror that he already shared with Rhaenyra (now played by Emma D'Arcy), Alicent, now played by Olivia Cooke, thinks he's referring to their son Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), and she fights to install him on the throne. This infighting is benign enough until Rhaenyra's second-eldest son Lucerys Velaryon (Elliott Grihault) and his dragon are both killed by Alicent's second-eldest son Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) and his much-larger dragon during a fight in the skies.

Rhaenyra vows revenge against her own kin, and the Dance of the Dragons sees a ton of royal casualties, including Rhaenys — and Aegon II loses two children to assassins and then is grievously wounded during the Battle of Rook's Rest. If we fast-forward through this conflict at a very fast pace, it all ends with Aegon II, still suffering from his injuries, feeding his own aunt, Rhaenyra, to his dragon. After Aegon II dies of natural causes, Rhaenyra's son Aegon III is free to take the throne, but after this conflict, pretty much all the dragons in Westeros have been wiped out ... or so everyone thinks.

A bunch of Targaryens rule in the background — including Aegon IV, who earns the flattering nickname Aegon the Unworthy and is regarded as one of the worst kings in Westerosi history — as the Blackfyre rebellion takes shape around 195 AC. This comes about when a man named Daemon Blackfyre, a bastard child fathered by Aegon IV, claims that the current king, his half-brother Daeron II Targaryen, isn't Aegon IV's son and can't rule. Daemon claims the Iron Throne for himself and marches towards King's Landing with a considerable army behind him; though he's met by Daeron's sons Baelor and Maelor, the battle is hard-fought. Daeron is ultimately aided by Dornish forces, and after Daemon Blackfyre is slain during the extraordinarily bloody conflict known as the Battle of the Redgrass Field, Daeron ensures that Dorne will remain free.

Shortly thereafter, Ser Duncan the Tall, a noble knight, runs afoul of some members of the Targaryen family but forms a close friendship with yet another Prince Aegon Targaryen, the grandson of Daeron and son of Maekar, who becomes his squire. This interlude, which concerns the adventures of "Dunk" and "Egg," is chronicled in the novellas "Tales of Dunk and Egg" (also by George R.R. Martin). Eventually, more Targaryen kings rise and fall and Aegon V Targaryen brings peace to Westeros; he's killed in a fire in 259 AC, at which point Aerys II Targaryen takes the throne.

To say that the reign of Aerys II Targaryen is chaotic is ... an understatement. Along with his sister-wife Rhaella Targaryen, Aerys has a whole bunch of children, but the "important" ones are Rhaegar Targaryen, Viserys Targaryen, and Daenerys Targaryen (played in "Game of Thrones" by Wilf Scolding, Harry Lloyd, and Emilia Clarke).

During Aerys II's reign, though, an enterprising Lannister, Tywin (Charles Dance on the series), proves so ruthless against his enemies that Aerys names him Hand of the King; this decision will come back to haunt the king later. A problem presents itself when Rhaegar, despite his marriage to Elia Martell of Dorne, publicly expresses interest in Lyanna Stark of the North (played on the show by Aisling Franciosi), sister of Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean). Put a pin in that, because first, we're going to tackle the conflict known as Robert's Rebellion.

Because of the murders of two Starks, Ned and his friend Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy on the show) begin a rebellion that's eventually named for Robert himself, as he emerges as the next King of Westeros. Thanks to a series of political marriages, the Starks, Tullys, and Arryns band together behind Robert, and Aerys sends Viserys and Rhaella, who's pregnant with Daenerys, to Dragonstone for safety. Rhaegar is killed by Robert for stealing Robert's first love, Lyanna, and as the Lannisters sack King's Landing, Aerys tells the leader of his Kingsguard, Tywin's son Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), he intends to destroy the city. Jaime kills Aerys and becomes the Kingslayer, Robert marries Jaime's twin sister Cersei (Lena Headey), and a new age is born.

Let's quickly circle back to Rhaegar and Lyanna — because here's the thing. Even though Robert and his allies think Lyanna was kidnapped by Rhaegar, the truth is that the two were in love and secretly married. After their marriage, Lyanna gives birth to a son, Aemon Targaryen ... but she dies after childbirth and begs her brother Ned, who discovers her in her birthing chamber in the Tower of Joy, to hide her son from Robert.

Ned raises the boy as his own "bastard," much to the chagrin of his wife Catelyn (Michelle Fairley). We eventually learn that this alleged bastard, Jon Snow (Kit Harington), is technically next in line for the throne of Westeros as Rhaegar's legitimate heir, so this is a pretty important twist for this entire situation.

Fast forward quite a bit to when Jon Arryn mysteriously dies late in Robert's reign ... and Ned is called to serve in his stead as Robert's Hand of the King. Ned, who schleps his daughters Arya (Maisie Williams) and Sansa (Sophie Turner) to King's Landing, is beheaded for his troubles, leaving his eldest son Robb (Richard Madden) to fight for his father after he's executed for "treason" by the Lannisters. (His crime, specifically, is that he correctly points out that Cersei and Robert's "children" are definitely products of a relationship between Cersei and her own brother Jaime, and thus are illegitimate bastards.) Elsewhere, Daenerys is married to a Dothraki warlord named Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), and when he dies, she's reborn from his funeral pyre with three baby dragons, having brought eggs into the flames.

This kicks off the War of the Five Kings in 298 AC, in which Starks, Baratheons, Lannisters, and Greyjoys all duke it out for control of the Seven Kingdoms (and, in the case of the Starks and Greyjoys, independence for the North and Iron Islands). That's when everything intensifies thanks to a conflict now infamously called the "Red Wedding."

While Daenerys, still across the Narrow Sea, purchases armies and ships — including a massive and lethal force known as the Unsullied — trouble is brewing in Westeros. After Robb reneges on his engagement to a daughter of House Frey and marries a woman named Talisa (Oona Chaplin) for love instead, the Freys turn on the Starks and kill Robb, Catelyn, Talisa, and their forces during the Red Wedding. This leaves Sansa, now married to Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), despondent ... and she and her new husband are suspects when Cersei's son, the evil King Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), is poisoned at his wedding to Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer).

The second youngest Stark, Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), is up north learning to become the omniscient Three-Eyed Raven, and Arya is on the run, eventually making it to the free city of Braavos to become a faceless assassin. Daenerys spends some time in slave cities like Mereen trying to eradicate said slavery, and Tyrion escapes King's Landing, but not before killing his own father Tywin. Around this time, Jon Snow also has his first major battle with the Night King's full army after aligning himself with free folk beyond the Wall, and as they leave a hard-fought battle at the settlement of Hardhome, they watch as the Night King raises their dead with a flick of his hand, quadrupling his forces. 

After Jon Snow is killed by his own men at Castle Black in a mutiny and revived by a Red Priestess, he throws off his black robes and decides to find allies to try and stop the threat of the White Walkers coming from the North. At the same time, Daenerys, who was driven out of Mereen by rebels named Sons of the Harpy, is captured by Dothraki hordes; after setting fire to one of their camps and killing many of her captors, the survivors pledge allegiance to her and her three fully-grown dragons, adding to her army.

Ultimately, Daenerys and Tyrion (who becomes her Hand of the King after crossing the Narrow Sea) ally with Jon Snow — though, during a dangerous mission to the North, one of Daenerys' dragons, Viserion, is felled by the Night King and resurrected as an undead zombie. Unfortunately, Viserion does return for the Battle of Winterfell, but Arya, using her training in Braavos, kills the Night King with Valyrian steel before his armies can fully overtake the humans fighting them.

With one vital threat out of the way, Daenerys guns for Cersei ... but loses herself in the process. After watching another dragon, Rhaegal, die — as well as her closest friend and confidante Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) — Daenerys lays waste to King's Landing while atop her largest and last dragon Drogon, and though she kills Cersei and Jaime and takes the city, Tyrion and Jon are shocked. Ultimately, Jon kills Daenerys for the good of the realm, Tyrion suggests that Bran become the next ruler — and gets a job as Hand of the King in the process — and Jon happily returns to the far North, concluding this "Game of Thrones" timeline (for now).

"House of the Dragon" and "Game of Thrones" are available to stream on HBO Max.