10 facts about the Iron Throne that you may not know

Many curiosities about the Iron Throne are related to its history, its origin, which dates back to the time of Aegon the Conqueror. Then as now, it is a symbol of war, victory, conquest and power. Readers of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (which is based on Game of Thrones) and Fire and Blood (which House of the Dragon is based on) know many of its secrets, and chances are good that others emerge over the course of the series. In this article, we have collected 10 curiosities about the Game of Thrones, its origin, the legends concerning it and the great battles that preceded its realization.

10 curiosities about the Game of Thrones that perhaps don't you know

Where are King's Landing and Game of Thrones located? The Alliance between Lord Moonton of Maidenpool and Lord Darklyn of Duskendale The end of House Hoare and his swords The Last Storm The Field of Fire The creation of the Iron Throne and its true appearance Only the swords of the defeated enemies "A king he should never feel comfortable ”Who can sit on the Throne? Does the Throne kill those it deems not worthy?

Where are King's Landing and the Iron Throne?

Aegon Taragryen had long planned to take Westeros after the Valyrian Disaster. In fact, he had a painted table built that had the shape of Westeros; However, there were no borders between the various kingdoms, because Aegon wanted to conquer them all and unite them in one kingdom. What was later known as the Painted Table was a source of inspiration for King Viserys Targaryen in the construction of his version of the Painted Table, although his is very different from Aegon's: in the Viserys table, we see a model not of Westeros, but of ancient Valyria, as proof of his intent to bring his House back to the glories of the past.

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After his conquest of Westeros, which not only included Dorne, Aegon did not move his headquarters to Dragonstone, but built his new city on the Blackwater shore where he first disembarked, and named the new settlement King's Landing. And it was also Aegon who created the Iron Throne. In 35 AC, Aegon had Aegon Fort razed to the ground and replaced it with the much more impressive and robust Red Fortress, built around the Throne itself, mainly because its size and weight made it impossible to move.

The Alliance between Lord Moonton of Maidenpool and Lord Darklyn of Duskendale

Aegon, however, ambushed his enemies, with Orys Baratheon at the leading the ground troops and Aegon himself aboard his dragon, Balerion the Black Terror. Orys is, most likely, a bastard son of Aerion Targaryen and, therefore, Aegon the Conqueror's half-brother, and one of his best commanders. His ever-growing career led him to become Hand of the King, once Aegon was officially crowned king. Furthermore, Orys is the founder of House Baratheon, historically linked to House Targaryen precisely because of the relationship between Aegon and Orys.

The end of House Hoare and its swords

Once the Blackwater territories were safe and his surviving lords had sworn allegiance to him, Aegon was able to march northwest to the Eye of God and the Lands of the Rivers to face Lord Harren Hoare, known as Harren the Black, who had barricaded himself in his massive and mighty castle of Harrenhall.



Confident in the strength and endurance of his stone ramparts, Lord Harren opposed Aegon until the latter, on the back of his Balerion, set fire to the fortress, melting everything, even the very rock of which it was composed, and thus killing everyone inside, including Lord Harren and his last heirs. remained. House Hoare was extinguished, and Aegon had the heat-twisted swords of the fallen loaded into chariots to send them to Aegon Fort.

The Last Storm

Argilac Durrandon, called the King of the Storm, was also loaded. he attempted to oppose Aegon's conquest, and gathered his forces and those of his allies at Storm's End. Not wanting to be burned alive in his castle like the Hoare, he decided to shift the fighting outside, leading his army onto the battlefield against the Targaryens and their allies.

The forces of Argilac and Aegon clashed in the Stormlands in the battle later known as the Last Storm. Eventually, Aegon emerged triumphant once again, thanks in part to his closest friend, Orys Baratheon, who managed to take down Argilac on the battlefield. Later, Orys Baratheon married the young widow of Argilac, Lady Argella Durrandon, thus making Storm's End and the seal of his wife's House, a crowned deer, his own.



Like the swords of Maidenpool and Duskendale, it can be assumed that the swords of the last King of the Storm are also present on the Iron Throne.

The Field of Fire

As the conquest of Westeros by of the Targaryens and their dragons, other peoples tried to oppose it. Determined to face their sea of ​​fire and blood, two kings of the Westlands teamed up to form a large army. Mern IX Gardener, lord of Highgarden and last King of the Plateau, joined forces with those of

Out of Highgarden he advanced the King of the Plateau, Mern IX of House Gardener, pushing his units to join the forces of Loren I Lannister, the King of the Rock of Castle Granite. Together, they deployed 55,000 men, the largest army in the history of Westeros.

The two armies met, to reunite, in the plains south of the Blackwater, thus starting a bloody battle against Aegon ; the fight later became known as the Field of Fire. Aegon won again this time: King Mern died on the battlefield and House Gardner was extinguished. Aegon ordered to collect the swords of the dead enemies and send them to Fort Aegon. After losing just over 100 men, the next day King Lannister withdrew and surrendered to Aegon, which then led Aegon to make Loren I Lannister the Lord of Granite Castle and Guardian of the West. It was the beginning of the historic alliance between the Targaryens and the Lannisters.

The creation of the Iron Throne and what it really looks like

How Aegon the Conqueror brought about the Iron Throne it is something that Martin has not explained clearly: it differs, in fact, in the folk songs and in the stories.

In the songs, the Throne of Swords is said to consist of 1,000 blades fused together to form a seat from the flame. of Aegon's dragon, Balerion. In the stories, however, the scribes report that Aegon had the Iron Throne built by some craftsmen. Author George R.R. Martin describes it like this:

“This Game of Thrones is huge. Ugly. Asymmetrical. It is a throne made by blacksmiths who hammer together half-melted, broken, twisted swords, snatched from the hands of the dead or given away by defeated enemies ... a symbol of conquest ... This Iron Throne is frightening. And it's not a comfortable seat at all, just as Aegon intended ”.

According to this description, therefore, Martin confirms that the version of Game of Thrones seen in the Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon series differs from what he had imagined, because, he explains,

“We have a huge throne room set in Belfast, but it's not big enough to hold Game of Thrones as I conceived it. For this we would need something much larger, more like the interior of St. Paul's Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, and no set has that much space.

Having said that, to fans curious to see with their own eyes a representation of the Throne of Swords more faithful to Martin's initial idea, the author himself has proposed an illustration created by Marc Simonetti:

Only the swords of the defeated enemies

The swords of the Houses of Westeroi who surrendered to Aegon and became loyal to him, such as House Stark, House Lannister and House Arryn, were not included in the Game of Thrones. Readers of Fire and Blood know that Aegon was a cunning king, adding to the throne only the swords of his enemies defeated on the battlefield, and with a very specific reason: to spare those who had surrendered to him the humiliation of seeing the swords of their dead slain friends and relatives was a way to strengthen their submission to Targaryen rule.

Another way to make the Houses that surrendered to Aegon remain loyal to him was the granting some "privileges" and freedoms: in fact, these Houses were able to maintain their titles and dominion over their lands, not to mention that their loyalty was very richly rewarded.

"A king should not never rest assured ”

The wise Aegon wanted to make sure that both he and his descendants understood the risks of ruling the Seven Kingdoms by designing a throne on which the king or queen cannot relax, as he was adamant that

“a king shouldn't well never feel comfortable ”.

Because it is made of broken, pointed pieces of metal and blades, the Game of Thrones requires those who sit on it to do so lightly and with a straight back.



Indeed, the back of the Throne is covered with sharp metal points, and the armrests host a riot of sharp edges and points. Though cautious, several Targaryen royalty were cut from the throne, including King Viserys, who stumbled and cut his hand to the bone; eventually, two of his fingers had to be amputated to prevent infection.

Who Can Sit on the Throne?

The imposing and haunting throne designed by Aegon Targaryen in Fire and Blood is reserved for the king legitimate of Westeros, but this has certainly not stopped the usurpers of the throne and, therefore, of the kingdom. In House of the Dragon, we will most likely see only the mighty Targaryens on the Iron Throne. Not even the Hand of the King or the regents can sit on the throne.

Some Targaryen women also ruled from the Iron Throne: Aegon I Targaryen's two powerful sisters / wives, Rhaenys and Visenya Targaryen, both used the seat , and they will not be the only ones.

Does the Throne kill those it deems not worthy?

If you want to believe in legends, then you must also take into account that the Throne of Swords possesses the ability to execute its occupier.

King Maegar I Targaryen, who usurped the throne of his nephew Aegon, was found dead on the Iron Throne, his arms and body covered with deep cuts and wounds. While there were many people who would have had a good reason to kill Maegor the Cruel, as it was never discovered how the usurping king actually died, many courtiers still believe it was the throne itself that eliminated Maegor. >


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