Greens and Blacks, side by side
One family, one father, two claims. The names come from the colours Rhaenyra and Alicent happened to wear to a tourney, which is a very Westerosi way to start a civil war.
The two claims
| Point of comparison | The Blacks | The Greens |
|---|---|---|
| Claimant | Rhaenyra Targaryen | Aegon II Targaryen |
| Basis of the claim | Named heir by Viserys I in 105 AC, oaths sworn by the lords | Eldest son of the king, and the precedent of the Great Council of 101 AC |
| Crowned | Dragonstone, 129 AC | The Dragonpit, King’s Landing, 129 AC |
| Led by | Daemon Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon | Alicent Hightower and Ser Otto Hightower |
| Largest dragon | Caraxes, then Vermithor | Vhagar, ridden by Aemond |
| Naval power | The Velaryon fleet, the largest in the world | The Hightowers and the Reach |
| Fate of the claimant | Fed to Sunfyre on Dragonstone, 130 AC | Poisoned by his own lords, 131 AC |
| Who took the throne after | Aegon III, Rhaenyra’s son | Jaehaera, Aegon II’s daughter, married to him |
The Blacks
Rhaenyra’s party. Marked on the family tree with a square, so the faction reads without relying on colour.
- Rhaenys Targaryen Black the Queen Who Never Was, 74 to 129 AC Passed over twice: once when her uncle Baelon was named heir, and again at the Great Council of 101 AC when the lords chose Viserys. She rode Meleys, the Red Queen.
- Corlys Velaryon Black Nine great voyages made him the richest man in Westeros and gave House Velaryon the largest fleet in the world. He served Rhaenyra as Hand and Aegon III as Lord Regent.
- Daemon Targaryen Black Brother to Viserys I, wielder of Dark Sister and rider of Caraxes. He married three times, the last to his own niece, and every Targaryen king after the Dance descends from that marriage.
- Rhaenyra I Black Named heir by her father in 105 AC and crowned on Dragonstone in 129 AC. The maesters of the Citadel do not count her among the seventeen kings, which is itself part of the argument.
- Laenor Velaryon Black Rhaenyra’s first husband and rider of Seasmoke. The marriage was political on both sides and he loved men.
- Harwin Strong Black Captain of the City Watch, the strongest man in the Seven Kingdoms, and by almost every account the real father of Rhaenyra’s three eldest sons.
- Laena Velaryon Black Claimed Vhagar, the largest living dragon, before she was twelve. Second wife of Daemon and mother of Baela and Rhaena.
- Jacaerys Velaryon Black Rhaenyra’s eldest and her heir. He flew north to win Winterfell and the Vale to his mother’s cause.
- Lucerys Velaryon Black Sent to Storm’s End to treat with Lord Baratheon, where he found Aemond had arrived first.
- Joffrey Velaryon Black Rhaenyra’s third son. He tried to reach the Dragonpit to save the dragons during the riots.
- Baela Targaryen Black Fought Aegon II and Sunfyre over Dragonstone on the smallest ridden dragon of the war, and lived. She refused the husband the regents picked for her.
- Rhaena Targaryen Black daughter of Daemon, born 116 AC Baela’s twin. She hatched Morning, one of the last four dragons in the world.
- Addam Velaryon Black A dragonseed of Hull who claimed the riderless Seasmoke, and was legitimised by Corlys as his heir.
- Aegon III Black Watched his mother eaten by a dragon at ten and never flew again. The last dragon died in his reign, in 153 AC.
- Viserys II Black Hand of the King to three kings before ruling for barely a year. Every Targaryen after him, Daenerys and Jon Snow included, descends from this man.
The Greens
Aegon II’s party, marked with a triangle.
- Otto Hightower Green Hand to Jaehaerys, Viserys and Aegon II, and the man who put his daughter in the king’s bed. He built the Green faction and paid for it.
- Alicent Hightower Green Daughter of Ser Otto Hightower and second wife of Viserys I. She put her son Aegon on the throne and led the Greens through the Dance.
- Aegon II Green Crowned in the Dragonpit within days of his father’s death, ahead of his older half-sister. He won the war and did not survive the peace.
- Helaena Targaryen Green Sister and wife to Aegon II, and by all accounts the gentlest of Alicent’s children. She was made to choose which of her sons would die.
- Aemond Targaryen Green Lost an eye to his nephew as a boy and claimed Vhagar the same night. Killing Lucerys over Shipbreaker Bay turned a succession dispute into open war.
- Daeron Targaryen Green son of Viserys I, 114 to 130 AC The youngest and best liked of Alicent’s sons, fostered at Oldtown. He rode Tessarion, the Blue Queen.
- Jaehaerys Targaryen Green son of Aegon II, 123 to 129 AC Heir to Aegon II, killed at six years old in his mother’s chambers.
- Jaehaera Targaryen Green Jaehaerys’s twin, and the peace of the realm made flesh: she was married to Aegon III to bind Green to Black.
- Maelor Targaryen Green Youngest son of Aegon II. He does not appear in the television series.
Who actually won
Rhaenyra died in 130 AC. Aegon II died in 131 AC. On the face of it the Greens took the war, because they held the capital and their claimant outlived hers.
Then look at the bloodline. The throne passed to Aegon III, Rhaenyra’s son by Daemon, and when he died it passed to his sons, and when that line failed it passed through Viserys II, Rhaenyra’s other son. Every Targaryen king from 131 AC onward descends from Rhaenyra and Daemon. Aegon II has no descendants at all.
His daughter Jaehaera was married to Aegon III to seal the peace and fell from a window two years later, childless. The Greens won the war and lost the family tree.
Greens and Blacks questions
Who are the Greens and who are the Blacks?
The Greens supported Aegon II and were led by his mother Alicent Hightower. The Blacks supported his half-sister Rhaenyra and were led by her uncle-husband Daemon. The names come from the colours the two women wore to a tourney years before the war.
Who won the Dance of the Dragons?
Neither claimant. Rhaenyra was killed in 130 AC and Aegon II in 131 AC. The throne went to Rhaenyra’s son Aegon III, who married Aegon II’s daughter Jaehaera, so both sides can claim a share of the outcome.
Which side was in the right?
Both had a real case. Viserys I named Rhaenyra heir and made his lords swear to her. The Great Council of 101 AC had already ruled that the throne does not pass through a woman, and Viserys never revoked that precedent or his daughter’s claim.
Why is it called the Dance of the Dragons?
It is a singer’s name for it, and a bitterly ironic one. Both sides had dragons, so the fighting killed the dragons faster than it killed the claimants. Sixteen of them died in two years.
Are the Blacks and Greens actual family?
Yes, they are one family. Rhaenyra and Aegon II shared a father, Viserys I. The war is a fight between half-siblings, with an uncle, a grandmother and a set of cousins on either side.