If you’re mad about what happened at the battle of Rook’s Rest in House of the Dragon season 2 episode 4, then let me remind you once again, this is all happening due to a colossal misunderstanding—because the Tagaryens just can’t stop naming their kids Aegon.

Currently, we are in the reign of King Aegon II Targaryen. And he was named after his ancestor and all-around badass conqueror of Westeros, Aegon the Conqueror. There’s already a third Aegon in the mix, Aegon III, son of Aegon II’s half-sister Rhaneyra Targaryen, and Aegon II’s uncle/brother-in-law, Daemon Targaryen.

And if you know your Game of Thrones well, you know that there’s another Aegon Targaryen mentioned, who is also named thus because of that wretched Prince that was Promised prophecy. He is the son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Princess Elia Martell of Dorne, and nephew to Daenerys Targaryen. According to the books, he is supposed to have been murdered in the sack of King’s Landing during Robert’s Rebellion by Ser Gregor Clegane.

So really, how many Aegons are there in House Targaryen? Was Aegon I definitely the first Aegon there ever was? And did Aegon VI actually die at the hands of The Mountain? Let’s do a tally, shall we?

Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon!

All the Aegons in House Targaryen

1. Aegon I Targaryen (Aegon the Conqueror)

(HBO)

You know this dude. He’s the son of Lord Aerion Targaryen of Dragonstone and Lady Valaena Velaryon. Before him, the Targaryens were merely the lords of Dragonstone, where they first landed in Westeros after escaping from Valyria. But this guy conquered all and sundry kingdoms with the help of his dragon, Balerion the Black, and his two sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys and their dragons Vhagar and Meraxes, to establish the Seven Kingdoms.

This is the guy responsible for that long train of titles that accompany the king’s introduction. He was Aegon Targaryen, First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.

It was from the melted swords of Aegon’s defeated enemies that the Iron Throne was made. The place where Aegon first landed in Westeros and built a wooden fort called Aegonfort, is where the Red Keep now stands. The village that grew around it came to be know as the King’s Landing.

2. Aegon II Targaryen

(HBO)

Petition to rename him Aegon the funny because Tom Glynn-Carney’s portrayal of Aegon on House of the Dragon is so unintentionally comical at times!

This Aegon, Second of his name, etc. is the son of King Viserys I Targaryen and his second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower, the half-brother of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, and eldest nephew of Prince Daemon Targaryen. He had two younger brothers, Aemond and Daeron Targaryen, and he married his younger sister, Helaena Targaryen, with whom he had two (or three as per the book, Fire and Blood) children.

Aegon II rode the dragon Sunfyre, and he even altered the black and red Targaryen sigil to golden in honour of his dragon. His biggest achievement as king was the Targaryen civil war with his half-sister, Rhaenyra.

3. Aegon III Targaryen (Aegon the Dragonbane)

If you love dragons, you probably won’t like this guy. Aegon III Targaryen was also known as Aegon the Dragonbane because it was during his reign that the last of the dragons in Westeros died and weren’t seen again for several generations, until of course, Daenerys did her thing.

You could find sympathy for his cause of not wanting dragons around once you hear of his childhood trauma. You see, Aegon III is the son of Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen, brother to Viserys II and the stillborn Visenya, half-brother to Princess Jaecerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Velaryon, and nephew to King Aegon II, Queen Helaena, and Princes Aemond and Daeron.

During the Dance of the Dragons war, Aegon the Younger (as he was known), witnessed his mother burnt and eaten alive by his uncle’s dragon. No wonder there are rumours that he made sure the last of the feeble dragons that remained post the war perished, because he knew the destruction and despair that they could wreak.

4. Aegon IV Targaryen (Aegon the Unworthy)

Knowing House Targaryen’s history, imagine how bad you have to be as a King to be called the worst of the Targaryen rulers! And that, for you, is Aegon IV Targayen, also knows as Aegon the Unworthy.

He was the son of Viserys II Targaryen (son of Queen Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon) and Larra Rogare of Lys, and elder brother of Prince Aemon the Dragonknight. While he wed his younger sister Princess Naerys, Aegon IV’s greed, gluttony, and lust knew no bounds.

He is said to have had nine official mistresses, and several affairs, claiming to have slept with nine hundred women that included noblewomen, commonfolk, and prostitutes from brothels. He made sure he could have any woman, unmarried or married, lowborn or highborn, at any time. Despite his sister-wife’s ill health, he continued to demand that she bear children for him even after she had given him one healthy heir.

Aegon IV’s reign was not a good time to be at court, for it was filled with lords and ladies who flattered his ego to gain his favours, which he gave away freely and without much thought of what would actually be good for his kingdom. He also sired a slew of bastards, some of which he legitimised on his deathbed, a decision that haunted House Targaryen for many years to come. One of his bastards, Daemon Blackfyre, was responsible for another Targaryen civil war known as the Blackfyre Rebellion (there was more than one), where the legitimised bastards try to stake a claim to the Iron Throne 12 years after Aegon’s death.

Aegon the Unworthy, once a fair and handsome prince full of vigour, grew to be obese and unable to move due to his weight. His ill health led him to an early death at the age of 49.

5. Aegon V Targaryen (Aegon the Unlikely)

You remember Maester Aemon from the Night’s Watch in Game of Thrones talking about his brother, Egg? That’s Aegon V Targaryen!

Aegon V’s ascension to the Iron Throne was rather unlikely (hence the name) because he was the fifth child and fourth son of Maekar Targaryen. And his father too was a fourth son of King Daeron II Targaryen (the son of King Aegon IV the Unworthy).

In his early years, Aegon, having shaved his head to avoid being recognised, and taking the name Egg, squired for the knight Duncan the Tall. In fact, the new Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, will adapt the Dunk and Egg novellas by George R R Martin , chronicling the adventures of Aegon and Duncan the Tall. Actor Dextor Sol Ansell has been cast as young Egg, and even posted about shaving his head for the role.

Much like Viserys I, Aegon V ascended to the Iron Throne after a Great Council passed over several of possible successors, and Aegon’s older brother, Prince Aemon, abdicated the throne to his younger brother. Aemon decided he would go to The Wall so he wouldn’t be used as a pawn in any plots against his brother.

He had five children with his wife, Queen Betha Blackwood, and four of them he attempted to betroth to the sons and daughters of houses like Tyrell, Baratheon and so on, so as to solidify relationships and avoid incestuous marriages. However, things didn’t quite work to plan, and the king spent most of his reign putting out fires, quite literally.

It was during his reign that the great tragedy of Summerhall occurred. Aegon tried to do good for his kingdom and his subjects by passing certain laws and decrees for their benefit; however, he faced resistance from the other lords. Aegon believed that bringing back dragons was the only way they’d finally do what he wanted. And so, he poured over ancient Valyrian lore about breeding dragons and experimented with pyromancy to hatch dragon eggs.

At Summerhall, a castle in Dorne, Aegon invited some of his closest friends and lords to celebrate the birth of his great-grandson, to Aerys (eventually, the Mad King) and Rhaella Targaryen. However, a great fire erupted and many perished, including Aegon himself, his friend and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Ser Duncan the Tall, Aegon’s eldest son and heir Duncan.

Prince Rhaegar Targaryen was born during the tragedy of Summerhall.

6. Aegon VI Targaryen

(HBO)

Now this Aegon’s is a story is both a great tragedy and a mystery.

He was the son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Princess Elia Martell of Dorne. In A Song of Ice and Fire books, when Daenerys has a vision in the House of the Undying, she sees her nephew Aegon feeding on his mother Elia’s breast, while Prince Rhaegar speaks of Aegon as the Prince that was Promised.

Now, we know that Aegon died as an infant in the sack of King’s Landing when Ser Gregor Clegane killed his sister, Princess Rhaenys, his mother Elia Martell, and him by smashing his head against a wall.

However, in the A Dance of Dragons book, Tyrion Lannister during his exile, meets someone called Griff and his son Young Griff. He figures out that Griff his none other than Lord Jon Connington, a close friend of Prince Rhaegar, and Young Griff is not his son but Prince Aegon, who survived the brutal murders of his family!

The story goes that Varys managed to replace the young princeling with another child before The Mountain killed him. The baby’s head was so brutally bashed in that when the bodies were presented by Lord Tywin Lannister to King Robert Baratheon, you couldn’t be certain if it was indeed Aegon, but nobody dared question it either.

This supposed Aegon was now on his way to claim his rightful throne and join Daenerys Targaryen, having heard of his aunt’s march through Essos towards Westeros. He even hopes that in true Targaryen fashion, he might wed his aunt. While in Westeros, King Tommen and his court declare him as a false pretender, the truth about the identity of Young Griff still remains a mystery, and will only be resolved once George R.R. Martin finishes writing Winds of Winter. So, like, never?

A bunch of not-so-famous Aegons

Oh yes, you thought we were done? These were only the more famous Aegons of note. Daenys the Dreamer, who had the vision about the Doom of Valyria, also had an eldest son named Aegon, who inherited Dragonstone, several years before Aegon the Conqueror was born.

Aegon the Conqueror and his wife Rhaenys had a son, Aenys I, who married Alyssa Velaryon, and they too had several children, one of whom was named Aegon. He was Aegon the Uncrowned, because his uncle, Maegor I (the Cruel) usurped his throne.

Aegon the Uncrowned’s brother, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen (yep, the king you see in the start of House of the Dragon, who crowns Viserys I as his successor), and his wife Queen Alysanne also had a son named Aegon, but he died a mere three days after he was born.

The fourth son of King Jaehaerys was Prince Baelon, who had three sons with his sister-wife Princess Alyssa Targaryen—Viserys I, Daemon, and … you guessed it right, Aegon! His mother died the same year he was born, and he died a year later before he even turned one.

And finally, King Aerys II (the Mad King) also had a son named Aegon, brother to Prince Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys Targaryen. However, much like a couple of Aerys’ earlier children, this Aegon also died in infancy.