The world of Ice and Fire is one of the most beloved fantasy universes and for a
good reason - realistic events, full of historical parallels, unmatched level of worldbuilding with
detailed battles and wars. Welcome to the Wizards and Warriors Channel! Allow us to
present the first episode of our new series on the History of Westeros, as we show how a Targaryen
king’s madness led to the bloody rebellion that would change the history of the whole continent.
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“Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born,
the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.”
Barristan Selmy. A Storm of Swords, Chapter 71
Upon the death of Jaehaerys II in 262 AC Aerys II Targaryen inherited the throne.
His reign began with some promise, as many of the courtiers of his father were replaced by
younger men of ambition, among them his childhood friend Tywin Lannister as Hand of the King. Aerys
was proudly announcing that he would become the greatest ruler in the history of the kingdom,
but even at this early period, his grip on sanity was tenuous. Invasion of Braavos following a
dispute with the Iron Bank and plans to build a new wall hundreds of miles beyond the existing
Wall in order to expand the Kingdom did not have any basis in reality and were soon abandoned.
Despite this, Westeros prospered and it was often said that it was due to Tywin, sparking
the jealousy of Aerys. Their relationship was also damaged, when the Aerys bemoaned that the King’s
right of the first night had been abolished during Tywin’s marriage, and the latter would
never forget that. Soon the king started ignoring the impassioned pleas of his Hand, acting opposite
to Tywin’s advice and then blaming the Hand for the emerging problems. In 272 AC Aerys
insulted Tywin’s wife Joanna, and then refused Hand’s resignation, further embarrassing him.
King’s madness abated somewhat with the birth of his son Jaehaerys in 274 AC, but the Prince
passed away that same year, making the King even more insane - he executed the wet nurse, and then
his mistress and her family, blaming the death on them. Another son - Viserys was born in 276 AC and
Tywin proposed the marriage of his daughter Cersei to the young Prince, but the king Aerys rejected
the offer stating Tywin to be a mere servant and that a servant’s daughter would not be a fitting
wife to his son. Tywin would remember this. In 277 AC Lord Denys Darklyn of Duskendale
petitioned the king for more autonomy from the crown, but this was refused and,
so Darklyn withheld his taxes and invited the King to discuss the matter personally. Tywin advised
the king to avoid the meeting, but Aerys wanted to show his independence and went to the meeting.
In what would become known as the Defiance at Duskendale, the King’s retinue was slaughtered
and Aerys taken prisoner. Tywin amassed a large force and besieged Duskendale for six months,
but it was the brilliant Ser Barristan Selmy who rescued the king. Darklyn surrendered immediately,
but the king ordered the execution of every member of House Darklyn,
which earned Aerys his moniker the Mad King. With his deepening paranoia and tendency for violence
Aerys now made use of wildfire to execute his prisoners. He appointed the eunuch Varys as his
Master of Whispers to avoid assassination which he always believed was looming. Tywin had kept the
Kingdom afloat during this period, however, when his son Jaime was appointed to the Kingsguard,
which meant that he can’t inherit the title anymore, Tywin finally resigned.
The king also worried that his heir Rhaegar planned to usurp him, which led the court to
split between pro-Aerys and pro-Rhaegar factions, leaving the incompetent new Hand Owen Merryweather
with little room to maneuver. Then in 281 AC came the Tourney at Harrenhal, an event that
changed the fate of Westeros for generations. Aerys hoped to win back the love of the people
however his frail mental state and horrific appearance had the opposite effect, whereas his
son Rhaegar looked every inch the perfect knight poised to be a great king his father never was.
The Tournament contained the greatest knights of all of the Seven Kingdoms, yet it was Rhaegar who
emerged victorious defeating every opponent he faced. All seemed well, yet the happiness of the
day soon evaporated in the face of the prince’s actions. Riding past his wife Elia Martell,
Rhaegar crowned Lyanna Stark his Queen of Love and Beauty to the dismay of everybody.
What happened during the next year seemed to be at odds with the personality of the Prince,
as Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna and disappeared with her. In response, her eldest brother Brandon with
a retinue of close friends which included Elbert Arryn rode to King’s Landing and outside of the
royal Red Keep yelled aloud for Rhaegar to “come out and die.” Rhaegar was not there however and
Aerys had the young Lord imprisoned on charges of conspiring to murder a member of the royal family.
The King ordered the fathers of each of the men in Brandon’s retinue to present themselves
and answer for their son’s actions, but when they did not arrive in time all were executed apart
from Brandon. His father Rickard Stark arrived and asked for a trial by combat, to which the Mad King
responded that his champion would be fire. Lord Rickard was burned alive with wildfire,
while his son who was strapped to a torture device that strangled him as he tried in vain to save
his father also suffered the same fate. Going even further word was sent to Elbert’s uncle Jon Arryn,
who was one of the strongest lords of the realm, that he was to send Aerys the heads of Lyanna’s
brother Eddard and her betrothed Robert Baratheon who were wards at his domain at this point.
Refusing to give up the two young men, Jon Arryn raised his banners in revolt beginning
what was to be known as Robert’s Rebellion or the War of the Usurper to the Targaryens.
Ned Stark, who was now the lord of the North, immediately left the Eyrie to head to Winterfell
and raise the banners, while Jon Arryn did likewise in the Vale of Arryn.
However, the port of Gulltown remained loyal to the Targaryens, so Ned had to head North
by way of the Mountains of Moon. Likewise, this forced Jon Arryn to besiege Gulltown.
He was joined by his ward Robert Baratheon who had grown into a warrior of immense size and ferocity
wielding his mighty warhammer and inspiring all those around him. The siege quickly turned into
an assault, with Robert Baratheon the first man over the wall ultimately slaying Lord Marq
Grafton of Gulltown in single combat. This victory consolidated Jon Arryn’s control over the Vale,
creating a base of operations from which the rest of the war could be fought.
The feats of Robert Baratheon had already begun to gain him much renown and as he sailed to
Storm’s End to raise his own forces, many had already begun to view him as a King in waiting.
Arriving in the Stormlands Robert called upon the Stormlords to join the rebellion,
and while the majority of the Lords flocked to his banner, some resisted. Led by the
Hand of King Owen Merryweather, the Lords Cafferen, Fell and Grandison were to meet
at Summerhall - a ruined hold in the Dornish Marches, before marching upon Storm’s End.
Robert however received word of this assembly and force-marched his men to meet them. The haste at
which they moved gave the rebel forces the upper hand, as they were able to face the loyalists one
at a time as they arrived, winning all three battles, with Robert killing Lord Fell in
single combat. Lord Fell’s son, alongside the Lords Cafferen and Grandison were all captured,
eventually joining the rebel cause. This battle consolidated Robert’s position in the Stormlands
and allowed the young warrior to march against the Reach with no enemy forces to his rear.
Leaving his younger brother Stannis to guard Storm’s End, Robert moved against the Reach,
where the Lord Mace Tyrell could amass the largest army in all of the Seven Kingdoms.
Attempting to secure his Western flank, Robert led his forces against the loyalist holding of
Ashford, but would be caught unaware by the vanguard of the Tyrell forces,
commanded by the formidable Lord Randyll Tarly. Outmaneuvering Robert,
Lord Randyll and his forces swept through the rebel lines sending the Baratheon men into a rout.
In the melee, Lord Cafferen was slain by Randyll in single combat and Robert was forced to withdraw
before the main force under Mace Tyrell could arrive. While this was ultimately a Tarly victory,
Mace Tyrell would take all the plaudits despite his own glaring deficiencies as a commander.
Tyrion Lannister would later deem this battle to be an inconclusive one, due to Robert’s
quick withdrawal. However, faced with the sheer numbers which the Tyrell’s could bring to bear,
Robert was forced to move North to join up with his allies. This facilitated the Tyrell invasion
of the Stormlands allowing them to lay siege to Storm’s End commanded by the unyielding Stannis
Baratheon who held the city for close to a year under immensely desperate circumstances. In the
meantime, seeing how poorly his Hand had performed in comparison to the contingent from the Reach,
King Aerys stripped Owen Merryweather of all his lands and titles before exiling
him and naming Jon Connington a friend of Rhaegar as Hand of the King. Meanwhile,
Eddard Stark had also successfully reached Winterfell and raised the Northern Banners,
before marching South past the Neck and joining with Jon Arryn. Together the two men
successfully negotiated with Lord Hoster Tully of the Riverlands for his support in the war.
With most of the great nobles of Westeros choosing sides, the stage was now set for
the decisive battles of the rebellion. Once again, thanks to Established Titles
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Support our channel and buy yourself a small plot of land in Scotland. They have a huge New
year sale right now with up to 80% off! Go to EstablishedTitles.com/WizardsandWarriors
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In our next episode, we will talk about these battles, but we are planning to cover the battles
of many other fantasy, sci-fi, and space opera universes, so make sure you have subscribed and
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