What is the chronological relationship between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, and who are the key characters i

How the timelines connect

House of the Dragon is a prequel to Game of Thrones, set nearly 200 years before the original series and 172 years before Daenerys Targaryen is born [2][18]. The story uses a calendar that counts years as “AC” — After the Conquest — with Aegon’s Conquest finished in the year 1 AC [4]. Season 1 takes place in 112 AC [1][5], and the big Targaryen civil war (the Dance of the Dragons) unfolds a little later, from 129 to 131 AC [12][28]. So everything in House of the Dragon happens centuries before the familiar events of Game of Thrones.

Key players in the Dance of the Dragons

The war is a nasty succession fight between two branches of House Targaryen, nicknamed the Blacks and the Greens [8][25][29]. At the center of the storm are the two claimants: Aegon II Targaryen and his half‑sister Rhaenyra Targaryen [7][14][27]. King Viserys I Targaryen’s reign and shaky decision‑making helped set the whole thing off [20], and at one point Otto Hightower even proposed marrying Aegon and Rhaenyra to try to dodge the war [17].

Beyond the rival monarchs, many other characters stir the pot. A well‑sourced wiki page for the Dance of the Dragons lists these key figures [26]:

• Daemon Targaryen
• Rhaenyra Targaryen
• Alicent Hightower
• Ormund Hightower
• Corlys Velaryon
• Criston Cole
• Larys Strong
• Mysaria

Powerful noble houses with Targaryen marriage ties — like House Velaryon, House Arryn, and House Baratheon — also had major roles in the conflict [9].