Ahead of the release of HBO Max's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, HBO revealed a brand-new timeline of the major events in Westeros' history from House of the Dragon to Game of Thrones. The Game of Thrones universe will expand in January with the release of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which will take place between the events of House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones.
In House of the Dragon's first episode, the series gave fans some insight into when the series took place in relation to the birth of Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen. However, due to time jumps within that show, the exact order of events and their specific years became a bit confusing.
The first teaser for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was recently released, giving fans a rough indication of when it will take place. Specifically, it revealed that it will be "a tale 100 years before Game of Thrones." However, HBO's new timeline is a lot more specific, as it confirms the exact years each series and major event takes place.
HBO's Game of Thrones Timeline
House of the Dragon - 112 AC
When Milly Alcock's Rhaenyra Targaryen is first introduced in House of the Dragon Season 1, the show is set in 112 AC (after Aegon's Conquest). However, that is not the only year the series takes place in due to some major time jumps.
In the opening scene of Episode 1, where Viserys I Targaryen is named Jaehaerys' heir, fans are looking at Westeros in 101 AC. In 112 AC, Rhaenyra is officially named Viserys' heir. A few years pass by Episode 3, but the first main time jump in Season 1 occurs between Episodes 5 and 6.
Episode 6 is the first installment where Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower are played by Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke, respectively. That episode takes place around 124 AC.
The Dance of the Dragons - 129 AC
There is still another time jump in House of the Dragon Season 1 after the one that takes place before Episode 6, though. Specifically, around five or six more years pass so that Rhaenyra and Alicent's children can be aged up, meaning that the actual Dance of the Dragons (the civil war between the two sides of the Targaryen family) is set in 129 AC.
House of the Dragon Season 2 is much more condensed across its episodes than Season 1, but that is partly due to how many major events happen within three years. For instance, The Battle at Rook's Rest, The Sowing of the Seeds, and Blood & Cheese all happen fairly close to one another.
House of the Dragon Season 3 will continue where Season 2 left off, and, if it follows the source material, it will only feature events from around 129-130 AC.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - 209 AC
As mentioned, the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms trailer confirmed that the show will take place around 100 years before the beginning of Game of Thrones. According to HBO, it will be set in 209 AC, which is essentially the midway point between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones.
However, the characters A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will follow (Aegon "Egg" Targaryen and Ser Duncan the Tall) were explored in George R.R. Martin's novellas over many years. The show's future seasons will most likely feature their full character arcs, so by the time the series is over, it will be set a lot closer to the events of Game of Thrones.
Without giving away any potential spoilers for later seasons of the show, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will likely end sometime around 259 AC, where the next major event in the Game of Thrones timeline takes place.
The Reign of the Mad King - 259 AC
According to HBO, Aerys Targaryen, known as the Mad King, began his rule in 259 AC. This does not entirely match the timeline in the source material, as he became king in 262 AC in that timeline. However, HBO may make a couple of changes.
Essentially, the story is the same despite the three-year difference between the on-screen timeline and the source material. The Mad King, the father of Daenerys Targaryen, ruled for over 20 years, becoming increasingly hostile as time passed.
In the final days of his reign, Robert Baratheon (the king in the first half of Game of Thrones Season 1) began his famed Rebellion against the crown. Notably, the Mad King tried to have his pyromancer set fire to the entirety of King's Landing, which would have killed around a million people, including the Lannisters. However, Jaime Lannister stopped that by killing the pyromancer and the king. According to Jaime, the king thought he would die in the fire and be reborn as a dragon.
Robert's Rebellion - 282 AC
Robert's Rebellion is probably the most notable event in Westeros' history because it marked the first time the Targaryen dynasty was overthrown by someone from another house. The Targaryens ruled Westeros for hundreds of years after Aegon the Conqueror first made the journey there with his sisters, but Robert ended their rule in 282 AC.
Most notably, Robert's Rebellion became successful after his victory at the Trident. There, Robert killed Prince Rhaegar, the Mad King's son. This proved to the people of Westeros that Robert was powerful and had what it took to be King. It also brought many people to his cause, including Tywin Lannister, who helped Robert overthrow the Mad King.
Since Tywin was the Hand of the King and Jaime was a member of the Kingsguard, the Lannisters could take the city from within and cement Robert's victory over the Targaryens.
Game of Thrones - 298 AC
Game of Thrones began 16 years after Robert's Rebellion in 298 AC. In this year, Daenerys was established as a threat due to the birth of her dragons, Ned Stark was killed, Robert Baratheon was killed, and the War of the Five Kings began.
Throughout the rest of the series, around seven years pass. The final season concludes around 305 AC, with Daenerys' taking of King's Landing (and her death) set in that year. That would have also been the year when Bran Stark was named King of Westeros, Sansa Stark was officially recognized as the Queen in the North, and Jon Snow traveled back beyond the Wall.
So, specifically, the beginning of Game of Thrones takes place around 90 years after the start of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. However, if the latter follows the timeline of the source material, the final episodes will take place only around 40 years before the start of Game of Thrones.
The full Game of Thrones universe timeline (as shared by HBO via Instagram) can be seen below:
