Iron Throne Creation

A thousand swords, fused by dragonfire.

The Iron Throne is the throne of the monarch of the Seven Kingdoms in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, and a byword for the monarchy itself. In A Game of Thrones (1996) Martin established that Aegon the Conqueror, after taking six of the Seven Kingdoms, had it made from the swords of his defeated enemies, fused by dragonfire.

Quick Facts

Made by: Aegon the Conqueror
Location: Red Keep, King's Landing
Material: Swords of defeated enemies

Lore & Background

Aegon made King's Landing his capital, and the throne sits in the Red Keep. According to legend he kept the blades sharp so that no ruler would ever sit comfortably; centuries later kings still cut themselves on it, and it is commonly believed this happens to the unfit.

Reader's Guide

HBO's version became the icon of the whole franchise; Martin said in 2013 that people think of the HBO throne when they hear Game of Thrones. He has said no depiction matched his idea until the one in The World of Ice & Fire (2014), which he called "absolutely right".

Said to be made of a thousand swords and knives, it is a huge, asymmetrical tangle of jagged, twisted blades on which no one can recline.