Could Aegon and his sisters have forged a New Valyria if they’d joined with Volantis?

[Kaibaman]

When the Valyrian homeland was destroyed in a cataclysmic event, it broke the back of the Valyrian continent spanning empire which quickly fractured. But even though the Valyrian Freehold was no more, the remnants of the old empire survived in the city of Volantis. The Volantines believing themselves as the heirs of Valyria, wanted to bring the Freehold back to its former glory. Under the Tigers the Volanteens were quite successful in the first century of the Doom in reconquering former Valyrian colonies which were now the Free Cities. At their height they had created quite an impressive territorial empire which stretched from Volantis in the east all the way to the Narrow Sea.

By the time Aegon and his sisters came onto the stage the Volanteens had already taken the Free Cities of Myr and Lys and were close to adding Tyrosh to their empire. They also petitioned House Targaryen who were the last of the dragon lords to aid them in their forging of a New Valyria. However not only did Aegon and his sisters refused to support their cause, they also supported the coalition against Volantis which drove them back to Volantis and ended their warmongering for good. I’m just thinking if Aegon made a mistake in not allying with Volantis? Perhaps he missed a huge opportunity from gaining even greater power and glory for his house than from the conquest of Westeros.

Now I guess at this point Aegon and his sisters already had their sights set on unifying Westeros so they didn’t share Volanteen ambitions of restarting the Freehold. But hypothetically speaking, let’s just say out of solidarity to their Valyrian heritage they decided to join with Volantis. Given that Aegon’s conquest of Westeros took only 2 to 3 years at most I suspect Aegon and his sisters would have been able to conquer all the former territories of the old Valyrian Freehold in a very short amount of time. They may even be able to expand the Freehold to greater proportions than its former self. They may still be able to take Westeros but this time in the name of the new Valyrian Freehold and with legions of Tiger Cloaks at their command. Perhaps they could make Westeros their share of territory in the Freehold and still forge the Iron Throne.

And no doubt their conquests and the fact that they’re the last dragon lords would make Aegon and his sisters very powerful and perhaps extremely popular with the people of Volantis which would mean very good things for house Targaryen’s future in the reestablished Freehold. And if Aegon was really ambitious he could try to gain complete control of the Freehold. Aegon and his sisters could get themselves elected to fill all three positions on the Triarchy and so long as they have the overwhelming support of the people and the army, from their positions of power and influence they could maneuver to make Aegon a dictator and maybe even emperor like Julius Caesar attempted to do.

Now I know some will argue this won’t work because of what happened to that one Triarch who was elected so many times that he tried to put himself in office for life which didn't work out for him. But seeing how politically savvy Aegon was (he was after all famous for his hands on and people skills as king), I’m quite certain as Triarch he would work to gain the support of the people both high and low. Like Caesar he could do this not only through his conquests but by organizing festivals in Volantis, visiting the various places of Volantis and making public appearances, do all kinds of charity work, organize public gladiatorial fights and even use religion to build himself up. Basically do everything Julius Caesar did right and with the might of three dragons and legitimacy as the last of the dragon lords, he could succeed where Caesar failed and turn the Targaryen dynasty into an imperial dynasty who's reach is further than just Westeros.

[Gibzit]

Most likely if Aegon and his sisters tried to forge New Valyria they would get assasinated by Faceless men.

[The Witch King of Asshai]

Agree with the above post, if the Faceless Men were complicit in the Doom, then they're not going to allow any resurgent freehold, and if they can effectively decimate a society of dragon-riders, the Targs shouldn't be a problem.

Hypothetically, if the FM didn't get involved, it would still be a massive undertaking. As we saw with Rhaenys and at the Storming of the Dragonpit, all it takes are a few well placed shots from a Myrish Crossbowmen, or enough scorpion bolts from a Braavosi fleet, and a dragon is dead. Even at Volantis's peak, Braavos, Norvos, Tyrosh, Qohor, Pentos and Lorath all opposed them, as did the Storm Kings. Not forgetting hundreds of thousands of veteran dothraki, who would inevitably appear to put pressure on Volantis from the East. So, they would probably of had to split up the Dragons to avoid being completely overwhelmed on every other front other than the one with dragons. One against Norvos and Qohor, one against the Braavosi and one against the Dothraki, all of whom can raise large forces, and still leaving vastly outnumbered Tigers against all their other enemies. I would give the edge to their opponents, with enough scorpions, archers and tactics, all of which the Braavosi and Dothraki have to a certain extent, they could defeat one dragon apiece. It could be pyrrhic, but the Dance of the Dragons showed it was more than possible.

What's more, Dragons are useless as a garrison. It's all well and good for them to conquer the Free Cities, but holding them? The Volantene forces would be completely overstretched, and just like in the Century of Blood, revolts would sap their strength. As for expansion, if incredibly they could hold the free cities, and repel the Dothraki, I don't see them having enough strength for centuries before being able to conquer Wsteros, Slavers bay, or what was once Sarnor, and that's with three dragons remaining. And beyond that, Yi Ti, Leng etc, no hope.

I think Aegon made a good choice in refusing Volantis, and predicted how the Volantene Freehold would implode. And, if he had joined them, and not been assassinated, it would still have imploded, albeit with even more bloodshed.

[Magnar of Skagos]

I think it would be an interesting alternate history if he somehow managed to avoid death at the hands of a Faceless Man and forged a new Freehold.

[Mithras]

It is impossible to govern the territories of the Valyrian Empire without having hundreds of dragons.

It is also quite possible that Targaryens and the Faceless Men cooperated to create the Doom.

[BRANDON GREYSTARK]

Yes ,Three dragons vs none .