From Aegon the Conqueror to the Mad King, Every Targaryen Who Ruled the Iron Throne
With ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 now unfolding and ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ exploring the dynasty’s twilight years, there has never been a better moment to trace the full arc of Targaryen power. The Iron Throne sat at the center of all the conflicts in ‘Game of Thrones’, claimed by many and ruled by few, with a world of ice and fire revolving around its tall, tetanus-prone stature. The story of the rulers who sat upon it is one of brilliance, madness, civil war, and an almost operatic decline that George R. R. Martin spent decades building.
The Targaryen dynasty spans from Aegon I Targaryen, the first king to sit on the Iron Throne and take the title Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, all the way to Aerys II Targaryen, known as the Mad King, who was slain by Ser Jaime Lannister during Robert’s Rebellion in 283 AC. That is nearly three centuries of conquest, reform, civil war, and slow decay packed into one bloodline. Here is every Targaryen king, in order.
The Targaryen Kings at a Glance
- Aegon I “the Conqueror” – 1 to 37 AC
- Aenys I – 37 to 42 AC
- Maegor I “the Cruel” – 42 to 48 AC
- Jaehaerys I “the Conciliator” – 48 to 103 AC
- Viserys I – 103 to 129 AC
- Aegon II “the Elder” – 129 to 131 AC
- Aegon III “the Dragonbane” – 131 to 157 AC
- Daeron I “the Young Dragon” – 157 to 161 AC
- Baelor I “the Blessed” – 161 to 171 AC
- Viserys II – 171 to 172 AC
- Aegon IV “the Unworthy” – 172 to 184 AC
- Daeron II “the Good” – 184 to 209 AC
- Maekar I – died 233 AC
- Aegon V “the Unlikely” – 233 to 259 AC
- Jaehaerys II – 259 to 262 AC
- Aerys II “the Mad King” – 262 to 283 AC
The Men Who Built a Dynasty
Aegon Targaryen, who became known as Aegon the Conqueror, changed everything for Westeros. He and his sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys flew their three dragons, Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes, from Dragonstone to Westeros, conquering almost all in their path and uniting the realm, which until that point had been broken into distinct kingdoms. Aegon formed alliances wherever possible and was able to bring numerous houses into the fold without the need for violence, allowing his defeated enemies to keep their lands and positions, with former kings restyling themselves as lords.
After Aegon the Conqueror died in 37 AC, his eldest son Aenys I inherited the throne, but his reign was marked by rebellion and chaos, and many lords doubted his strength. Aenys was married to Alyssa Velaryon and ruled for just five years, dying at the age of 35, with some suggesting that Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen was responsible for his death.
Maegor, the only child of Aegon and Visenya, shouldered his way onto the throne despite Aenys’s son Aegon being first in the line of succession. His reign was defined by this injustice, and as a bad Targaryen is prone to do, Maegor responded to complaints with dragonflame, death, and destruction.
He earned his title of Maegor the Cruel after taking on Aegon the Uncrowned and his dragon Quicksilver, having the decisive advantage of riding Balerion the Black Dread, the most fearsome dragon in history. He was eventually found dead impaled on the Iron Throne, with some believing he was killed and others that he took his own life.
The Golden Age Under Jaehaerys and Viserys
Jaehaerys I, also known as the Conciliator, the Wise, and the Old King, is easily considered the best Targaryen king ever and likely the best overall ruler Westeros has ever seen. The fourth Targaryen king ascended the throne following the chaotic successive reigns of Aenys I and Maegor I. He had the near-universal support of the Great Houses, worked on the first unified code of law, improved King’s Landing, and rode Vermithor, the third-largest dragon after Balerion and Vhagar.
Westeros flourished under Jaehaerys Targaryen’s rule, and even when his son died, he wisely solved a succession problem by calling the first Great Council. His reign lasted until 103 AC, and none of his thirteen children with his queen, Alysanne, ultimately sat on the Iron Throne following his death.
Viserys I, played by Paddy Considine in ‘House of the Dragon’, was chosen over his cousin Rhaenys for the throne at that Great Council for one reason, that he was a man, and no woman had ever sat on the Iron Throne before him. Viserys struggled to maintain peace within Westeros and between Westeros and the Free Cities. He became sickly in his old age and had a similar succession problem, having named his daughter Rhaenyra heir before later fathering a son.
The Dance of the Dragons and Its Broken Aftermath
Viserys I’s death in 129 AC ignited the Dance of the Dragons civil war, leading to Aegon II Targaryen’s rule and his subsequent poisoning. The war saw heavy casualties on both sides, and Aegon II was eventually poisoned by his own advisors with armies closing in on King’s Landing, as the king himself refused to acknowledge the situation.
Aegon III enjoyed a much longer rule than his predecessor. Aegon had been named heir and betrothed to Aegon II’s daughter Jaehaera in order to join the two warring branches of House Targaryen, but was only ten years old when he inherited the Iron Throne. Most notably, it was during the reign of Aegon III that the last dragon died, earning him the moniker Aegon the Dragonbane.
Daeron I Targaryen, the Young Dragon, invaded Dorne and died during the resulting rebellion in 161 AC. His brother Baelor I, known as the Blessed, followed him and died in 171 AC during a fast, notable for his deeply pious nature. Viserys II is the ultimate what-could-have-been Targaryen king. He did not put on the crown until he was 49 and died a little over a year later, but what he accomplished in that brief timeframe proved he was one of the realm’s best administrators.
The Long Decline and the Targaryen Kings You May Have Missed
Even with the cruelty of his ancestors and the Mad King still to come, Aegon IV is often considered the worst Targaryen king. He had an unhappy marriage to his sister Naerys, and was so distracted by his own vices that he was a deeply ineffective ruler. His decision to legitimize his many bastards, especially Daemon Blackfyre, led to a century of civil wars known as the Blackfyre Rebellions, which weakened the realm and divided loyalties for generations.
Daeron II Targaryen, known as Daeron the Good, was the twelfth Targaryen to sit the Iron Throne. He brought Dorne peacefully into the realm, uniting all the lands of Westeros south of the Wall. His bastard half-brother Daemon Blackfyre challenged his rule and the result was a terrible civil war, the First Blackfyre Rebellion. Daeron died during the Great Spring Sickness in 209 AC.
Aegon V, the fourth son of Maekar and Dyanna, became king after his siblings either died or refused the throne, earning him the nickname the Unlikely. In his youth, he squired for Ser Duncan the Tall, with their adventures depicted in Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas and the ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ series.
Jaehaerys II ascended the throne at the age of thirty-four following the Tragedy at Summerhall, and despite his young age, his reign would be short, lasting only three years. The most notable event of his reign was the War of the Ninepenny Kings, where a young Ser Barristan Selmy slew the Blackfyre pretender Maelys the Monstrous in single combat.
The Mad King and the End of Three Centuries of Rule
Aerys II, the Mad King, played a major role in ‘Game of Thrones’ though he appeared only in a brief flashback. Driven insane by generations of incest and paranoia, he developed an odd fascination with dragonfire, refused to cut his hair or fingernails, and abused his sister-wife Rhaella. He appointed Tywin Lannister as his Hand of the King, though their friendship eventually soured.
Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark, and their rebel allies joined forces to overthrow the Mad King during Robert’s Rebellion. Tywin betrayed Aerys and let the rebels into King’s Landing, where Jaime stabbed the Mad King in the back and earned the nickname the Kingslayer. The Targaryen dynasty ended with the rise of King Robert.
Warner Bros. announced a film under the working title ‘Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest’ at CinemaCon in Las Vegas in April 2026, signaling that the world of Targaryen history is far from finished on screen. From Aegon the Conqueror’s prophetic dream to Aerys II’s paranoid reign, the full Targaryen line reads less like a royal succession and more like a case study in how power corrupts even the most dragonborn of bloodlines. Which Targaryen king do you think deserved the Iron Throne most, and which one did the most damage to the dynasty’s legacy?
