The Targaryen household tree in Home of the Dragon defined

The Targaryen household tree defined. The Targaryens are some of the historical bloodlines in Home of the Dragon. Initially from the Valyrian Freehold, the Targaryens had been certainly one of forty households who dominated over the lands with the assistance of their mighty dragons. Intriguingly, the Targaryens began as not a very noteworthy home.

The household left Valyria when Daenys Targaryen had a imaginative and prescient of a terrific catastrophe destroying the Freehold. The Targaryens packed their luggage, took their dragons, and went to take up residency in Dragonstone, simply off the coast of Westeros. For 12 years, they lived there till the doom Daenys had predicted got here true, wiping out the dragonlords.

Because the enemies of the Freehold fought for management of the Valyrian’s former empire, the Targaryens lived and died on Dragonstone. As we study within the fantasy collection, ultimately, a younger dragonlord named Aegon rose to guide the home, turned his ambitions West to the Seven Kingdoms, and sought to unite them underneath his banners. So the Targaryen household tree took root in Westeros, and the Home of the Dragon started.

For the report, the Targaryen household tree is like an historical oak that’s not been pruned in centuries. As such, it’s fairly complicated. To simplify issues, we’ve damaged the tree up into bite-sized chunks and solely focussed on the direct line of kings; so sorry if you happen to had been a fan of that random Targaryen who’s the second cousin of ‘Valeagaerysion’ or no matter (so sorry if we missed any of your favourite Home of the Dragon characters).

Aegon the Conqueror and his sons

Aegon the Conqueror and his sister wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, had been the Targaryens who kicked off the royal dynasty. Utilizing their dragons Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes, they solid the Seven Kingdoms out of Westeros, bringing the land’s present rulers to heel.

After establishing their kingdom, the siblings got down to make extra Targaryen,s to make sure their home would all the time sit on the Iron Throne. Aegon supposedly most popular Rhaenys, his youthful sister, as a spouse to Visenya, and so the youngest of the siblings bore the king his first son, Aenys. 5 years later, Visenya gave beginning to Maegor, the primary Targaryen usurper.

Aenys I and his line

In his youth, Aenys couldn’t have been much less like his father. He was bookish and creative, main some to query whether or not Aenys was not a bastard. As he grew, nonetheless, Aenys turned extra like his father, but he by no means fairly had the identical urge for food for warfare.

The identical couldn’t be stated for Maegor. Maegor was sturdy however callous, and lots of noticed him as Aegon’s true-born son. When Aegon died, and Aenys took the throne, his rule was a short one. He died after simply 5 years of sitting on the Iron Throne.

Aenys’ eldest son Aegon ought to have inherited the throne, however Maegor usurped it. The second son of the Conqueror turned often known as Aegon King Maegor the Merciless, and he dominated with an iron fist, however, maybe as punishment for his evil acts, he was by no means capable of conceive an inheritor, so the road of Aenys took again the throne.

Along with his first two sons, Aegon and Viserys, useless, the throne handed to Jaehaerys Aenys’ third-born son.

Jaehaerys I and the nice council

Jaehaerys was the fourth Targaryen to guide Westeros, and the dominion prospered underneath his sensible and considered rule. He solid peace between warring homes, introduced prosperity to the Seven Kingdoms, and managed to defeat a Dornish invasion with the assistance of his dragon Vermithor .

Nevertheless, his life wasn’t with out tragedy. Regardless of having 13 youngsters, not all survived into maturity, and since Jaehaerys dominated for 55 years, he managed to survive his youngsters, who did make it out of diapers. This meant that when he reached the winter of his life, he had no inheritor and needed to resolve who would inherit his throne.

In what turned often known as The Nice Council, Jaehaerys gathered the nice homes of Westeros, the Maesters, and the religion and requested them to assist him settle the problem of succession earlier than civil warfare destroyed the dominion he had constructed. 13 claimants got here ahead, however 9 had been shortly dismissed till the one three left had been.

Archmaester Vaegon, Jaehaerys’ final dwelling son who had given up his declare when he turned a maester, Prince Viserys Targaryen, and Laenor Velaryon, the grandson of Jaehaerys’ eldest son Aemon and son of his daughter Rhaenys.

In the end, the dominion voted for Viserys, believing that Laenor’s declare was weaker because it got here via his mom, not his father. After Jaehaerys handed away, Viserys took the throne, and so started the Targaryen dynasty’s decline.

Viserys and the Dance of the Dragon

You’ve seen Home of the Dragon. what’s taking place right here. Mainly, King Viserys Targaryen had two wives, Aemma and Alicent Hightower. After Aemma and Baelon died, Viserys named Rhaenyra Targaryen inheritor to the Iron Throne, and even when he had a son, Aegon, with Alicent, he didn’t change his thoughts regardless of the protests of Otto Hightower.

When Viserys died, there was a little bit of a disagreement about who’d be the brand new ruler, with one faction, the Greens supporting Aegon II, whereas the Blacks supported Rhaenyra. The ensuing civil warfare (which we’ll see in Home of the Dragon season 2) turned often known as the Dance of the Dragons, and finally Rhaenyra’s sons, along with her uncle Daemon Targaryen, Viserys II and Aegon II, ended up on the throne.

Aegon III Targaryen to Aegon IV the Unworthy

After the Dance ended with a phyric victory for the Blacks, Rhaenyra’s eldest surviving son Aegon was topped and placed on the Iron Throne. Sadly, his reign was not a cheerful one.  Often called the Damaged King and the Dragonsbane, Aegon III’s reign was recognized for 2 issues, the extinction of the dragons and his melancholy moods. When he died at simply 36 years outdated, few within the realm mourned his passing.

Aegon was then succeeded by his eldest son Daeron who sought to convey Dorne into the realm. Whereas he was initially profitable, Daeron, like his forefathers, inevitably failed, and he died throughout a Dornish ambush simply 4 years after he was topped. He was succeeded by his youthful brother Baelor, who would earn the nickname the Blessed for his pious nature.

Baelor’s reign confirmed promise, and he was beloved by the smallfolk, however his religiousness posed an issue for these in court docket as he refused to conceive an inheritor. He ultimately handed away after fasting for forty days and nights, though there have been rumors that his uncle and successor, Visery II, had him poisoned to keep away from a holy warfare.

With Viserys II now seated on the Iron Throne, the final of Rhaenyra’s youngsters set about reforming the realm in an identical option to Jaehaerys I, however after only a yr, he too handed away, leaving his eldest son Aegon IV to take the throne.

Arguably the worst Targaryen liking to ever sit on the Iron Throne, Aegon IV earned the title the unworthy for his cruelty and greed. To make issues worse, he continually quarreled along with his son and inheritor, Daeron.

Inevitably, Aegon IV ultimately handed away, his swollen physique actually rotting from the within out as if the ethical corruption had contaminated his personal flesh. With Aegon useless, Daeron ascended to the throne and have become Daeron II Targaryen, however the unworthy king performed one ultimate trick on his son. Along with his dying breath, he legitimized his bastard youngsters creating the Blackfyre household within the course of and stitching the seeds for future rebellions.

Past

Finally, we get to Aerys II, higher often known as the Mad King, a lunatic who’s deposed after Robert’s Rebel. His son Viserys and daughter Daenerys Targaryen survive and escape to Essos.

Viserys will get himself killed by the Dothraki, however Daenerys ultimately reclaims her household’s throne… by committing warfare crimes. Yeah, she’s murdered quickly after as effectively, bringing an finish to the Targaryen bloodline as soon as and for all (except they ever greenlight a Recreation of Thrones season 9).

Should you can’t get sufficient of the Targaryens, try our record of the most effective Recreation of Thrones characters and our article explaining the place the Recreation of Thrones solid is now. We’ve additionally received guides to the mighty Recreation of Thrones dragons Caraxes, Seasmoke, Syrax, and Meleys.

Our sister website Wargamer additionally has a information to the most effective Recreation of Thrones board video games if you wish to play this lethal political sport for your self.