Game Of Thrones' Targaryen Family Tree Explained
Warning! Possible SPOILERS ahead from Fire and Blood, House of the Dragon, & A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.HBO's House of the Dragon is bringing Game of Thrones’ Targaryens into the spotlight, but the prequel only covers one section of the massive Targaryen family tree. While Game of Thrones primarily placed House Stark as the protagonists, the family’s most compelling dynamic was its history with House Targaryen, who ruled on the Iron Throne for three centuries. By the end of Game of Thrones, it became clear that the overarching conflict was based on the history and relationships between House Stark and House Targaryen.
By the time Game of Thrones began, the Targaryen family had finally been unseated after three centuries on the Iron Throne, with only two heirs, Daenerys and Viserys, remaining to claim their birthright. Despite this, House Targaryen’s history and influence never waned in importance for Westeros, as the legacy of the many kings that came before weighed heavily on the strategies and decisions made by the prominent houses while playing the titular game of thrones.
Since Game of Thrones came to a close, the franchise has expanded to focus more heavily on the Targaryens' rule in the centuries leading up to Robert's Rebellion. House of the Dragon has painted a detailed picture of a time when there were Targaryens aplenty, but the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragon heavily dwindled their numbers. By A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the Targaryens had somewhat reestablished their numbers, but without dragons, their rule was shaky.
In the coming years, we will see the start of the Targaryen dynasty in Westeros, as an Aegon the Conqueror movie is currently in the works. This will broaden understanding of this family's line of kings, queens, and Targaryen siblings who may never have sat on the throne but had an impact on Game of Thrones nonetheless.
House Targaryen History In Game Of Thrones Explained
Game of Thrones’ history of House Targaryen begins in the age when Westeros was conquered and continues until Jon Snow (Aegon Targaryen) begins his life Beyond the Wall. While the known history of Westeros extends back 12,000 years, Game of Thrones’ timeline is measured in BC (Before Conquest) and AC (After Conquest), with the first year AC indicating when House Targaryen was first crowned and the Targaryen family tree officially starts (Aegon I’s BC ancestors obviously existed but aren’t known).
Following Aegon the Conqueror, 16 more kings/queens would sit on the Iron Throne, concluding with Daenerys Targaryen’s death in 305 AC. Daenerys' reign was brief, though (she’s not on the Iron Throne throughout most of Game of Thrones). Mother of Dragons aside, the Targaryens were also unseated in 283 AC, when Robert Baratheon usurped the crown from Aerys II and Rhaegar Targaryen.
The history of House Targaryen is also often remembered for its frequent inbreeding, with Targaryens being married off to brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles for centuries in order to keep the blood of the dragon “pure.” Dragons were also one of the most significant aspects of the Targaryen family’s reign in Game of Thrones, as the power of such creatures instilled fear in their opponents. However, the last of House Targaryen’s dragons had seemingly died out in 153 AC, with Daenerys Targaryen then being the first to reign with dragons over a century later.
Aegon The Conqueror
Aegon I Targaryen, more commonly referred to as Aegon the Conqueror, was the first Targaryen to rule Westeros in Game of Thrones history and the founder of their dynasty. Born on Dragonstone, Aegon I Targaryen conquered Westeros’ kingdoms with his dragonrider sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys, whom he had also taken as his wives. It was said that Aegon married Visenya, known as a fierce warrior, out of duty, while he wed his younger sister Rhaenys, notable for her beauty and love of the arts, out of desire.
Aegon’s 37-year reign featured numerous battles with House Martell in Dorne, who refused to bend the knee even after Rhaenys and her dragon had burned much of the territory. Aegon had two sons: Aenys I with Rhaenys and Maegor I with Visenya. Following Aegon’s death from a stroke at age 64, the Iron Throne passed to his eldest son, Aenys.
Aenys I Targaryen
The second king of the Seven Kingdoms was Aenys I Targaryen, who was notable for lacking the warrior prowess of his father and brother while being quicker to kindness and indecision. Son of Queen Rhaenys, Aenys quickly married Alyssa Valeryon, with whom he had three sons (Aegon, Viserys, and Jaehaerys) and three daughters (Rhaena, Alysanne, and Vaella). Aenys’ short reign of only five years was marked by many rebellions, particularly by warriors connected to Game of Thrones' Faith of the Seven.
Before his death, Aenys announced that he was marrying his son Aegon to his daughter Rhaena, who would be his heirs to the throne. However, Aenys died at the age of 35 in 42 AC, which led to a usurpation by his younger half-brother, Maegor.
Maegor The Cruel
Artwork by Amok.The younger son of Aegon the Conqueror, Maegor seized the Iron Throne upon his brother’s death after spending years in exile for his polygamous marriage with Ceryse Hightower and Alys Harroway. Maegor continued to marry as a result of his previous wives never giving him children, with the king taking six wives by the end of his life. Maegor continued to battle the High Septon and Warrior’s Sons, where he executed dozens of Septons before one would marry him to his next wife.
When Aenys’ eldest son, Aegon, announced his claim to the throne, Maegor slew him and his dragon, and after he placed Aenys’ children Jaehaerys and Alysanne on Dragonstone as his mother’s wards. Maegor kept Aenys’ eldest surviving child, Viserys, with him at court, whom he soon had tortured and killed when learning that his nephew and niece had escaped Dragonstone. Soon after, Maegor forcibly took his niece, Rhaena, for his wife, intending her daughter from a previous marriage to be his heir.
In 48 AC, Jaehaerys announced his claim to the Iron Throne, with his sister Rhaena and many lords of Westeros joining his cause. Maegor was soon found dead seated on the Iron Throne, with his wrists slashed and throat impaled by the throne, though it’s unknown who was responsible for his death.
Jaehaerys I Targaryen
Following Maegor’s death, Aenys’ son Jaehaerys was crowned at 14 years old, becoming the fourth king on the historic Iron Throne. Jaehaerys was known for being wise beyond his years, forgiving, decisive, and born to be a king. Although he was advised against doing so, Jaehaerys took his sister Alysanne Targaryen as his wife, with whom he had 13 children: Aegon, Daenerys, Aemon, Baelon, Alyssa, Maegelle, Vaegon, Daella, Saera, Viserra, Gaemon, Valerion, and Gael.
Aemon sired a daughter, Rhaenys, while Jaehaerys married his son Baelon to his daughter Alyssa, who had three children: Viserys, Daemon, and Aegon Targaryen. After the sudden death of Baelon, Jaehaerys summoned a Great Council to decide the line of succession, with the lords ultimately naming Baelon’s eldest son, Viserys, his heir. Jaehaerys’ 55-year-long, largely peaceful reign came to an end in 103 AC when he was age 69.
Viserys I Targaryen
Another early king, Viserys I Targaryen features in House of the Dragon, played by Paddy Considine. He ruled Westeros from 103 to 129 AC and rode the dragon Balerion, who unfortunately died before seeing his dragonrider ascend the Iron Throne. Viserys sadly never found another dragon, but that didn’t stop him from being an influential ruler and one of the most significant in Westerosi history. The end of Viserys' reign also marks the end of the Golden Era of the Targaryens, and the start of the Targaryen Civil War.
Like most leaders, the question of Viserys' succession was contested by multiple parties, but he adamantly named his daughter Rhaenyra as his heir. House of the Dragon details how, upon Viserys' death in 129 AC, his wife, Alicent, placed her own oldest son, Aegon Targaryen, on the Iron Throne, effectively usurping Rhaenyra's rightful position.
Rhaenyra Targaryen
Rhaenyra is the daughter of Viserys with his first wife, Aemma Arryn. She’s the half-sister of Aegon II. The two competing for the Iron Throne plunged Westeros into a destructive civil war that, much like the events of Game of Thrones, involved multiple claimants both within the Targaryen family and without. She’s portrayed by Emma D’Arcy in House of the Dragon, with Milly Alcock playing the younger Rhaenyra during scenes exploring her relationship with Viserys second wife, Alicent Hightower.
Rhaenyra suffered greatly during the Dance of the Dragons, as two of her sons, Lucerys and Jacaeys, died in the fighting before she even took the Iron Throne. By this point, the Targaryens were in a state of absolute chaos, and Rhaenyra's hold on her crown was quite weak. The people of King's Landing ultimately rebelled against her, and Rhaenyra ended up being fed to her half-brother Aegon's dragon, Sunfyre.
Daemon Targaryen
After his grandfather’s death, the dragonrider Viserys I Targaryen ascended the Iron Throne. Rhaenyra was officially named his heir soon after, but his younger brother Daemon (played by Matt Smith in House of the Dragon) considered the Iron Throne his birthright. Daemon and his niece Rhaenyra eventually reconcile their differences in the typical unsettling Targaryen way – inter-familial romance. Rhaenyra was first wed to Laenor Velaryon, while Prince Daemon had two daughters with his wife, Laena Velaryon (Laenor's sister, to add further confusion and grossness).
After Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen’s spouses died, the niece and uncle quickly wed one another. Rhaenyra and Daemon soon welcomed a son, Aegon the Younger. However, animosity between Rhaenyra and Alicent had become a full-blown schism within the Targaryens between the “greens” (Alicent's son, Aegon II's, supporters) and the “blacks” (Rhaenyra’s supporters). Daemon was loyal to his wife Queen Rhaenyra and fought tirelessly in the Dance of the Dragons before he and his dragon, Caraxes, fell in the Battle Above the Gods Eye.
Aegon II Targaryen
Upon Viserys’ death, Aegon II ascended the throne, with his claim disputed by his sister Rhaenyra. The two split the realm amidst their battles, with both Targaryens perishing in the Dance of the Dragons. Aegon had married his sister Helaena, with whom he had two sons who both died during the war as young boys.
Aegon lost the Iron Throne a handful of months after being crowned and was forced to flee King's Landing as Rhaenyra and her dragons arrived to claim the city. When the people rose up against Rhaenyra, however, Aegon was free to reclaim his position. He eventually captured and executed Rhaenyra in front of her surviving son, Aegon the Younger, though he was poisoned by his own council not long after.
Aegon III Targaryen
Concluding the Dance of the Dragons, Aegon the Younger ascended the Iron Throne after the deaths of his mother, Rhaenyra, and uncle, Aegon II. Aegon’s reign saw unity in the Seven Kingdoms after the Dance of the Dragons, though he was too young to rule on his own for many years.
The joyless king was scarred by his youth during the Civil War, with his 26-year rule being marked by little emotion unless a dragon was mentioned, which would send him into a fury as the dragons had died out during his reign. Aegon III first married his cousin, Jaehaera, who died two years later, apparently by suicide. He then married Daenaera Velaryon, with whom he had five children: Daeron, Baelor, Daena, Rhaena, and Elaena. When Aegon the Younger died at age 36 from consumption, the Iron Throne passed to his eldest son.