Unveiling the Intricate Targaryen Family Tree: House of the Dragon Decoded

Daenerys Targaryen's father, Aerys II, also known as the Mad King, was the final Targaryen king to reside in the Red Keep. He was overthrown by Robert Baratheon during a civil war known as Robert's Rebellion, which lasted approximately one year. Following Aerys' removal from power, Robert Baratheon became the seventeenth ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Aegon the Conqueror is recognized as the progenitor of the Targaryen monarchs preceding Robert, and both Game of Thrones and its prequel series, House of the Dragon, highlight Aegon I's victories, political skill, and virtues. Aegon was born in 27 BC on Dragonstone to Lord Aerion Targaryen and Lady Valaena Velaryon. He married his elder sister, Visenya, following the tradition of House Targaryen, but his younger sister, Rhaenys, was his true love. Each sister bore him a son: Aenys from Rhaenys, who became the second king on the Iron Throne, and Maegor from Visenya, who seized the throne from Aenys' children, Rhaena and Aegon.

King Aenys I, who was married to his cousin Alyssa Velaryon, had a total of six children with her. Their sons were Rhaena, Aegon, Viserys, and Jaehaerys, and their daughters were Alysanne and Vaella. Aenys I's eldest son, Aegon the Uncrowned, earned his nickname due to his throne being usurped by his cruel uncle, Maegor. On the other hand, King Maegor I had three stillborn children with his six queens. The Targaryen royal line continued through Aenys' offspring, and Jaehaerys I became the fourth king to hold the Iron Throne. He gained the moniker "the Conciliator" for negotiating peace between the Targaryens and the Faith, and he had the longest reign in history, spanning fifty-five years. Jaehaerys I was married to his own sister, Alysanne, and they had thirteen children together. The old king outlived his queen and all of their children. In 101 AC, he called for a Great Council at Harrenhal to determine his successor. This significant event is featured in the opening of House of the Dragon season 1, episode 1, titled "The Heirs of the Dragon." At the council, his oldest male descendant, Prince Viserys, was chosen over his older cousin, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. Viserys' reign marked a new era for House Targaryen.

Who Rules The House Of The Dragon?

In House of the Dragon season 1, episode 5, titled "We Light the Way," Viserys and Lord Lyonel Strong, his Hand, pondered over the perception of Viserys' reign. Viserys questioned, "Will I be remembered as a just ruler, Lyonel? How will historians depict my reign? I have neither engaged in battles or conquests, nor suffered any significant defeats," the king reflected. Unbeknownst to them, the Small Council and the king's ill-fated policies and actions had sowed the seeds of a conflict within the house of the dragon. Following Viserys I's demise in 129 AC due to illness, the house of the dragon divided into two factions - the Greens and the Blacks. Rhaenyra, his eldest daughter from cousin Aemma Arryn, was his rightful heir, while Aegon, his firstborn son from Alicent Hightower, usurped her claim to the throne. The resulting war between the Black Queen, Rhaenyra, and Aegon II for control of the throne had far-reaching consequences for the realm.

The Dance had devastating repercussions for House Targaryen, with the majority of its members perishing. Most of their dragons were lost, and only four survived the conflict. Only one dragon egg was successfully hatched in 153 AC, but the newborn, a deformed female dragon, had a short life. As for the continuation of the Targaryen lineage, Aegon the Younger, Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen's son, ascended to the Iron Throne in the middle of 131 AC. Aegon III inherited a fractured and war-torn realm, and he himself was an unhappy ruler. The last dragon also passed away during his reign, earning him the epithet, "Aegon the Dragonbane." In an effort to mend the divisions within House Targaryen, he entered into two marriages. First, he married Jaehaera, his uncle Aegon II's daughter. However, the couple did not have any children, and it is believed that Jaehaera took her own life, ending Alicent Hightower's lineage.

Viserys II To Daenerys Targaryen

Aegon III entered into a union with Daenaera Velaryon to continue the royal lineage, with their offspring including Baelor, Daena, Rhaena, and Elaena. When Aegon's fourteen-year-old son, Daeron Targaryen, ascended the throne as the eighth Targaryen king, his reign was cut short due to his ambitious invasion of the Principality of Dorne. Uncle Benjen Stark aptly summarized Daeron's ill-fated conquest to Jon Snow, stating, "A conquest that lasted only a summer. Your Boy King lost ten thousand men seizing the region, and an additional fifty thousand attempting to maintain control. Someone should have enlightened him that warfare is not a mere game." Daeron I was succeeded by his brother, Baelor the Blessed, who displayed extraordinary acts of penance such as prolonged fasting. He adhered to the Faith of the Seven and oversaw the construction of the renowned Sept of Baelor, which Cersei Lannister later destroyed in Game of Thrones.

Viserys II Targaryen, Hand of the King, succeeded his nephew Baelor I. Rumors circulated that Viserys II had poisoned Baelor in order to claim the throne for himself. After Viserys II's death in 172 AC, his eldest son Aegon IV, also known as Aegon the Unworthy, became the ruler. Regarded as one of the worst Targaryen kings, Aegon IV's most detrimental action was legitimizing all of his illegitimate children on his deathbed. This decision sparked the Blackfyre rebellions, which haunted the Targaryens for five generations. The realm had no solution for Aegon's tyrannical reign until Aegon V, also known as "Egg," ascended to the throne in 233 AC. Aegon V bypassed other candidates in the line of succession through a Great Council and succeeded his father, Maekar I. It is the same king whom Maester Aemon Targaryen from Game of Thrones reminisced about, fondly calling him "Egg," on his deathbed.

Aegon V, consumed by the desire to restore dragons to the Seven Kingdoms, perished while attempting to hatch dragon eggs at Summerhall castle. Jaehaerys II, Aegon's secondborn son, succeeded him on the Iron Throne, followed by his son, Aerys II (known as the Mad King), who married his sister, Rhaella. Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, Aerys' heir, fell in love with Lyanna Stark and clandestinely wedded her after annulling his marriage to Elia Martell. While Robert Baratheon slew Rhaegar at the Trident, his bloodline continued through Lyanna's son, Jon Snow. Maester Aemon, Aegon V's elder brother, claimed to be Daenerys Targaryen's last living relative in Game of Thrones. During a meeting where Samwell Tarly detailed the challenges Daenerys faced in Slaver's Bay, Aemon ominously commented, "A Targaryen alone in the world is a dreadful thing." Unbeknownst to all, Jon Snow, too, possessed Targaryen blood, interrupting the meeting.