Best Targaryen King

[The King Of Cooked Steak]

Not sure if this has been brought up before (probably has) but who is in your opinion the best Targaryen king?

After a lot of searching in the wiki, I think the best was Jaehaerys I The Conciliator. He brought the Faith Militant uprising to a peaceful and just end without any bloodshed, which is what led to his nickname. He built the Kingsroad, and the realm was at peace for his 50 years of reign.

Give your opinions.

[Stormland's Fury]

I concur and say Jaehaerys I as well.

[Olligarchy]

Not sure if he counts, but Daemon Blackfyre, the King who bore the sword!

If he doesn't then it has to be Jaeharys. The man was brilliant, no matter how one takes it.

[Lord Dragon Slayer]

Aegon the Conqueror - Taking and Uniting most of Westeros! Creating Kings Landing, Red Keep, Kings Guard, Hand of the King and the infamous Iron Throne!!

Imagine Westeros if he hadn't have come...

[Stormland's Fury]

Not sure if he counts, but Daemon Blackfyre, the King who bore the sword!

If he doesn't then it has to be Jaeharys. The man was brilliant, no matter how one takes it.

Baelor Breakspear had great promise as well. Too bad it never came to be.

[Consigliere]

Special mention to Daeron II. He brought Dorne into the realm.

[Mirri Maz Durr]

Aerys II.

[MrsManderly]

The Good Queen Alysanne (ok, and her husband - I think that was Jaeherys I, right?)

Best Targ king that never was: Aemon Targaryen

[Nictarion]

Jaehaerys l and Good Queen Alysanne were by far the best rulers Westeros ever had.

[Twenty of House Goodmen]

Jaehaerys I and his queen. They're better than any ruler we've read about.

[Winterfell is Burning]

Certainly the guy that is called The Wise, The Conciliator, The Great.

[LordToo-Fat-to-Sit-a-Horse]

Aegon I, Jaehaerys I, Viserys II, Daeron II, .. those i think are the only good targaryen kings..

jaehaerys the II maybe.

ETA: Maegor was cruel and insane, besides an usurper.. but he played his part in disarming the faith.. Jaehaerys only offered a pardon, which would have never been accepted if the faith wasn´t defeated already.

[Suzanna Stormborn]

I like Aegon I really, He wasn't a war-crazed conquerer, but a thoughtful and reasonable man. He didnt even mess with the 7K until they started messing with him on Dragonstone.

[Fat Mac]

Jaehaerys I and Daeron I always seemed like the best kings.

[Wmarshal]

Aegon the V was greatest king of Westeros, for he actually cared about the small folks rights.

[Bael's Bastard]

I think Aegon I, Jaehaerys I, Viserys I, Aegon III, and Daeron II had the best reigns of the Targaryen kings (I might add Aegon V, and Aerys II as well, as the realm seems to have prospered for two decades during his rule), but most of them also directly or indirectly led to problems after their own successful reigns.

Aegon I conquered Westeros, but could not conquer Dorne, and could only ensure the stability of his own rule, not his successors.

Jaehaerys I seems to have secured acceptance of Targaryen rule, and to have brought peace in many areas, but in his long reign he outlived at least two of his heirs, and the succession issues at the end of his reign contributed to the later Dance of the Dragons.

Viserys I seems to have had a peaceful reign, but he contributed to the circumstances which led to the Dance of the Dragons upon his death.

Aegon III seems to have had a peaceful reign, but his sons were disastrous, one being too militant, the other being too religious. Viserys II might have been the only thing that kept the whole thing from falling apart during that decade and a half.

Daeron II's greatest success and greatest failure were triggered by the same thing, the marriage of Daenerys to Maron Martell. He did what Aegon the Conquerer, Jaehaerys, and all the other great kings before him could not, and brought Dorne into the realm (and into one of the Targaryens' best allies over the next century), Yet that same marriage was the straw that broke the camel's back with Daemon, leading to over sixty years of wars with the Blackfyres. Obviously it was Daeron's father, Aegon IV, who laid much of the foundations for this civil war, but it came to fruition as a result of Daeron's choices.

I tend to think Aegon V's was probably a pretty good one on the whole, as he reigned in the area of 26 years, comparable to Viserys I, Aegon III, and Daeron II, who all seemed to have long, successful reigns. He seems to have done the most for the average folk that we've been told of so far. I think his biggest issues were likely with some nobles, but that the realm was generally in good shape during his reign. But clearly some of his decisions led to disaster for the end of his own reign, and for his house afterward.

Aerys II's reign seems to have been prosperous, and to have had little major conflict until the end. Much of that can probably be attributed to Tywin Lannister. And the things he did to the detriment of his own reign and the end of his house are obvious.

But then you have kings who perhaps did not have particularly great reigns, but who did some things good for the continuation of the Targaryen dynasty.

Maegor was the Hand and King the realm needed at that time. If not for Maegor, the Targs may not have made it far beyond the death of Aegon I. Maegor may not have been a good guy (although I am skeptical of his reputation), but he seems to have attempted to assimilate, becoming a knight, taking Westerosi wives once king. Even Jaehaerys did not accept a militarized Faith.

If nothing else, Baelor's marriage of Daeron II to Myriah Martell helped pave the way for Daeron to bring Dorne into the realm. Not sure if this was truly his doing, or the doing of his hand Viserys.

Viserys II only reigned a year or two, but as hand he helped keep things together during the reigns of Daeron I and Baelor, possibly even in the latter days of the reign of Aegon III. I am not sure whether Viserys was a bad father, or Aegon IV was just a bad seed, as Aemon seems to have been all the good things Aegon was not. With Viserys becoming king so late and for so little a time, his children weren't really going to be raised to handle being king.

All in all, I think I would probably go with Jaehaerys being the best king overall. On top of all else, I have a feeling he married some of his daughters off to other major houses (as he did to the Arryn), giving them more of a tangible connection to the Targaryen dynasty. He seems to have sewn up Westerosi acceptance of Targaryen rule, to the extent that most of the major wars over the next century and a half were between Targaryens and their supporters among the houses, rather than Westeros vs. Targaryens.

[MacNille]

Jaehaerys I was a damn good King. I have also wonder how well Maekar I did when he was a King?

[LordToo-Fat-to-Sit-a-Horse]

Jaehaerys I and Daeron I always seemed like the best kings.

Daeron I lost 50 k men trying to hold Dorne after his "conquest".. and ended up failing miserably..

how is that a good king?

[Bael's Bastard]

I'm thinking they meant Daeron II.

[LordToo-Fat-to-Sit-a-Horse]

Aegon the V was greatest king of Westeros, for he actually cared about the small folks rights.

but did he achieve anything? caring for the small fokls and championing for their rights means nothing if you aren´t able to pass reform.

from the books i get the idea that he tried to press for issues that would help the small folk, but the nobility opposed him and he eventually failed.

too revolutionary maybe.