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Ranking the Targaryen kings from best to worst


Emie

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In your opinion, ranking all seventeen of the Targ kings from best to worst, how would your list look? 

For me personally, it would be: Jaehaerys I, Aegon I, Viserys II, Aegon V, Daeron II, Viserys I, Daeron I, Maekar I, Jaehaerys II, Aegon III, Aerys I, Baelor I, Aenys I, Aegon II, Maegor I, Aegon IV, Aerys II. (Or switch Aerys II with Aegon IV) 

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I find it hard to differentiate a distinctly quantifiable ranking between many of them, so in general terms:

  • Best = Viserys II, Jaehaerys I
  • Good = Aegon I, Daeron II, Maekar I
  • Satisfactory = Aegon III, Aegon V, Jaehaerys II
  • Poor (i.e. really bad) = Viserys I, Daeron I, Baelor I
  • Shithouse (i.e. really, really bad) = Aegon II, Aenys I, Aerys I
  • Worst (i.e. really, really, really bad) = Maegor I, Aegon IV, Aerys II.

The Satisfactory kings are rather close to the Good ones, which in turn are also to the Best. Then a large gulf down to Poor, which is also quite close to Shithouse & Worst though.

Female rulers, regents, political players, &/or consorts:

  • Best = Alyssa, Rhaena, Alysanne, Rhaenys (the Queen Who ALWAYS Was), Elaena
  • Good = Visenya, Rhaenys, Maegelle, Alicent Hightower, Laena, Jeyne Arryn, Baela & Rhaena, Naerys, Melissa Blackwood, Bellegere Otherys, Mariah Martell, Daenerys, Betha Blackwood, Rhaella, Elia Martell.
  • Satisfactory = Alyssa's Targaryen mother, Ceryse Hightower, Alys Harroway, Aerea & Rhalla, Jocelyn Baratheon, Alyssa (sister-wife of Baelon), Aemma Arryn, Helaena, Larra Rogare, Daenaera Velaryon, Daena, Rhaena, Serenei of Lys, Jena Dondarrion, Aelinor Penrose, Dyanna Dayne, Kiera of Tyrosh, Aelora, Daenora, Shaera.
  • Poor = Tyanna of Pentos, Falena Stokeworth, Barba Bracken.
  • Worst = Rhaenyra.

Again, there's not much difference between Best & Good. The Satisfactory women of royal power are ones that we don't know enough about yet &/or they had mixed results.

Although I think Aegon (just) had the better theoretical claim (bloody hell, Jaehaerys!), I back Rhaenyra's instead (after the true Queen Regnant, Rhaenys, that is of course). That said, Rhaenya was almost as horrid as Aegon & Aemond, & was as incompetent. (Meanwhile Daemon was an utter monster, but generally competent). She was a terrible ruler & squandered so much of her potential & advantages.

@Emie Good list, though I think Viserys I & Daeron I are far too high & Aerys I to a lesser extent. If I may, why did you rank them so?

@Adam Yozza Same as Emie, plus the Unworthy?

@Jon's Queen Consort Again, the same as Emie. Also, why the Conqueror & the Concialiator so low though?

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@Lord Corlys Velaryon

Viserys I is where he is because he managed to continue his father's peaceful and prosperous reign for a fairly decent amount of time. Now, most of that isn't his own doing but at the same time he also didn't do anything to make him a bad King.

Daeron I is that high on the list because, despite how some people call it a folly, his invasion of Dorne was exactly what the Targaryen's needed to prove their strength after the death of the last dragon and the weak and uninvolved Aegon III. So it was sort of smart. If it wasn't for Dornish duplicity then Daeron may have gone down in history as an even better King than Aegon. Not to mention he was clearly seen as a capable ruler given that he managed to convince the Small Council not to put a regency in place, and the widespread support he had shows that he would have been well loved throughout the Kingdom. I'd say pretty decent; not the best, and a lot of my reasoning is based on presumptions but I think I placed him right.

Aegon IV; now he's interesting. He isn't one of the last few on my list because even though he was a terrible excuse for a human being, he also didn't actually do anything harmful to the realm. Sure he didn't do anything good either, but I'm not saying he was a good King; just that he isn't one of the worst. He was selfish and used his crown for his own ends, but he didn't bankrupt the crown (Robert), didn't go insane and start burning people (Aerys), didn't cause some uprising and then fail to deal with it (Aenys), he didn't start a hate campaign against religion, kill his own kin, usurp the throne and slaughter people by the thousands (Maegor) and he wasn't completely incompetent at pretty much everything (Aegon II). The only thing he did was legitimize Daemon, and even that wasn't that bad because it wasn't actually the cause of the rebellion.

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15 hours ago, Lord Corlys Velaryon said:

@Jon's Queen Consort Again, the same as Emie. Also, why the Conqueror & the Concialiator so low though?

I don't see why Aegon has to be higher. He was a power hungry maniac who thought that because he had the biggest weapons he has the right to bloodbath Westeros in order to rule it. And after he created havoc he continued his reign while he continued to disrespect the laws of men and Gods of the land.

As for Jaehaerys is more about his actions against female heirs than his ruling.

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16 hours ago, Adam Yozza said:

Aegon IV; now he's interesting. He isn't one of the last few on my list because even though he was a terrible excuse for a human being, he also didn't actually do anything harmful to the realm. Sure he didn't do anything good either, but I'm not saying he was a good King; just that he isn't one of the worst. He was selfish and used his crown for his own ends, but he didn't bankrupt the crown (Robert), didn't go insane and start burning people (Aerys), didn't cause some uprising and then fail to deal with it (Aenys), he didn't start a hate campaign against religion, kill his own kin, usurp the throne and slaughter people by the thousands (Maegor) and he wasn't completely incompetent at pretty much everything (Aegon II). The only thing he did was legitimize Daemon, and even that wasn't that bad because it wasn't actually the cause of the rebellion.

We have it in George's own words that Aegon IV was the worst king in Westerosi history. Worse than Aerys II or Robert Baratheon.

As to my listing, with the criteria to judge the quality of a king being peace being preferably to war, the well-being of the common people (not the lords), and a overall not shitty approach to your own family and the people around you:

1. The Great: Jaehaerys I (the best Targaryen king by any standard) & Daeron II (because he brought Dorne into the Realm through peaceful means)

2. The Good: Aegon I (gave the Realm long decades of peace but his reign is marred by a decade-long pointless war with Dorne; failed to complete the unification of the Realm, failed to reach a permanent settlement with the Faith), Aegon V (well-intentioned but not as successful as he could have been), Viserys I (gave the Realm 26 years of peace and plenty; failed to prevent a succession crisis); Aegon III (rebuilt the Realm after the Dance and apparently cared more about the common people than his lords)

3. The Average: Viserys II (he may have been a great Hand and could have been a great king but he died); Aerys I (dealt reasonably well with the many challenges his reign faced despite the fact that he caused none of those himself; failed to produce an heir of his own body); Jaehaerys II (showed a lot of strength and determination despite his physical frailty; could have been a good king had he lived longer); Baelor I (made peace with Dorne and greatly cared for the common people but treated his sisters like shit and became more and more erratic as his reign progressed; set the stages for the reign of the Unworthy); Maekar I (had a quiet and peaceful reign but nearly caused another Dance; really sucked as a father at least in case of his two elder sons); Aerys II (peace and prosperity for most of his reign; his reign ended in blood but as far as we know the Rebellion wasn't all that devastating a war)

4. The Bad: Daeron I (waged a pointless war that got tens of thousands of his subjects killed; got himself killed and failed to produce an heir of his own body); Aenys I (well-intentioned but incapable to make decisions; nearly lost the Targaryen Conquest and failed to prevent a civil war); Rhaenyra (failed to prevent a devastating civil war and was unwilling to make peace with the other side when she had the chance)

5. The Ugly: Aegon II (caused a devastating civil war); Maegor I (for obvious reasons, I think); Aegon IV (because George himself has said so)

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Here's my list of the best to worst Targaryen kings

Jaehaerys I - kept the peace, mostly, for some fifty years and ensured a smooth succession as well as many good enterprizes such as the Kingsroad (if I recall) and a common law across the Seven kingdoms

Aegon I - created Westeros and laid the groundworks for the realm

Aegon III - cared for the smallfolk and no great disasters on his watch

Maekar I - a warrior king who evidently could keep the Blackfyres out of the realm

Jaehaerys II -Seems like he was a good king for what time he ruled. The downside is of course that he couldn't join the army on the Stepstones and so might have given people ideas about royal power.

Aerys I - allowed a capable Hand to rule in his stead, also bonus for mercy

Daeron I - kept the realm together, maybe the cost of a war with Dorne, but then again the same kind of aggression made the Seven Kingdoms exist at all

Daeron II - kept the peace and all but that he couldn't defuse the Blackfyre Rebellion despite having some 12 years of rule before it says that maybe he wasn't as wise as one could have hoped

Aegon V - Caused lots of friction with the lords and while I am sure life would have been better for the smallfolk, in the end it came to nothing and he couldn't even rule his own House, and we don't know yet how many smallfolk did for it

Baelor I - a fool who contemplated holy war within the realm (as I recall), a stroke of luck that he died

Viserys I - ruled well but seriously botched the whole succession thing

Aerys II - almost caused Robert's Rebellion on his own

Viserys II - a usurper who don't seem to have ruled very well

Aegon II - another usurper and kinslayer

Maegor I - a cruel and kinslaying usurper

Aenys I - a fool and the Targaryen version of Tytos Lannister, with pretty much the same results and similar solutions

Aegon IV - as per GRRM's words the worst king, so that's what we'll have to work with

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1.) Jaehaerys I

2.) Aegon I

3.) Dareon II

4.) Viserys I

5.) Aegon III

6.) Viserys II

7.) Jaehaerys II

8.) Maekar I

9.) Aerys I

10.) Aegon V

11.) Baelor I

12.) Aerys II

13.) Dareon I

14.) Aenys I

15.) Aegon II

16.) Maegor I*

17.) Aegon IV*

* If George says you're the worst you are the worst, but personally I think Maegor is worse.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry I haven't been on the forums for a while. To the other poster wondering why I decided to rank Viserys I and Daeron I so high. I guess I feel that compared to others they weren't as bad. I wasn't just ranking on how well they ran the realm but also on their personalities and goals. Viserys I might not have been the best, but he actually cared about others and had a kind nature to him. And Daeron I might have wasted his time trying to start more wars with Dorne instead of coming to a better more peaceful solution. But at least he got stuff done himself. He actually went out with his own army to do what he truly believed he should do. Finish what his ancestors started. He didn't hide behind his castle walls and do nothing like Aenys I or Aerys I would have done. Or just let others handle it. 

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Top three, cause some of them are just blah blah blah in my brain:

-Aegon I has to be first, elsewise there is no dynasty. I include Visenya with him.

-Aegon IV has to be second, elsewise you don't have the story you are reading in AGoT

-Egg.  Can't stand that little turd, but he furthered the story we are reading today in several ways.

As you see, I rank them on how they have effected the story, not really how they were as kings.  If we are going with the quality of their rule, I thin Aegon I is still tops, then Jaehaerys I, then Tywin Lannister Aerys II, up until Duskendale.

 

 

 

 

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I made my ranking based upon an extensive table listing the positives and negative effects of each king based upon their tenure and the impact of that tenure. I also included a percentage that I based on the number of positives relative to the total number of achievements and for kings who have the same percentage, I have the reason they rank compared to each other.

Ranking of the Kings

  1. Jaehaerys I “the Conciliator” (88.9%)
  2. Viserys II (85.7%)
  3. Daeron II “the Good” (75%) - Length of term beats out Viserys.

  4. Viserys I (75%)

  5. Jaehaerys II (66.7%)

  6. Aegon V (55.6%)

  7. Aegon I “the Conqueror” (50%) - Created the Kingdom and ensured its survival after his reign.

  8. Baelor I “the Blessed” (50%)

  9. Aegon III “the Dragonbane” (40%)

  10. Maekar I (33.4%)

  11. Daeron I (33.4%) - Only major accomplishment ends in failure

  12. Aenys I (33.4%) - Unable to maintain realm peace

  13. Aegon II “the Elder” (25%)

  14. Aegon IV “the Unworthy” (25%) - Actions created pretender crisis which lasted 5 generations.

  15. Aerys II “the Mad King” (25%) - Actions lead to open civil war and the destabilization of Targaryen Dynasty

  16. Maegor I “the Cruel” (16.7%)

  17. Aerys I (0%) - Which is worse, a king that does nothing when terrible actions occur or a king who performs terrible actions?

 

Overall, the Targaryen Dynasty on average has an approval rating, by my calculations, of 45.8%.

 

Specific Actions of Each King

1: Aegon I "the Conqueror"

Pros:

  • Unified the Seven Kingdoms

  • Maintained good relations by traveling through the courts of the realm.

  • Maintained peace with the Faith of the Seven.

Cons:

  • Failed to codify a singular law system

  • The First Dornish War

  • Failed to find permanent solution to Faith crisis which would haunt his sons.

 

2: Aenys I

Pros:

  • Fathered many heirs, ensuring line and future realm stability.

Cons:

  • Far weaker than his father. Too affable and eager to please.

  • Failed to take initiatives with uprisings and faith crisis.

  • Far weaker than his father. Too affable and eager to please.

  • Failed to take initiatives with uprisings and faith crisis.

 

3: Maegor I "the Cruel"

Pros:

  • Strong enough to aid in putting down numerous rebellions.

Cons:

  • Arguably, more effective as Hand then as King.

  • Cruelty to smallfolk and nobles alike.

  • Inability to deal with Faith crisis.

  • Unable to father any heirs, decreasing realm stability.

  • Initiated succession issue and led to civil war.

 

4: Jaehaerys I "the Concilator"

Pros:

  • Fathered many children, ensuring realm stability.

  • Long reign ensured stability.

  • Unified realm under a single legal code.

  • Ended the Faith militant and made peace with the faith.

  • Gave support to the Night’s Watch.

  • Ended the Lord’s Right.

  • Negotiated truce between Blackwood’s and Bracken’s.

  • Ensured peace with Dorne.

Cons:

  • Decision on succession would directly lead to the Dance of the Dragons.

 

5: Viserys I

Pros:

  • Friendly and amiable, a peaceful king for a peaceful time.

  • Supported the War in the Stepstones.

  • Allowed Daemon’s reform of the City Watch.

Cons:

  • Reluctance to be firm and strong on succession and internal court politics directly led to Dance.

 

6: Aegon II "the Elder"

Pros:

  • Fathered three children, even if they never sat the throne.

Cons:

  • Defied his father’s will upon succession directly leading to a brutal civil war.

  • Civil war resulted in the deaths of most of the dragons.

  • Allowed his council and mother to lead in issues that furthered the conflict instead of de-escalation of the crisis.

 

7: Aegon III "the Dragonbane"

Pros:

  • Had two sons, ensuring realm stability.

  • Worked with his brother Viserys II to reunify the realm following the war, even if Viserys did majority of work.

Cons:

  • Melancholic. Little enthusiasm and bitter about the war.

  • Long regency period with destabilizing political intrigue.

  • Death of the dragons ensured future Targaryen instability.

 

8: Daeron I "the Young Dragon"

Pros:

  • No known major domestic issues during reign, likely due to Viserys.

Cons:

  • Short reign, no children.

  • Fought a failed war with Dorne.

 

9: Baelor I "the Blessed"

Pros:

  • Established a peace treaty with Dorne ending the Second Dornish War.

  • Made a strong relationship with the Faith of the Seven and smallfolk.

  • Initiated marriages that would result in the absorption of Dorne into the realm.

Cons:

  • Treatment of sisters directly led to the bastardry of Daemon Blackfyre and the future Blackfyre rebellion.

  • Religious fervor created instability with High Septon choices.

  • Refusal to create an heir created succession issues.

10: Viserys II

Pros:

  • Ruled effectively as Hand of the King for the years of his three predecessors.

  • Had a grown son to succeed him upon his death.

  • Established new mint.

  • Revitalized trade.

  • Reformed royal household.

  • Reformed Jaehaerys’ tax code

Cons:

  • Short reign, curtailed by heir.

 

11: Aegon IV "the Unworthy"

Pros:

  • Long reign.

  • Did not disown Daeron II, allowing his reign to not devolve into civil war and giving his vassals hope for a better future.

Cons:

  • Sired and legitimized his bastards, leading to all future Blackfyre Rebellions.

  • Attempted dismal invasion of Dorne.

  • Created domestic tensions with his passions and lusts.

  • Stole from his vassals, had a court filled with corruption and debauchery.

  • Actively destabilized his heir’s future reign to spite him.

  • Reinitialized Bracken and Blackwood feud.

 

12: Daeron II "the Good"

Pros:

  • Diplomatically unified Dorne and the Seven Kingdoms.

  • Successfully ended the Blackfyre Rebellion swiftly.

  • Had many children, ensuring realm stability.

Cons:

  • Failed to capture Blackfyre claimants.

 

13: Aerys I

Pros:

  • I honestly tried and could not find a single positive attribute or impact of his reign.

Cons:

  • Refusal to sire heirs would cause succession issues.

  • Failure to deal with Dagon Greyjoy, in the west.

  • Unable to maintain safety of the smallfolk.

  • Did not deal with Spring Sickness and the droughts.

  • Controlled by his Hand, and suffered through two Blackfyre Rebellions.

  • Refused to execute Bittersteel, ensuring future rebellions.

 

14: Maekar I

Pros:

  • Resolved the Peake Uprising, even if he was killed for it.

Cons:

  • Failure to name a clear heir resulted in succession crisis upon his death.

  • Stern and unforgiving, Maekar was a military man in a time of relative peace.

 

15: Aegon V "the Unlikely"

Pros:

  • Well like by lords and smallfolk alike.

  • More down to earth and reform minded than his predecessors.

  • Removal of Bloodraven ensured relative realm peace.

  • Ended Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion.

  • Dealt with uprisings successfully due to his efforts to improve the lives of smallfolk, even if he had to compromise more often than not.

Cons:

  • Obsession with dragons resulted in death.

  • Ruined relationship with many Great Houses.

  • Weakness with sons betrothals led to several succession and political crises.

  • Smallfolk reforms eventually undone.

 

16: Jaehaerys II

Pros:

  • Handled the War of the Ninepenny Kings, ending the Blackfyre threat once and for all (maybe).

  • Reconciled with Great Houses alienated by Aegon V.

Cons:

  • Sickly with a short reign.

 

17: Aerys II "the Mad King"

Pros:

  • Allowed Tywin Lannister to lead as Hand, creating great wealth and prosperity early on.

  • Initially ambitious, Aerys filled the court with liberal ideas and bold visions.

Cons:

  • Absolutely insane and cruel.

  • Wiped out houses for pretend slights.

  • Alienated half the realm and his hand out of jealousy and paranoia.

  • Created a dispute with the Iron Bank of Braavos.

  • Attempted to murder the entire city of King’s Landing.

  • Allowed Rhaegar to kidnap Lyanna Stark, initiating a realm-wide civil war.

 

 

Having looked at all my work, I may have gotten to into this question, but it was fun nonetheless.

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  • 2 weeks later...

1.) Jaehaerys I – No question in my mind; years of relative peace and prosperity

2) Viserys II – Generally not given enough credit; he was the one keeping things together through Aegon III, Daeron I, & Baelor

3) Daeron II – Finally brought Dorne into the fold; general prosperity and I don’t blame him for the Blackfyre. I don’t think there’s anything he could’ve done to prevent it short of killing all the legitimized bastards.

4) Aegon I- Have to give him credit for conquering Westeros with his sisters. He seemed a competent ruler afterwards

5) Viserys I – Kept the progress Jaeharys started; I don’t blame him for the Dance

6) Maekar I – General peace and prosperity

7) Jaeharys II – Did well in his short reign; credited with ending the Blackfyre Rebellions

8) Aegon V – Cared about the smallfolk and tried his best to help and there was general peace and prosperity; would’ve been higher but he gets docked for Summerhall

9) Aerys II – I’m probably going to get crap for this but objectively Aerys wasn’t necessarily a bad king although he was terrible person. He was batshit crazy and did (and planned) terrible things but his reign was mostly peaceful and prosperous. There’s a reason we have some smallfolk who wishes him back because they were happy during his reign; plus he gets credit for having Tywin as Hand for the majority of his reign

10) Aerys I – Didn’t do anything great and a lot of things (drought & spring sickness) were out of his control. Gets credit for getting Bloodraven to run things

11) Aegon III – Didn’t do anything great; gets credit for bringing in Viserys II as Hand

12) Daeron I – Understandable trying to conquer Dorne, but the losses he took wasn’t worth it especially since he had other options; gets credit for having Viserys as Hand

13) Maegor I- Bloodthirsty and always at war though I think you can argument that he didn’t have much of a choice; can’t just let the Faith Militant run wild

14) Aenys I – Better to be a bloodthirsty warmonger than completely indecisive and being taken advantage of

15) Baelor I – You get no credit for being a zealot and seemingly had no interest in actually ruling; i guess I have to give him credit for having Viserys as Hand since I do it above

16.) Aegon II – He’s to blame for the Dance of Dragons. He knew his father’s wishes and usurped Rhaenyra. The cost of the war could’ve been avoided

17.) Aegon IV – Although while he was in power I think the realm was fine, he’s to blame for 5 generation worth of Blackfyre Rebellions

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  • 7 months later...
On 02/04/2017 at 2:54 AM, Maxxine said:

12) Daeron I – Understandable trying to conquer Dorne, but the losses he took wasn’t worth it especially since he had other options; gets credit for having Viserys as Hand

I mostly agree with this. I guess I just think that his unifying the realm behind him plus his general success in actually conquering Dorne should earn him a higher ranking than Aegon III and the two Aerys.

As to everyone who said that I placed Aegon IV way too high...well I guess George's word is law on the matter. But based on the textual evidence I guess I just don't personally think he's worse than the likes of Aegon II or Maegor or Aerys II.

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On 11/8/2017 at 4:03 PM, Adam Yozza said:

I mostly agree with this. I guess I just think that his unifying the realm behind him plus his general success in actually conquering Dorne should earn him a higher ranking than Aegon III and the two Aerys.

As to everyone who said that I placed Aegon IV way too high...well I guess George's word is law on the matter. But based on the textual evidence I guess I just don't personally think he's worse than the likes of Aegon II or Maegor or Aerys II.

Honestly, Daeron I suffers the most in/out-of-setting from hindsight bias and Daeron II benefits the most from it.

Anyway, I've revised my ranking since last time:

1. Jaehaerys I

2. Aegon I

3. Viserys II

4. Maekar I

5. Aegon III

6. Daeron II

7. Jaehaerys II

8. Daeron I

9. Aegon V

10. Baelor I

11. Viserys I

12. Aerys II

13. Aenys I

14. Aegon II/Rhaenyra I

15. Aerys I

16. Aegon IV

17. Maegor I

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