Why did Drogo want to marry Dany?

[Tumnas the Torpid]

Horselords prefer blondes?

[Old Man Aegon]

I think dany was a long term plan for westeros from Illyrio nad Varys's part. They arranged the marriage between drogo and dany and the "trade" for 40.00 screamers was just to please Viserys. They never wanted him to rule, he had his fathers madness. I think that the plan was that if

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Aegon failed Dany would have whelped and told her son that he was the heir to westeros aswell as the son of a khal. He would then conquer Westeros as varys and Illyrion's last hope.

[Teal'c]

I also assume thet Illyrio and Varys are Blackfyre loyalists (Varys potentially a Blackfyre, and Illyrio might have been married to one... Varys' sister perhaps), and Aegon is a Blackfyre too (i.e., Illyrio's son). There are other theories I find plausible, but this one makes the most sense to me at the moment.

Under this assumption, it makes a ton of sense for Illyrio to send Viserys and Dany into their doom: Viserys is probably the one person who can unequivocally out Aegon as fake, and these two are perfect targets for King Bob's Targaryen hate so Aegon can hide better. Also, it makes sure Pentos is unharmed by the Dothraki this time around.

But while Viserys' death is important for Illyrio's strategy, Dany dying is pretty much optional. He probably prefers it that way, but since she survives and becomes a üpolitical force in her own right, she becomes the perfect match for Aegon - the last two 'Targaryens' marry, giving Aegon further legitimacy and 'righting the wrong' of Blackfyre suppression in one stroke... until Tyrion throws a spanner in the works of these two schemers...

One more way to keep Aegon (real or fake) from being discovered too early is to have Dany and Viserys acting as "beards" i.e. a a cover or distraction. "Don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain." Everything we need to know about life, it was in the Wizard of Oz... wink

[brena]

I'm all for the trophy-wife explaination.

Khal Bob: Last time I went to the cities, they gave me 40 slave girls.

Khal Drogo: Last time *I* went to the cities, they gave me 50 slave girls, plus this pale-skined, silver-haired, violet-eyed girl from Weste-whats-it-called.

Khal Bob: Where?

Khal Drogo: Whatever, it's really far. They were going to breed her to their greatest Khal, but they gave her to me instead because I'm the greatest Khal of all.

Khal Bob: she's too frail; she won't survive long.

Khal Drogo: I'm SO awesome I'll manage to keep even a frail thing like her alive until she's Dosh khaleen.

Khal Bob: she looks weird.

Khal Drogo: oh and how do YOUR pale-skined silver-haired, violet-eyed women look?

Khal Bob: ...

Khal Drogo: oh that's right. YOU DON'T HAVE ANY! HA!

[The guy from the Vale]

... that was already included in my post. So yes, I agree with you there.

[dtones520]

Trophy Wife.

She is also a child and perhaps Drogo was a pedophile and preferred them that age.

Im sorry, but i get so annoyed when people say this about the world of Westeros. And im sorry if you were just being sarcastic. In Westeros, and even our own Medeval society, there is nothing wrong with marrying/sleeping with a girl who has had her first period. If she could have a child, she was a woman.

It is sick by our own standards, but to say someone in that world was sick because they are sleeping with a 15 year old is a bit off.

[Silver Spearwife]

Technically, it's mentioned something like six billion times that trades don't work normally in the Dothraki culture. Dany was not being traded for forty thousand horselords. She was given to Khal Drogo under the assumption that in return, Viserys would get his army, but that was never really ensured. Dany proves to be worth the price, although Viserys was too stupid or perhaps insane to wait, but if Dany hadn't been worth the price, Drogo may simply not have given him his horselords. Win-win for Drogo. Plus, yeah, trophy wife.

[Tumnas the Torpid]

Im sorry, but i get so annoyed when people say this about the world of Westeros. And im sorry if you were just being sarcastic. In Westeros, and even our own Medeval society, there is nothing wrong with marrying/sleeping with a girl who has had her first period. If she could have a child, she was a woman.

It is sick by our own standards, but to say someone in that world was sick because they are sleeping with a 15 year old is a bit off.

The psychological standard for pedophilia is sexual attraction to prepubescent children, so even by today's standards, Drogo is not a pedophile. A creep, a lech, but not a pedophile.

[Brienne the Beauty]

Technically, it's mentioned something like six billion times that trades don't work normally in the Dothraki culture. Dany was not being traded for forty thousand horselords. She was given to Khal Drogo under the assumption that in return, Viserys would get his army, but that was never really ensured. Dany proves to be worth the price, although Viserys was too stupid or perhaps insane to wait, but if Dany hadn't been worth the price, Drogo may simply not have given him his horselords. Win-win for Drogo. Plus, yeah, trophy wife.

If Viserys had turned out to be a man Drogo could respect, Drogo would have probably found a way of getting to Westeros with his army. But he wasn't going to send them on a fool's errand.

Ironically, Drogo would probably have really liked (a young) Robert Baratheon. They had a similar sort of mentality.

[eyeheartsansa]

Technically, it's mentioned something like six billion times that trades don't work normally in the Dothraki culture. Dany was not being traded for forty thousand horselords. She was given to Khal Drogo under the assumption that in return, Viserys would get his army, but that was never really ensured. Dany proves to be worth the price, although Viserys was too stupid or perhaps insane to wait, but if Dany hadn't been worth the price, Drogo may simply not have given him his horselords. Win-win for Drogo. Plus, yeah, trophy wife.

This is what Vis is led to believe. The reality that Illyrio (not Vis) is probably wise to, is that Dothraki idea of 'trade' is little more than extortion and protection. Ie, this is a lovely village. It'd be a real shame if we had to, you know, pillage everything. How bout just give us some stuff and we'll call it even for now. To Drogo, they were already even because they didn't attack Pentos.

[Silver Spearwife]

So then the question isn't "Why did Drogo want Dany?" it's "Why would Illyrio let Drogo have Dany?" Some people have suggested it's because Illyrio had no intention of either of them returning, and Dany making it out with three dragons and an army was just bad luck.

Illyrio wanted Viserys to stay behind. Or at least that's what Viserys is led to believe. If he wanted Viserys dead, why suggest he remain? Reverse psychology? That does sound like something Varys would do, and by extension Illyrio.

And why the elaborate ploy? They were living in his house. Just kill them. I suppose if he expected Vis to die and Dany to stay with the Dothraki, it would put Pentos in Drogo's good graces. Two birds with one stone.

And what about Doran? Doran is told that Viserys was supposed to make it to Westeros with an army of horselords. Why tell him that if it's not true? In fact, why involve Doran at all? Maybe that was because of Aegon. With Viserys out of the picture, Illyrio could simply say, "Well, we have this other guy."

And then, anyone who knows anything about Dothraki culture knows that the biggest hurdle isn't getting Drogo to agree to follow someone else (a problem by itself). It's getting them to cross an entire ocean.

The more I think about it, the slimier this situation is. Someone needs to take out Illyrio.

Sorry, I asked a lot of questions and answered most of them myself ><.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

There isn't the slightest connection between Varys/Illyrio and Doran. That are two completely different schemes.

[Parwan]

I don't think the trophy wife explanation works at all. The term is a recent coinage in our culture and has nothing to do with the life of nomads on Esos. Certainly Drogo is not going to attend cocktail parties at ritzy country clubs where he will introduce Daenerys to envious colleagues (including many older males). She is not a clever, cultured, and independent woman who can stand in for him at important social functions and perhaps some business meetings. More to the point, I see nothing in Dothraki culture that indicates that an older man would gain status by marrying a young hot foreign woman. Note that this is a marriage, definitely an arrangement even if not exactly a sale. Conquering cities or tribes and carrying off women gains a man status in a warrior culture. Making deals with a fat Pentosi cheesemonger does not.

A better approach to our question would be to consider what a khal would want from a wife (not from a bed slave or a mistress). I think the answer can be given in two words: strong sons. Drogo is not stupid or ignorant. It is an extremely good bet that he knows about dragons and Valyria. He certainly knows about dragonbone and Valyrian steel. A man like him would be very interested in mating with the last female descendant of a guy named "Aegon the Conqueror." The appeal would be based on genetics, what the residents of Esos and Westeros would probably call blood lines.

This explanation holds up well when we consider what happens after the wedding. There is the long trip across the grasslands, the ceremonies, the prophecy, etc. Did Drogo think that the dosh khaleen would be highly impressed with a beautiful platinum blonde? Not likely. The whole business is centered on Dany's pregnancy. You have the mixing of the blood of a mighty khal with that of a descendant of dragon riders. That is the main point. In the chapter where Dany presents Viserys with the Dothraki garb, she reports that her pregnancy has inflamed Drogo's desire, "and of late his embraces left her exhausted." More significantly, we have the ceremony that starts with the eating of the stallion's heart. After Deanerys succeeds, Drogo puts a hand on her arm. It is the only time she senses fear in him. He is uncertain what the crones will prophesy. When they proclaim that the unborn child will be the stallion who mounts the world, it is the fulfillment of his hopes.

I don't deny that the khal is happy to find that Dany is good looking. I don't think that her beauty was the deciding factor for him though.

[Maroucia]

I don't think the trophy wife explanation works at all. The term is a recent coinage in our culture and has nothing to do with the life of nomads on Esos. Certainly Drogo is not going to attend cocktail parties at ritzy country clubs where he will introduce Daenerys to envious colleagues (including many older males). She is not a clever, cultured, and independent woman who can stand in for him at important social functions and perhaps some business meetings. More to the point, I see nothing in Dothraki culture that indicates that an older man would gain status by marrying a young hot foreign woman. Note that this is a marriage, definitely an arrangement even if not exactly a sale. Conquering cities or tribes and carrying off women gains a man status in a warrior culture. Making deals with a fat Pentosi cheesemonger does not.

A better approach to our question would be to consider what a khal would want from a wife (not from a bed slave or a mistress). I think the answer can be given in two words: strong sons. Drogo is not stupid or ignorant. It is an extremely good bet that he knows about dragons and Valyria. He certainly knows about dragonbone and Valyrian steel. A man like him would be very interested in mating with the last female descendant of a guy named "Aegon the Conqueror." The appeal would be based on genetics, what the residents of Esos and Westeros would probably call blood lines.

This explanation holds up well when we consider what happens after the wedding. There is the long trip across the grasslands, the ceremonies, the prophecy, etc. Did Drogo think that the dosh khaleen would be highly impressed with a beautiful platinum blonde? Not likely. The whole business is centered on Dany's pregnancy. You have the mixing of the blood of a mighty khal with that of a descendant of dragon riders. That is the main point. In the chapter where Dany presents Viserys with the Dothraki garb, she reports that her pregnancy has inflamed Drogo's desire, "and of late his embraces left her exhausted." More significantly, we have the ceremony that starts with the eating of the stallion's heart. After Deanerys succeeds, Drogo puts a hand on her arm. It is the only time she senses fear in him. He is uncertain what the crones will prophesy. When they proclaim that the unborn child will be the stallion who mounts the world, it is the fulfillment of his hopes.

I don't deny that the khal is happy to find that Dany is good looking. I don't think that her beauty was the deciding factor for him though.

I really liked your post and taught you brought some interesting points that were not discussed yet.

It’s probable that Drogo wanted to breed the best sons in history, or something similar, and had the idea that mixing his blood, that he thought carried physical strength and warrior abilities with the one of the Targaryens that may be known as carrying political skills and other similar stuff, he would reach his goal.

On another hand, as for wanting strong sons, if I was Drogo, after taking a look at Viserys, I would tell myself that I don’t want any of my children to be that weak and useless, given that, I would consider Daenarys as a mediocre candidate.

[Lizaveta Martell]

I fully agree with Parwan. The Dothraki don't seem to be endlessly caught up in the superficial view of life or women (to their credit). In fact, their only high art or culture is repurposing gods from conquered peoples. Their aesthetics seem to value utility, power and in a strange way, cultural mixing (putting all the torn-down god statutes in one place like a mashup, accepting gifts from a multitude of societies, indiscriminate sex). I think Drogo was thinking like a horse breeder, not an art collector. Which in some ways is ugly and degrading, but at least it's an authentic life of sex and children and genetics, rather than holding out Dany as a pure and useless object.

[The King in the South]

I actually find this question interesting as well (although I doubt it will ever be answered). What we are apparently supposed to assume is that it is due to the fact that she is a highborn princess, and beautiful in a starkly different way from Dothraki women.

I find the first assumption hard to accept. Drogo is already at the height of power among his own people. Dany may be highborn, but she brings nothing to the table that usually makes a highborn girl a desirable match - no alliances, no powerful family, no wealth, nothing but her dubious claim to a throne that Drogo could not care less about.

I suppose it could be the idea of having a "treasure" in human form that no other khal has. But frankly, I would imagine that a man like Drogo would look at frail and childish Dany and assume that she would never survive the lifestyle of the Dothraki, much less be strong enough to bear him strong children.

I also find it peculiar that we never see a mention of any other Dothraki wedding or marriage, ever. That there have been other khaleesi is obvious from the existence of the dosh khaleen, but they are all described as older/crones. None of the bloodriders appears to be married, no other wedding celebrations are ever mentioned (and you would think that in a community numbering 40,000, they would happen with reasonable regularity). In fact, the impression I got was that the Dothraki in general approach the subject of breeding very similarly to a large herd of animals ...the last man standing in a fight over a woman gets her (for a minute), they consider themselves as honoring the lamb men by improving their stock with Dothraki seed via rape - there is absolutely nothing to indicate that romantic love, or formal unions (arranged or not), are any part of their culture at all. Frankly I can't imagine how any Dothraki woman ever has a clue who might have fathered her children.

Perhaps marriage is only for the khals. However, that makes no sense to me either, as becoming a khal has zero to do with who your parents are/were; you have to fight for the right to lead a khalasar. So why even the khals would care what children they fathered with whom is hard to imagine. Rhaego might have taken over Drogo's khalasar if Drogo had lived and ruled long enough for Rhaego to grow to maturity and turned out a fierce enough fighter and good enough leader, but it is made very plain that the khalasar has no interest in following him simply because he is Drogo's son. In fact, they would have killed him to prevent him from growing up to be a rival.

I agree with most of your points, however I do believe it's mentioned when they are in Vaes Dothrak that Khal Ogo (the Khal that Drogo later kills when he raids the Lharzeen) had three wives whom were present with him. It is interesting to note however that they were sat below the Khals and treated with nowhere near the same respect/reverence that was given to Dany.

[Milcov]

I do not think that Drogo ever promissed Viserys an army to take Westeros. I think Illyrio lied to him. Viserys did not know anybetter. Drogo was probably wanting a new woman to bed, something different to stinky arid climate slave women. Jorah, who did learn Dothraki, advised Viserys before he went nuts that Drogo views Dany as a "gift", which means not as a payment for an army, meaning he was owed her because he was Khal and he found her pleasing. Viserys was cheated.

Don't the Golden Company say that Viserys was meant to arrive with 40,000 Dothraki? I think Illyrio and Varys simply had plans to put Aegon on the throne and Viserys was just another Targ who had a worse claim than Aegon. He also advised Viserys to remain in Pentos, just Viserys was too stupid to heed Illyrio's advice, Daenerys was given to Drogo with the understanding that in time Drogo would lend his Khalasar as an army.

As for Drogo wanting Dany, Drogo is the most powerful Khal in the Dothraki Sea, he wants the most beautiful wife to boast about really, the fact she's descended from Conquerors and Dragon Lords is the icing on the cake. He wants something to seperate him from the average Khal and a hot foreign princess does just that.

[eyeheartsansa]

just a quick sidentote I think the horse heart eating ceremony was beautifully portrayed on the hbo series; when he lifts her up in the air and embraces her you can really see how happy she's made him.

@Parwan - I think everyone here is using a looser interpretation of the concept of 'trophy wife' than what you described. Dany's bloodline, her looks, her genetics, it all fits into that concept. Drogo wanted a better wife than all the other khals. But that certainly doesn't downplay the significance of her childbearing potential as you did a great job of pointing out.

[Spearmother]

I do not believe that Illyrio meant for Viserys and Dany to die; it was probably more of a gamble: just wait and see what happens. It was discussed on this forum why Illyrio gave Dany the dragon eggs, and the general consensus seemed to be that he had at least some hope that she might be able to hatch them.

Of course this would also mean that Viserys' and Dany's death was one possible outcome of that gamble. They seem to have been expendable to Illyrio.

And more on topic: Perhaps in Dothraki culture it is only the Khals that ever marry someone given the general behavior towards women. And such a marriage seems to be very important and special if the Khal rides halfway around the world just to present his wife to the "crones". I would agree with the well-explained (Parwan) theory that blood lines are the most important reason for this marriage.

[Hiems Adventum]

I thought of it as a way of buying respectablilty among the civilized nations. Maybe Drogo had ambitions beyond leading a khal of nomads. If he wanted to conquer and hold cities and proclaim himself a great king, being kin to the scions of old Valyria would help.

It reminded me of when one of the early Russian tsars married the niece of the Byzantine Emperor. Byzantium was all but conquered by then, but that connection still held value to the up-and-coming Russian nation.