Favorite Targaryen monarch

[Aemond's Eye]

I largely agree, otherwise he wouldn't be my favorite Targaryen king :) . What I meant he could have done better in the Blackfyre cause was removing/or not appointing Butterwell as Hand (Butterwell was one of aegon the unworthys cronies after all and did nothing to stop the beginning of the Rebellion, much like Orton Merryweather did during RR). Daeron II should have removed him earlier and made Baelor/Brynden or some other guy Hand. I agree he couldn't change Aegor Bittersteel's nature or pull a Tywin and kill all the bastards.

It seems a bit odd on the surface, I agree, but I just assumed that Butterwell did have some talents besides flattery, else Daeron would have sent him packing instantly.

One of the things that I like about Daeron is that he - and Naerys, and presumably LC Aemon - befriended Brynden, his mother and siblings. It read to me that Daeron was more of a father to them than much elder half-brother. (Presumably to Shiera Seastar too.) Before the world book I thought that Maekar and Brynden were rivals, but now I lean more towards any rivalry being more akin to sibling rivalry, and that Maekar was just more annoyed at not bring named Hand rather than hating Brynden. But I digress...

[Lady of the Falls]

I liked Aegon I and his sisters, they all seemed bad@$$ to me.

[DanaKz]

Best character: Egg.

The best king: Aegon the Conqueror because he actually built something; the Seven Kingdoms themselves.

And then his successors did... pretty close to nothing. An integration of Dorne here, a non-paved(!) road crossing the realm there. Nothing an average roman emperor couldn't have done in 5 years and been deemed lazy for it by historians.

The Targaryens rule comes damn close to stagnation, if you ask me. With the occasional civil war thrown in for entertainment value. So I guess the best Targaryen kings after Aegon are those who did not let a civil war occur under their watch! :lol:

Bravo. You summed all my feelings about Targaryens' glorious reign.

[Guard of the Rainking]

I get Egg, but Maekar?

A man who accidentally killed his brother is not interesting to you?

[Lord Varys]

Nothing suggests that Ambrose Butterwell became Hand at once after Daeron's ascension. My guess is that his original choice for a Hand died/resigned shortly before the Blackfyre Rebellion and Daeron II then replaced him with Butterwell.

The idea that a man like Butterwell served as Hand for a man as intelligent as Daeron II for ten years without the latter realizing that this man was not exactly his best choice makes little sense to me. Even if we assume that Butterwell had certain qualities that made him a good Hand in peace times.

[rhaenys666]

Aegon I.

Because one day he woke up and said "Fuck everything, I want to be the King of all this...", and despite Rhaenys probably ignoring him and Visenya rolling her eyes at him (all depends on which of them he woke up next to)... he did it. He fucking did it.

^^^this. You're my favorite

But seriously, daeron ll and jaeherys l

[Max of the Magic Friends]

Aegon I deserves special mention, mainly because he was the one who built the Seven Kingdoms as we know them. By all accounts, he was as great a ruler as he was a war leader, and that's a rare enough thing.

Aegon III, particularly after reading WoIaF, ranks highly on my lists. He seems a bit like Stannis, if you ask me: grim, humorless, solemn, but also dutiful, prudent, and effective as a ruler. Knitting the realm back together after the Dance was no easy feat, so I'm giving him due credit for that.

Baelor the Blessed was pretty darn awesome. Eccentric, but also pious, brave, and genuinely concerned with the good of his people? Sounds great to me! Trying to end prostitution, making peace with Dorne in the coolest way possible, and giving all of the crown's money to the poor doesn't hurt either. A very underrated king, if you ask me.

Daeron II was also good, considering his achievements in bringing Dorne into the realm and defeating the Blackfyre Rebellion. A wise and moral man, and really that's all you can ask for.

Of course, Aegon V deserves mention for his good nature, years of peace, and love of the smallfolk. Not everything was a success in his reign, but he still ruled well.

However, I think the grand prize has to go to King Jaeherys the Conciliator. Because really, who can possibly top a ruler that brought 50 years of peace, plenty, and prosperity to an entire continent? An entire generation went by without ever seeing a war, thanks to him - is there anyone else that can compare? I don't think so.

[Batbob45]

I say Aegon V-he was a king for the smallfolks and he was not crazy. He and GOT Arya would get along since they didn't look down on smallfolk

[Black_Paradiso]

In terms of who was the best leader of the realm, then I'd have to go with Jaehaerys I. He didn't do much wrong in 50 years, which is a great accomplishment.

In terms of who I find most interesting, then it's Aerys II. He was utterly derganed, cruel, paranoid to say the least. But that's what I find so fascinating about him. I can't wait to find out the "truth" of his relationships with Tywin and Rhaegar.

Other than that, Baelor I.

[Bironic]

In terms of who was the best leader of the realm, then I'd have to go with Jaehaerys I. He didn't do much wrong in 50 years, which is a great accomplishment.

I think we also have to see the political situation in which a king takes the trone. Imagine Aegon V with Dragons? He would have had much more influence on Westerosi politics. I mean for the power that he wielded Jahaerys I achievements weren't really big. I don't say he was bad, but he could have done better.

[Black_Paradiso]

I think we also have to see the political situation in which a king takes the trone. Imagine Aegon V with Dragons? He would have had much more influence on Westerosi politics. I mean for the power that he wielded Jahaerys I achievements weren't really big. I don't say he was bad, but he could have done better.

Well, he pacified the Faith Militant, got rid of the First Night, established common law, negotiated the first truce between Bracken and Blackwood, re-vamped King's Landing's waterworks and won the love of his people.

I don't know what you mean by "for the power that he wielded Jahaerys I achievements weren't really big", because IMO he didn't have to do anything "big". After the initial amnesty he settled between the parties involved in the Faith Militant Uprising, his reign was peaceful and prosperous.

[Veltigar]

Well, he pacified the Faith Militant, got rid of the First Night, established common law, negotiated the first truce between Bracken and Blackwood, re-vamped King's Landing's waterworks and won the love of his people.

I don't know what you mean by "for the power that he wielded Jahaerys I achievements weren't really big", because IMO he didn't have to do anything "big". After the initial amnesty he settled between the parties involved in the Faith Militant Uprising, his reign was peaceful and prosperous.

Heck, you're even leaving stuff out. He expanded and improved the road network immensley, a new castle was built for the NW, he didn't just pacify the Faith Militant, he also almost completely robbed the Faith of any power by taking their military and judicial power away, he also had 50 odd years of peace in his reign. He had a sound marriage policy.

He basically made two, maybe three mistakes. He took away the New Gift from the Starks and he had to many of his children joining the faith (and one fleeing over seas to become a brothel operator). You could also argue that not appointing Rhaenys as heir was a mistake as well, but at least he had good reasons to make that last mistake.

Also, the truce between Bracken and Blacken wasn't the first. It was just a very long one ;)

[Black_Paradiso]

Heck, you're even leaving stuff out. He expanded and improved the road network immensley, a new castle was built for the NW, he didn't just pacify the Faith Militant, he also almost completely robbed the Faith of any power by taking their military and judicial power away, he also had 50 odd years of peace in his reign. He had a sound marriage policy.

He basically made two, maybe three mistakes. He took away the New Gift from the Starks and he had to many of his children joining the faith (and one fleeing over seas to become a brothel operator). You could also argue that not appointing Rhaenys as heir was a mistake as well, but at least he had good reasons to make that last mistake.

Also, the truce between Bracken and Blacken wasn't the first. It was just a very long one ;)

You're quite right.

Long for the Brackens and the Blackwoods, anyway ;)

[Lord Varys]

Jaehaerys also unified the Realm by codifying and unifying the law. Before his reign the Targaryens were merely the kings of six disparate kingdoms. After Jaehaerys, the Realm was unified, KL was it's unquestioned capital, and Viserys I could rule from there without making a single royal progress (at least as far as we know). That's a massive achievement.

We should also consider the possibility that Jaehaerys singlehandedly saved the Targaryen dynasty as a 14-year-old boy. Without him, the last male Targaryen prince left, the Lords most likely would not have rallied behind another pretender (Rhaena, Aerea, and Rhalla were female and in Maegor's control, and Alysanne was female and still very young), and thus the whole dynasty may have ended with Maegor's suicide.

There are hints in TWoIaF that Maegor's enemies were not all pro-Jaehaerys - the Faith Militant certainly wasn't. Without Jaehaerys the Realm most certainly would have fractured again, or perhaps fallen into the hands of zealous fanatics led by the High Septon, secretly controlled by the Hightowers...

[kompaya]

"He had it in him to become the shrewdest king to ever sit the Iron Throne"

This thread has serious issues.. where is the mention of Viserys II!?

I suppose you overlook him cuz of his misfortune in the bedchamber.. his story is such a tragedy.. living and ruling in the shadow as kings hands, fathering the worst monarch of Westeros, being poisoned(?) by the same guy.

from all the praise he got in TWOIAF I have to go with him

he did manage to steer the ship safely through the shoals and islands that were his precessors.. being hand for.. was it three ludacris kings?

[Guard of the Rainking]

"He had it in him to become the shrewdest king to ever sit the Iron Throne"

This thread has serious issues.. where is the mention of Viserys II!?

I suppose you overlook him cuz of his misfortune in the bedchamber.. his story is such a tragedy.. living and ruling in the shadow as kings hands, fathering the worst monarch of Westeros, being poisoned(?) by the same guy.

from all the praise he got in TWOIAF I have to go with him

he did manage to steer the ship safely through the shoals and islands that were his precessors.. being hand for.. was it three ludacris kings?

He's one of my favorites as well.

[kompaya]

He's one of my favorites as well.

The light is not yet on in this dark tunnel, but its blinking.. tysm

[Acnologia Targaryen]

"He had it in him to become the shrewdest king to ever sit the Iron Throne"

This thread has serious issues.. where is the mention of Viserys II!?

I suppose you overlook him cuz of his misfortune in the bedchamber.. his story is such a tragedy.. living and ruling in the shadow as kings hands, fathering the worst monarch of Westeros, being poisoned(?) by the same guy.

from all the praise he got in TWOIAF I have to go with him

he did manage to steer the ship safely through the shoals and islands that were his precessors.. being hand for.. was it three ludacris kings?

2 because the dragonbane was by no means ludacris. Even when one of his hands was seigeing the palace for his brother's wife he stood by him and her.

[Aemond's Eye]

Heck, you're even leaving stuff out. He expanded and improved the road network immensley, a new castle was built for the NW, he didn't just pacify the Faith Militant, he also almost completely robbed the Faith of any power by taking their military and judicial power away, he also had 50 odd years of peace in his reign. He had a sound marriage policy.

He basically made two, maybe three mistakes. He took away the New Gift from the Starks and he had to many of his children joining the faith (and one fleeing over seas to become a brothel operator). You could also argue that not appointing Rhaenys as heir was a mistake as well, but at least he had good reasons to make that last mistake.

Also, the truce between Bracken and Blacken wasn't the first. It was just a very long one ;)

I don't see this as a good thing. It was Alysanne's attempt to help the Night's Watch, aye, but in the end the Starks and northern lords were proven right - the new gift became unpopulated over time as the Night's Watch (understandably) was more inclined to look northwards rather than south. Had Jaehaerys not forced the Starks to hand the land over, it's more likely than the area would have remained populated.

(Which obviously means less land for wildling settlers in ASOIAF, but we can't pretend Jaehaerys & Alysanne intended for that to be the outcome.)

[Veltigar]

I don't see this as a good thing. It was Alysanne's attempt to help the Night's Watch, aye, but in the end the Starks and northern lords were proven right - the new gift became unpopulated over time as the Night's Watch (understandably) was more inclined to look northwards rather than south. Had Jaehaerys not forced the Starks to hand the land over, it's more likely than the area would have remained populated.

(Which obviously means less land for wildling settlers in ASOIAF, but we can't pretend Jaehaerys & Alysanne intended for that to be the outcome.)

... Read my post again sport. The second paragraph specifically, that's where I talk about the mistakes of Jaeherys I, including the Stark landgrab. That new castle is totally unrelated to that landgrab. The Nightsfort was breaking down and to expensive for the dwindling NW to maintain to boot, thus Alysanne sponsoring a new castle was a great move. Especially since Jaeherys and Alysanne got added propagande value, paying for the fortress with her own jewels and all.