cpg2016 Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I think the tier system is better as well. Best: Jaehaerys I, Viserys II, Aegon I These three are all kings at vastly different times and do vastly different things, but they are equally capable. Aegon establishes a central state and obtains at least nominal buy-in from his constituents, and rules well and actively for a couple decades. Jaehaerys turns a draconic state into a real realm; he establishes laws, improves public facilities, and generally stabilizes the Targaryen dynasty after the weakness of Aenys and the cruelty of Maegor. Despite dying early on, Viserys II is clearly the most capable administrator in Targaryen history and essentially rules the realm from the time of Aegon III onward, and deserves credit for that. I would have put him as clearly the best king if he reigned longer; he singlehandedly heals the wounds from the Dance and keeps the realm together during Daeron I and Baelor I's reigns. Good: Aegon III, Aegon V, Maekar I, Jaehaerys II Maekar tops this section, easily. Aegon III was a nonentity whose only accomplishment was not re-inflaming passions at the end of the Dance. Aegon V seems to have been a competent king, but bungled his marriage alliances and thus got nothing done. Jaehaerys doesn't do much, but at least the Blackfyre threat is extinguished in his reign. Not Awful: Viserys I, Aerys I, Daeron II, Daeron I Daeron II is here because his obvious favoritism of the Dornish is a large part of what fuels the Blackfyre Rebellions. Not entirely clear what he could have done much better, but playing the feudal politics game more skillfully and giving his non-Dornish subjects more authority in the kingdom might have blunted a lot of the anti-Dornish sentiment that led to Daemon having such a strong following. Aerys I is a do-nothing. Daeron I fits the mold of a conqueror-king, but in the end he fails, at great cost in life and treasure, and his desire for glory does a lot to lead to Aegon IV and all the Blackfyre shit. Viserys is at the bottom - his inability to control himself leads directly to the Dance, and it should have been obvious to him from the word go that in marrying Alicent Hightower he was setting the stage for a civil war. Keep it in your pants, dude. Definitely Awful: Maegor, Rhaenyra/Aegon II, Aegon IV, Aerys II Maegor gets a little bit of a pass because his later cruelty might be magic and/or coma induced, but clearly he's a bad dude. That being said, he also builds the Red Keep and puts down the revolt of the Faith; Jaehaerys may have done all the conciliating, but he starts from a strong position because Maegor has essentially exterminated the opposition. Still, cruel and violent psychopath, so... yeah. Rhaenyra and Aegon get lumped together because both are selfish, petty people with no understanding or interest in ruling, merely a desire for self-aggrandizement without any understanding of the responsibility that comes with having power. Aegon IV and Aerys II should be obvious. The notable exception is Aenys I. I don't think we know enough about him to slot him in anywhere, though I was on the border between "good" and "not awful". On the one hand, he's clearly a relatively weak and indecisive king who cedes a lot of power to Maegor. On the other, he's reasonably skilled at arms, isn't prone to overindulging himself a la Aegon IV or Rhaenyra/Aegon II, and if he gives a lot of authority to a psycho like Maegor, well... it is his brother, and Maegor wasn't AS bad prior to his Trial by Seven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bard of Banefort Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 1. Viserys II 2. Jahaerys I 3. Aegon I 4. Daeron II 5. Aegon V 6. Maekar 7. Jaehaerys II 8. Aegon III 9. Viserys I 10. Baelor 11. Daeron I 12. Aerys I 13. Aenys 14. Aegon IV 15. Maegor 16. Aerys II My most controversial pick here is certainly ranking Viserys II as number one, above Jaehaerys I. Truthfully, my reason for this is because, while Jaehaerys may have had a rough childhood (what with his uncle Maegor persecuting his family) for the majority of his reign, things generally went in his favor. He had a great council, a multitude of heirs, and his wife Alysanne to help him along the way. Viserys II had to essentially run the realm in the place of three less-than-savory kings (one clinically depressed, one a war-monger, and one a religious zealot), all while contending with a deplorable heir, a wife that left him early on in their marriage, and a country still recovering from his parents' war. Jaehaerys may look better on paper, but when you factor in all the additional drama Viserys had to deal with, it's incredible to see how much he was able to juggle at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Yozza Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 8 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said: My most controversial pick here is certainly ranking Viserys II as number one, above Jaehaerys I. Truthfully, my reason for this is because, while Jaehaerys may have had a rough childhood (what with his uncle Maegor persecuting his family) for the majority of his reign, things generally went in his favor. He had a great council, a multitude of heirs, and his wife Alysanne to help him along the way. Viserys II had to essentially run the realm in the place of three less-than-savory kings (one clinically depressed, one a war-monger, and one a religious zealot), all while contending with a deplorable heir, a wife that left him early on in their marriage, and a country still recovering from his parents' war. Jaehaerys may look better on paper, but when you factor in all the additional drama Viserys had to deal with, it's incredible to see how much he was able to juggle at once. Viserys II was a brilliant Hand. But he was only King for a year. Now, he still ranks highly because during that year he did more than Aerys I or Aenys or Aegon IV did during their entire reign, but his short reign; IMO; means he can't be number one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aegon1FanBoy Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 1. Jeahearys I- The man made the the united westeros the way it is the greatest feat for me is him actually getting the Brackens and Blackwoods to not beef for 50 years. Shame he never let Rhaenys take over but hey no one is perfect. 2. Aegon I- the man the myth the legend he is who started it all let a iron born tell his own people he was aegon's man actually caused a long term peace the likes the realm has never seen in thousands of years. Shame he never could have set up more progress like his gransson did, but i feel if rhaenys was alive she would have. 3. Daeron II- This man actually fixed all the problems his father caused and the realm prospered for it. 4. Visearys I- Yea he he should have shut his wife up, but he was firm with his succession i give him that. Continued with what his grandpa started and he did this dragonless too 5. Visearys II- a damn shame he died before his reforms could kick in i count his time as hand with him ruling kept it all together a shame he couldn't reign in his son. 6. Daeron I- the man achieved immortality as far as i am concerned, did what he set out to do actually was universally supported and loved. 7. Aegon V- love the guy but he really should have done a Tywin on his damn children still an able ruler 8. Meakar- kept the realm together after so many rebellions and tragedy 9. Aegon III- i would have placed him higher but that regency and personality just shows him as broken but he did his duty \ 10. Baelor- Well he did make buildings and carried out a great peace treaty, but man he was just too much 11. Jeahearys II- didn't do much but kept the peace 12. Aenys I- ineffective but he did have 2 good years when he and Maegor were ruling together 13. Aerys I- lucky he had the sense to choose bloodraven as hand 14. Aerys II- only good thing he did was make tywin hand caused the great dynasty to fall 15. Aegon IV- just despicable nice to read about though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikachu101 Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 The best was definitely Jahaerys I and the worst was obviously Aegon IV. What do you guys think determines what makes a good king? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Yozza Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 8 hours ago, Pikachu101 said: The best was definitely Jahaerys I and the worst was obviously Aegon IV. What do you guys think determines what makes a good king? How much suffering occurs during their reign against how much prosperity, whether they accomplished the goals they set out to achieve, ability to keep the peace, succession, ruling ability etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grey Wolf Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 1 hour ago, Adam Yozza said: How much suffering occurs during their reign against how much prosperity, whether they accomplished the goals they set out to achieve, ability to keep the peace, succession, ruling ability etc. Well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikachu101 Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 7 hours ago, Adam Yozza said: How much suffering occurs during their reign against how much prosperity, whether they accomplished the goals they set out to achieve, ability to keep the peace, succession, ruling ability etc. Perfect answer Jahaerys I ticked all the boxes, Daeron II and Aegon I most, whilst Aegon IV and Maegor failed miserably. I would also say Rhaenyra/Aegon II (depending on you saw as regnant) was terrible as well. They lost the Targaryens their dragons, after that the House just became more and more vulnerable to revolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Yozza Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 5 hours ago, Pikachu101 said: I would also say Rhaenyra/Aegon II (depending on you saw as regnant) was terrible as well. They lost the Targaryens their dragons, after that the House just became more and more vulnerable to revolt. I agree. Rhaenyra less so, though. If it hadn't been for the war she might have been a mediocre ruler. Aegon just seemed incompetent at everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikachu101 Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 4 minutes ago, Adam Yozza said: If it hadn't been for the war she might have been a mediocre ruler. Yup, I can see her as someone who did nothing special but at the same time was competent enough to keep the peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.