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Best Targaryan kings and best "should have been" kings

theBigPicture

By theBigPicture,
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theBigPicture

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Hey guys.

Sorry if this was disscussed.

In your oppinion, who are the top 3 kings and the top 3 "should have been" kings among the Targaryans?

When I say top kings, I am refering to economic levels, how good the comon people life was etc. No war heros or conqueres.

Top Kings :

Jaehaerys I

Daeron II

Aegon V

Top "should have been" kings :

Baelor Breakspear

Rhaegar Targaryan

Master Aemon

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MRHD Landed Knight

MRHD

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I agree with your top three Targ kings, although we honestly know little about Egg as king (when people mention his reign it almost always seems the trivia piece about how unlikely he was, not so much about how successful he was as king). So that is more based on short story impressions of him and extrapolating that to a successful kingship.

Baelor Breakspear is definitely far and away the top choice for should have been king. I agree that Aemon also would have made a good king, although obviously if he had reigned then Egg probably never would have. I'm going to throw Rhaenyra in there as my third, as a should-have-been-Queen, just because the way she was treated was pretty awful and Aegon II seems like he was a nasty piece of work.

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mrunderhill Council Member

mrunderhill

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Baelor the Blessed was half mad and a terrible king. Daeron II was another bad king, saved by the sorcery of Bloodraven.

Aegon the Conqueror and Jaehaerys I are the only really good kings the Targaryens produced. Maekar may have been pretty good as well, but we lack information. I like to think Egg was great, he certainly had a lot of potential, but a lot when wrong in his reign. I would still put him down as a pretty good king.

Great Kings

Aegon I

Jaeherys I

Good Kings

Aegon V

Maekar I

Baelor Breakspear would have been the greatest Targaryen king of them all.

Daemon Blackfyre would also have been a great king, beloved by his people.

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Fat Mac Council Member

Fat Mac

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Baelor the Blessed was half mad and a terrible king. Daeron II was another bad king, saved by the sorcery of Bloodraven.

Aegon the Conqueror and Jaehaerys I are the only really good kings the Targaryens produced. Maekar may have been pretty good as well, but we lack information. I like to think Egg was great, he certainly had a lot of potential, but a lot when wrong in his reign. I would still put him down as a pretty good king.

Great Kings

Aegon I

Jaeherys I

Good Kings

Aegon V

Maekar I

Baelor Breakspear would have been the greatest Targaryen king of them all.

Daemon Blackfyre would also have been a great king, beloved by his people.

We don't really know anything about Aegon the first's Kingship, so I think its a bit early to put him in the great category.

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aceluby Council Member

aceluby

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Baelor the Blessed was half mad and a terrible king. Daeron II was another bad king, saved by the sorcery of Bloodraven.

Aegon the Conqueror and Jaehaerys I are the only really good kings the Targaryens produced. Maekar may have been pretty good as well, but we lack information. I like to think Egg was great, he certainly had a lot of potential, but a lot when wrong in his reign. I would still put him down as a pretty good king.

Great Kings

Aegon I

Jaeherys I

Good Kings

Aegon V

Maekar I

Baelor Breakspear would have been the greatest Targaryen king of them all.

Daemon Blackfyre would also have been a great king, beloved by his people.

Aegon the conquerer? I'd only label him a 'good king' if you also put those such as Genghis Khan, Ceasar, Napolean, and Hitler as 'good'. Guy invaded lands that weren't his utilizing unmatched firepower that killed thousands of innocent people who didn't want to be conquered. Hardly someone I'd think is 'good'.

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mrunderhill Council Member

mrunderhill

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We don't really know anything about Aegon the first's Kingship, so I think its a bit early to put him in the great category.

We know a lot about his conquest and though he did not rule directly, he stepped in to ensure peace. He was the one that left Dorne alone for the time being since a conquest would not be prudent, agreed to retain anyone who bent the knee, understood the importance of being crowned by the High Septon and had a peaceful reign considering he had just conquered a continent.

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mrunderhill Council Member

mrunderhill

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Aegon the conquerer? I'd only label him a 'good king' if you also put those such as Genghis Khan, Ceasar, Napolean, and Hitler as 'good'. Guy invaded lands that weren't his utilizing unmatched firepower that killed thousands of innocent people who didn't want to be conquered. Hardly someone I'd think is 'good'.

I am not talking about morally.

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aceluby Council Member

aceluby

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I am not talking about morally.

Then what ARE you talking about? Thousands of people died and the country was in shambles from this foreign dictator. He's the worst thing to ever happen to Westeros besides the Great Night IMO.

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CrowsBeforeHoes Sellsword

CrowsBeforeHoes

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Then what ARE you talking about? Thousands of people died and the country was in shambles from this foreign dictator. He's the worst thing to ever happen to Westeros besides the Great Night IMO.

There was no united Westeros without him. What about the reign of Harren the Black that he ended? How many more people would have suffered under him and his heirs? During his conquest there were indeed many lives lost, but the long term stability of a united Westeros probably prevented significant death. This is different than the conquerors you mentioned. Aegon acted somewhat as a liberator (Harren) and did not seek to change the culture of Westeros significantly as they sought to.

All that said Aegon also consolidated his reign for over a dozen years after the Conquest, but did not secure his heir's succession (Faith Militant Uprising) which kicks him out of my top 3.

Top 3: Aegon V (preemptive Ninepenny campaign) Jaehaerys I (Conciliator and First Night) Aerys (before madness if I can say that, but if not then) Daeron II (smart)

Top would-be 3: Rhaegar (seemed smart and capable) Daemon (badass, would've kept Blackfyre in family) Aemon (smart)

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intheswamp Council Member

intheswamp

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I'm not sold on Aegon V being a great king.

He forced the Aerys and Rhaella marriage, because of a prophesy.

Who knows what his involvement was at Summerhall?

He married for love and allowed his children to do the same, which apparently made House Targaryen many enemies.

But, he was popular with the smallfolk and put down the "last" Blackfyre pretender.

I don't feel like we know enough about the reigns of most Targ kings to give an accurate estimation of their quality.

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Erik Dane Commoner

Erik Dane

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The best "should have been king" was Viserys II, even though he were king. He only ruled for a year, but he held the realm together as Hand for 14 years, while his two nephews either tried to conquer and hold Dorne (Daeron I) or prayed endlessly (Baelor the Blessed). Without him the Targs would have had a very hard time.

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Lord Elrosir Landed Knight

Lord Elrosir

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Best Kings:

Aegon the Conqueror, united Westeros, kept old leaders and families in power like Robert did, but was not weak or idiotic like Robert.

Jaehaerys I, long peaceful era, peace with the Faith.

Viserys II, whilst not a long reign whilst he was actually named King, he acted as a great King whilst Daeron the Young Dragon conquered Dorne and whilst Baelor the Befuddled prayed and did other stupid shit. Era of Peace.

Kings that should have been:

Daemon Blackfyre, loved by his followers, martial prowess, and inspired enough loyalty amongst his supporters for many civil wars.

Baelor Breakspear, dude was awesome. I don't feel like recapping all the awesome of The Hedge Knight.

Aemon Targaryen, mild tempered, extremely smart, and knew enough about politics to know that if he did not become a maester, that he'd be used against his brother Aegon V.

Rhaegar Targaryen, loved by the smallfolk, learned, and displayed martial prowess. Recognized that his father needed to be replaced.

Kings that should not have been:

Baelor the Befuddled, madness in the form of zealotry. Without Viserys II, who knows what would've happened.

Aegon the Unworthy, everything that a King should not be.

Aegon the Unlikely, letting his children marry for love rather than alliances caused friction in the kingdom.

Aerys the Mad King, I think he would've been fine had it not been for the Defiance of Duskendale.

Also, Rhaenyra would have been a Cersei Lannister in the Targaryen family if you read her description.

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Fat Mac Council Member

Fat Mac

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Then what ARE you talking about? Thousands of people died and the country was in shambles from this foreign dictator. He's the worst thing to ever happen to Westeros besides the Great Night IMO.

Well actually, Aegon took Westeros quite bloodlessly, all things considered.

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