One of the most intriguing and unexplored rabbit holes of popular HBO show Game of Thrones (GoT) was the story and origins of House Targaryen. The incestuous white-haired, dragon-wielding aristocrats were responsible for shaping much of what we saw of the Westerosi world in the 8-season mega-series. And yet, while we got to dive into the intricacies of all the major houses in Game of Thrones, we were left scrounging for more when it came to the Targaryens and their mysterious lives. 

All of this unquenched thirst, and more, is set to be taken care of starting the next fortnight when HBO will launch a prequel series titled House of the Dragon that is set 300 years before the events of GoT. This prequel shall revolve entirely around the Targaryens and the intra-family civil war that threatened to rip their dynasty off the face of the Earth long before Jon Snow sent his Valyrian steel sword deep into Danerys Targaryen’s heart in the series finale of GoT. 

With this in mind, let’s dig into what we do know about the Targaryens and their history of how they got to Westeros, as well as explore some of the House’s key monarchs. 

Also read: House of the Dragon: Game of Thrones spinoff timeline explained

The Targaryens were essentially immigrants to Westeros; their origins lay elsewhere. Indeed the Targaryens were one of the forty noble families called Dragonlords who ruled the Valyrian Freehold- a vast prosperous territory that covered most of the Eastern continent Essos. Though interestingly, they were hardly one of the most powerful of the families during their Essos days- with all the noble houses possessing dragons aplenty in that era. 

Their fortunes changed when Daenys Targaryen, also known as Daenys the Dreamer, had a dream where she saw a catastrophic event in Valyria that would destroy everyone in the land. This vision triggered Aenar Targaryen, her father, to sell off his estates and move to Dragonstone, which was the westernmost outpost of the Valyrian Freehold along with his dragons, family, relatives and wealth. 

The vision of Daenys was actualised 12 years later as the cataclysm popularly called the Doom of Valyria led to the annihilation of the Valyrian Freehold, with the Targaryens the last remaining wielders of dragons. For about a century, the status quo was maintained, as the Targaryens holed up in Dragonstone slowly lost all but one of their dragons- Balerion, and waited for the remaining 2 eggs to hatch. 

The wheels started moving again with the emergence of young Aegon Targaryen, who had been chosen by Balerion to be his rider. Aegon set his sights towards the west and began his conquest of Westeros- with his aim being to unite the seven kingdoms of the continent under one ruler. Riding on the formidable Balerion, the Black Dread and flanked by his two sister-wives, Rhaenys and Visenya who were also dragon riders by now, riding the 2 hatchlings Chagar and Meraxes, Aegon tore through the continent in a campaign that lasted 2 years and ended with Aegon conquering 6 of the 7 kingdoms- with Dorne the outlier. 

He built a small castle called Aegonfort at the place where he had first set ashore in Westeros and this town grew into becoming the expansive city of King’s Landing that we saw so much of in GoT. 

From the time of Aegon, the Targaryens ruled Westeros for close to two hundred and eighty-three years, so who were some of the dynasty’s notable rulers? 

Aegon I Targaryen

Effectively the founder of the Targaryen dynasty from a Westerosi perspective, Aegon I, popularly called Aegon the Conqueror was, along with his two wives, responsible for bringing almost all of Westeros under the rule of the Targaryens for the first time ever and creating a new home for the dynasty. The Targaryens had been one of many in the Valyrian Freehold, but Aegon took his House to the top of the food chain. He built a fort called Aegonfort which soon became the great city of King’s Landing, and the new capital of Westeros. 

He is also the one who built the infamous Iron Throne- that was made out with the help of his dragon Balerion burning and melting the countless swords of the enemies they had defeated into a throne. 

Aegon married his elder sister Visenya, as well as his younger sister Rhaenys with whom he begot his eventual heir Aenys I Targaryen. Aegon died at the age of 64 in Dragonstone from a stroke. 

Also read: Nine dragons to feature in House of the Dragon season one: Showrunner

Jaehaerys I Targaryen

Jaehaerys I, or Jaehaerys the Wise as he was commonly called, was the fourth Targaryen king, and also the longest reigning monarch- sitting on the Iron Throne for 55 years. He rode the dragon Vermithor and is said to have been an extremely fair spoken, chivalrous and courageous king. Inheriting the throne at a young age, Jaehaerys was keen to avoid the follies of his predecessors- Maegor, who was known for his cruelty, and Aenys who was known for his weakness.

Jaehaerys married his sister Alysanne, much against the wishes of his mother and step father Rogar Baratheon who was intent on claiming as much power over the king as possible. 

He was responsible for a period of peace, justice, stability and prosperity in the realm as he is notably remembered for bringing the entire seven kingdoms closer than ever- as he succeeded in keeping a happy peace with Dorne- which had always been a thorn for the Targaryens.  

Viserys I Targaryen

Viserys was the 5th Targaryen king, and successor of Jaehaerys the Wise. He was also the last dragon rider of Balerion, who died of old age during his reign- with Viserys never bonding with another dragon thereafter. 

He also oversaw a period of peace and prosperity in his 26 year reign, but the seeds of the civil war were sown in this time as his eager to please countenance meant that his choices weren’t always his, and various vested interests began to take advantage of this. In fact, he is one of the Targaryens that shall feature in the upcoming HBO show House of the Dragon.

Viserys, unlike his namesake whom we had the displeasure of crossing paths with in the original HBO series, was known for his generosity and amiable nature. The kingdom became a haven for the arts during his reign as he hosted countless balls, feasts, and tournaments. He was well loved by his subjects, the nobles and common folk alike. 

He was married to his cousin Aemma Arryn who bore him an heir but died in the process. He then chose to marry Alicent Hightower, the daughter of his Hand of the King.

Also read: Succession, fire and Iron Throne: ‘House of the Dragon’ set to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar 

Baelor I Targaryen

Baelor, popularly known as Baelor the Beloved, was the 9th king of the Targaryen dynasty and was a Septon as well as a king. 

He was a peaceful and pious man and frail in body due to the constant fasts that he took upon to please the Gods. He never took up arms, nor underwent any martial training, claiming that his favourite weapon was a prayer.

He married his beautiful and strong-natured sister Daena Targaryen, but never consummated the marriage.

His reign was a peculiar one- as his constant drive to the Gods led him to take erratic decisions throughout his reign. He even imprisoned his sisters in the castle against their will to ‘protect’ them from the ‘lustful’ eyes of the nobles, and granted tax exemptions to nobles that protected the chastity of their daughters using chastity belts. The common folk loved him because he was prone to emptying the treasury on his Godly whims, while the nobles were wary of where his thoughts might take him next. 

He was responsible for building the Sept of Baelor at King’s Landing- which Cersei so dismissively blew up in the season 6 finale of GoT.

Daeron II Targaryen

Also called Daeron the Good, Daeron II was the 12th king to sit on the Iron Throne. He is remembered for bringing Dorne successfully into the realm and uniting the entire lands of Westeros that were south of the Wall.

He was a man of peace- well aware that peace was key to a bright future for the realm. But his reign was marred by gruesome civil unrest orchestrated by his bastard half-brother Daemon Blackfyre. However, the rebellion was quelled at the Battle of the Redgrass Field, where Daemon and his two eldest sons were dispatched off to the Gods. 

Daeron married Myriah Martell of the Dornish House Martell with whom he begot four sons. His 25-year reign ended in tragedy, as his heir who had ably served as his Hand of the King, Baelor, died by accident in a trial of seven, before the king himself succumbed to the Great Spring Sickness a year later. 

Aerys II Targaryen

Aerys II, who became known as the Mad King, was the 17th and last Targaryen ruler to sit on the Iron Throne. A king who had shown immense promise in his early days on the throne, things went down south after a series of personal tragedies and rebellion took their toll on the king’s state of mind as he descended into insanity and paranoia. 

He married his sister Rhaella Targaryen, and had three children with her- Rhaegar Targaryen, who we come to know later in GoT as the father of Jon Snow, Danaerys Targaryen who was one of the main characters of GoT, and Viserys Targaryen her cruel, ill-mannered brother. It has been speculated that it was a series of miscarriages and stillbirths, and the death of 3 of his sons at childbirth that largely proved too much for Aerys to handle.

The latter part of his reign was chaotic and grim- the king’s paranoia had reached an extreme level, such that he wouldn’t allow anyone to cut his hair, or trim his nails, and he began to relish executing criminals by burning them alive.

The Mad King’s miserable existence drew to a conclusion when he had Lord Rickard Stark and his firstborn son Brandon Stark executed by fire. This triggered the great rebellion which was led by Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark of Winterfell. It was Jaime Lannister, a member of his King’s guard who finally slew the Mad King and ended the close to 300-year Targaryen monopoly over the Iron Throne.