Who was the first Targaryen? The fantasy series House of the Dragon is shedding new light on the rather monstrous Targaryen family. I mean, we always knew they were a few dragon eggs short of a rookery, but I don’t think any of us expected them to be as unhinged as Daemon Targaryen.
This new batch of Game of Thrones characters is certainly entertaining (we’d die for King Viserys Targaryen), though, and makes for pretty compelling viewing. That said, while the war between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Aegon II Targaryen makes for gripping TV, we do occasionally wonder where all this madness comes from. Basically, we want to know ‘who’s the first Targaryen?‘ and no, it’s not who you think it is.
Who was the first Targaryen?
The oldest Targaryen we know of is Aenar Targaryen, also known as Aenar the Exile. It was Aenar’s daughter Daenys who dreamt of Old Valyria’s destruction, and heeding her prophecy, he moved the Targaryen family to Dragonstone.
That meant when the Doom came to Valyria, Aenar’s family was far away from the erupting volcanoes and safe. Eventually, Aenar’s great, great, great-grandson, Aegon the Conqueror, was born, and he would go on to conquer all of the Seven Kingdoms (except Dorne) and begin the Targaryen dynasty, which ultimately leads to Daenerys Targaryen.
While there were definitely older Targaryens — the family was well established in Valyria before the Doom — George RR Martin has never named Aenar’s parents or older generations of Targaryens.
Who was the first Targaryen king?
The first Targaryen king was Aegon the Conqueror, also known as Aegon I.
If you simply cannot get enough of the Targaryen family feud and need to know more about the civil war, then you’re in luck. We have a guide to House of the Dragon season 2, and if that’s not enough, we have articles on all the big Targaryen dragons, including Balerion the Black Dread, Meraxes, Caraxes, Seasmoke, and Vhagar.
Also, check out our guide looking at a potential Game of Thrones season 9 and the return of the Game of Thrones cast. No, we don’t want it either.