The Citadel Chronicle
The chain of reigns, told at length

Kings of the Iron Throne

Every crowned head to sit the Iron Throne, in unbroken order — the dragon's seventeen, the stag's three, and one contested queen. Reign years are the maesters' own; the accounts are the chronicle's.

  1. Aegon I, the Conqueror

    House Targaryen
    1 – 37 AC · 36 years

    Forged seven kingdoms into one with three dragons and a light hand. The count of years begins with his crowning.

  2. Aenys I

    House Targaryen
    37 – 42 AC · 5 years

    Gentle where iron was wanted. The Faith rose against him; he died at Dragonstone of illness and despair.

  3. Maegor I, the Cruel

    House Targaryen
    42 – 48 AC · 6 years

    Broke the Faith Militant with fire and pits, finished the Red Keep and killed its builders. Died alone on the throne that cut him.

  4. Jaehaerys I, the Conciliator

    House Targaryen
    48 – 103 AC · 55 years

    Fifty-five years of peace, one law, the kingsroads. The Citadel’s vote for greatest of the line.

  5. Viserys I

    House Targaryen
    103 – 129 AC · 26 years

    The realm at its richest, the dragons at their most numerous, the household quarrel at its most fatal.

  6. Rhaenyra

    Contested claim
    129 – 130 AC · one year

    The Half-Year Queen. Named heir, denied the throne, crowned on Dragonstone, fed to Sunfyre. The blacks’ queen; the ledgers still quarrel over her style.

  7. Aegon II

    House Targaryen
    129 – 131 AC · 2 years

    Crowned over his half-sister’s claim. Won the war, lost every child, and was poisoned by his own lords to end it.

  8. Aegon III, the Broken King

    House Targaryen
    131 – 157 AC · 26 years

    Watched a dragon eat his mother at nine. Under him the last dragon died; he did not mourn it.

  9. Daeron I, the Young Dragon

    House Targaryen
    157 – 161 AC · 4 years

    Conquered Dorne at fourteen, wrote the book at sixteen, died at a peace banner at eighteen.

  10. Baelor I, the Blessed

    House Targaryen
    161 – 171 AC · 10 years

    Septon first, king after. Walked the Boneway barefoot, began the Great Sept, fasted unto death.

  11. Viserys II

    House Targaryen
    171 – 172 AC · one year

    Ruled the realm as Hand for three kings; wore the crown himself for a single year.

  12. Aegon IV, the Unworthy

    House Targaryen
    172 – 184 AC · 12 years

    Nine mistresses and a deathbed decree that legitimized his bastards — and lit the Blackfyre fires.

  13. Daeron II, the Good

    House Targaryen
    184 – 209 AC · 25 years

    Brought Dorne into the realm with weddings, beat the black dragon at the Redgrass Field, died of the Great Spring Sickness.

  14. Aerys I

    House Targaryen
    209 – 221 AC · 12 years

    Bookish and heirless. Bloodraven ruled in all but name, with a thousand eyes and one.

  15. Maekar I

    House Targaryen
    221 – 233 AC · 12 years

    The stern fourth son, in his brother’s long shadow. Died storming an outlaw lord’s wall.

  16. Aegon V, the Unlikely

    House Targaryen
    233 – 259 AC · 26 years

    Egg of the hedge-knight roads. Fought his lords for the smallfolk, and died at Summerhall reaching for dragons.

  17. Jaehaerys II

    House Targaryen
    259 – 262 AC · 3 years

    Frail and brief, but he broke the Ninepenny Kings and ended the Blackfyre male line.

  18. Aerys II, the Mad King

    House Targaryen
    262 – 283 AC · 21 years

    Began in glitter, ended in wildfire. "Burn them all." The dynasty of three hundred years died with him.

These partings name deaths, endings, and roads not yet ridden in the books. Unveil them only if both roads are known to you — or if you do not fear to know.

How many kings sat the Iron Throne?

From Aegon's coronation in 1 AC to the chronicle's edge at 300 AC, twenty-one rulers held the throne: seventeen Targaryen kings, one contested Targaryen queen (Rhaenyra), and three kings of House Baratheon.

Who was the first king of the Seven Kingdoms?

Aegon I Targaryen, the Conqueror, crowned at Oldtown in 1 AC after taking six of the seven kingdoms with three dragons. Dorne joined the realm by marriage more than a century later.

Who was the longest-reigning king?

Jaehaerys I, the Conciliator — fifty-five years (48–103 AC) of peace, one law, and the kingsroads. The Citadel rates him the greatest of the Targaryen line.

Was Rhaenyra Targaryen ever queen?

She was crowned on Dragonstone in 129 AC and held King's Landing for half a year during the Dance of the Dragons, but the ledgers still quarrel over her style — the chronicle records her as a contested claim between Viserys I and Aegon II.