This article contains spoilers for all ofGame of ThronesandHouse of the Dragon.
This was the query central to HBOsGame of Thrones.
After all, hes the one with the best story, right?
Were all in agreement?
There are many, many kings presented in the deep historical canon of George R. R. Martins world.
We aim to keep that tradition going now withDen of Geeks official power rankings of Seven Kingdoms monarchs.
This includes monarchs who did not sit the Iron Throne like Robb Stark I and Balon Greyjoy I.
That takes us from 17 Targaryen kings to 30 Westerosi sovereigns all told.
Who was the best King Aegon?
How should the Baratheon dynasty be remembered?
And how do we even process the short reign of one Jon Snow?
Find out below:
30.
Aegon IV
Aegon IV is an auto-include at the end of any Worst Targaryen Kings Ever list.
Many Targaryen kings were bad, but only one was bad enough to be dubbed Aegon the Unworthy.
The only thing Aegon IV desired was desire itself.
Maegor I
A bad person isnt automatically a bad ruler.
The world can be a cruel place and sometimes it takes a crueler person to lead us through it.
King Aegon Is son with his sister-wife Visenya came across his The Cruel sobriquet honestly.
Aerys II
27.
TV Show Euron is a sex pirate.
Balon I
So uh…what was Balon Greyjoys plan exactly?
Declare himself king of the Iron Islands.
Send Theon to die in The North.
Live happily ever after?
Balon is a living example of why successful Ironborn monarchs are few and far between.
Aenys I
24.
Probably the same, to be honest.
At best, Tommen earns an incomplete grade.
This made him tremendously popular with the smallfolk but it also greatly weakened the Targaryen dynasty.
Baelor rejected Targaryen traditions and locked his sisters away in the Red Keep for the crime of being hot.
Aegon II
Like many other Targaryen kings, Aegon II has only a short reign to judge.
Jon I
17.
His inability to see the Lannister familys treachery ultimately led to the ruinous War of the Five Kings.
Thats a pretty impressive achievement after the bloody reign of Aerys II.
If anything, Jaehaerys II kept the realm together better than anyone expected.
King Jaehaerys IIs track record is short but is not anywhere near as ruinous as many of his peers.
He was also remembered fondly by none other than Kingsguard legend Ser Barristan Selmy.
Boodraven to serve as his Hand of the King.
Stannis I
Look, Stannis Baratheon had his faults.
Converting to a strange religion that encouraged him to burn his own daughter alive was less than ideal.
And he was the only king who answered The Nights Watchs call for help.
Ultimately, however, any claim to greatness for Stannis ended with the fires that consumed Shireen.
Daeron I
Daeron I a.k.a.
Daeron is relatively high up on this list mostly for his impressive military conquest of Dorne.
The reason hes not any higher, however, is because that conquest ultimately didnt take.
Dorne eventually rose up again and King Daeron I was killed in action.
Aegon III
In the interest of avoiding upcomingHouse of the Dragonspoilers, we wont say much about Aegon III.
Suffice it to say, he was the most emo Targaryen king by far.
Aegon IIIs near-constant state of misery actually made him a decent ruler.
Robb I
What is history to make of The Young Wolf?
Like many other monarchs on this list, Robb Stark Is reign was short and ended in tragedy.
Before that though, he had all the makings of a solid leader.
With a little more seasoning, Robb could have been a great king.
As it stands, he was only a good one.
Viserys I
Here is another instance where the book and TV canons diverge sharply.
As depicted inFire & Blood, King Viserys I is just an ineffectual goof.
Instead, Maekar I was more of a Stannis-like figure by most accounts.
He was tough and exacting but also mostly fair.
But does that mean he was the best king?
We like to remember him as Westeros Jimmy Carter: great guy, middling leader.
That alone is why Daenerys is ranked so high.
Because yes, she did go a little crazy at the end there and torch Kings Landing.
But she also finally broke that damn wheel.
Viserys II
Viserys II is the ultimate what could have been Targaryen king.
Viserys II was a consummate reformer and enacted impressively progressive policies by Westerosi standards.
Daeron II
Simple as it may seem, the Targaryen kings sobriquets are pretty useful.
Aegon the Unworthy was indeed unworthy.
Maegor the Cruel was indeed cruel.
And Daeron the Good was indeed good.
Most importantly, Daeron undid much of the damage done to the realm by his awful father Aegon IV.
The young king got to work quickly removing all the corrupt enablers from Kings Landing.
That alone makes him great.
Jaehaerys I
Jaehaerys I a.k.a.
The Old King is easily the best Targaryen king ever.
The fourth Targaryen king ascended the throne following the chaotic successive reigns of Aenys I and Maegor I.
One more imperfect king could have been enough to end the Targaryen dynasty before it even began.
Thankfully, Jaehaerys wasnt just merely not bad, he was spectacular.
He sought out capable advisors and treasured their insight, but he also knew when to follow his gut.
He was so good he was able to keepthe Brackens and Blackwoods at peacefor 50 years!
Granted, Jaehaerys wasnt perfect.
Brandon I
Call this a cop out if you must.
Or better yet: just consider Bran ineligible and completely ignore him.
But we really dont see a way around placing Brandon Stark I in the number one spot.
Thats because King Brandon Stark I is so much more than merely King Brandon Stark I. Bran Stark sees all, experiences all, and knows all.
No one is better equipped to give the Seven Kingdoms a happy ending than him.
Its like having George R. R. Martin himself on the Iron Throne.
