HBO Editorial Special Experience
Game of Thrones Targaryen Family Tree
From the Mad King’s Reign to Jon Snow’s True Parentage — The Final Generation of Fire and Blood
The complete Game of Thrones-era Targaryen family tree — Aerys the Mad King, Rhaegar, Daenerys, and the Jon Snow reveal — explained in full.
The Dynasty Restructured
The Game of Thrones Targaryen family tree covers the final generation of the dynasty before its near-total collapse — starting with the Mad King’s reign and ending with the reveal that changed everything: Jon Snow’s true parentage. Here’s exactly how everyone connects.
Era Context
This is the last stretch of the full Targaryen dynasty — roughly 15 years before Robert’s Rebellion through the show’s ending.
This Game of Thrones family tree — also searched as the GOT family tree — traces every Targaryen who appeared in the original series, from the Mad King’s reign through Daenerys.
The Last Stand
The Final Generation of Dragons
Following the fall of Aerys II, the blood of old Valyria dispersed across Westeros and Essos. These are the main actors of the core family line.
Aerys II Targaryen
The Mad King
Last Targaryen to sit the Iron Throne before the Rebellion. Increasingly paranoid and violent, killed by Jaime Lannister ‘The Kingslayer’ of his own Kingsguard.
Queen and Sister-Wife
Rhaella Targaryen
Aerys’s wife and sister, endured his cruelty. She died giving birth to Daenerys on Dragonstone during the Great Storm.
Aerys’s Eldest Son
Rhaegar Targaryen
Aerys’s eldest son, a melancholic prince obsessed with prophecy. Killed by Robert Baratheon at the Battle of the Trident.
The Beggar King
Viserys Targaryen
Aerys’s younger son, self-proclaimed king-in-exile. Cruel and entitled, killed by Khal Drogo’s molten gold crown.
Mother of Dragons
Daenerys Targaryen
Aerys’s youngest child, born on Dragonstone during a great storm. Rose from exiled princess to Khaleesi to Queen. Dragons: Drogon, Rhaegal, Viserion.
The Hidden Heir
Jon Snow
Rhaegar’s son with Lyanna Stark, raised in secret as Ned Stark’s bastard to protect him from Robert Baratheon. True name: Aegon Targaryen.
The Secret at the Tower of Joy
Rhaegar, Lyanna & The Jon Snow Reveal
Jon Snow is not Eddard Stark’s biological son. He is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, born in secret at the Tower of Joy and raised as Ned’s bastard to protect him from Robert Baratheon, who would have killed any surviving Targaryen heir.
This makes Jon Snow Daenerys’s nephew — and under Targaryen succession customs, arguably the one with the stronger claim to the Iron Throne.
“Promise me, Ned.” — Lyanna Stark’s final words to Ned Stark at the Tower of Joy.
The Stormborn Empress
Daenerys Targaryen — Mother of Dragons
The last child of Aerys II, born on Dragonstone during exile after the Rebellion. Her arc — from exiled princess to Khaleesi to Queen to the show’s devastating final twist — makes her the most individually iconic Targaryen.
Her marriage to Khal Drogo and later relationship with Jon Snow (her nephew, unknowingly) are frequent points of confusion, since Targaryen customs around close-relative marriage differ sharply from most norms.
Life Span
284 AC – 305 AC
Origin
Dragonstone
Her Dragons
Drogon, Rhaegal, Viserion
House Words
Fire and Blood
Primary Seats
Dragonstone & The Red Keep
Sigil
Three-Headed Dragon on Black
Founded
Approx. 114 BC
Noble Traits
Silver hair, purple eyes
The Chronicled Age
Targaryen Dynasty Timeline
A timeline spanning centuries of dominance, civil war, sudden downfall, and brief miraculous rebirth.
114 BC
The Doom of Valyria
A cataclysmic volcanic eruption destroys the Valyrian Freehold. Only House Targaryen survives, safely established on the island outpost of Dragonstone with their dragons.
2 BC – 1 AC
Aegon’s Conquest
Aegon and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, land on Westeros with three dragons. They subdue six kingdoms and forge the Iron Throne using the swords of the fallen.
48 – 103 AC
Reign of the Old King
Jaehaerys I presides over the longest, most prosperous reign in Targaryen history. Known for creating codified laws and paving the realm.
129 – 131 AC
Dance of the Dragons
Ruinous civil war between Rhaenyra and her half-brother Aegon II. Virtually all dragons die in battle, marking the slow decline of Targaryen military dominance.
282 – 283 AC
Robert’s Rebellion
The madness of Aerys II and Rhaegar’s abduction of Lyanna Stark trigger a massive realm-wide rebellion that topples the dynasty after nearly 300 years.
298 – 305 AC
Return of the Dragons
From the ashes of Essos, Daenerys Targaryen hatches three fossilized eggs on Khal Drogo’s funeral pyre, restoring dragons to the world.
Instruments of Conquest
Dragons of House Targaryen
The primary source of the dynasty’s absolute power. Creatures of pure fire that reshaped the world.
RIDER: Aegon I
Balerion ‘The Black Dread’
His shadow could swallow entire cities, his fire melted stone at Harrenhal. The massive skull now rests beneath the Red Keep.
RIDER: Visenya / Aemond
Vhagar
Survivor of a hundred battles. Colossal she-dragon whose roar shook the Stormlands. Second only to Balerion in size.
RIDER: Daemon Targaryen
Caraxes ‘The Blood Wyrm’
Swift, lean, terrifyingly aggressive, with distinctive red scales. Fierce combatant who fought Vhagar to the death.
The Great Webs
Connected Houses of Westeros
Great Houses historically bound to the Targaryen dynasty through crown loyalty, dark betrayal, or blood alliances.
Winterfell
House Stark
“Winter is Coming”
Casterly Rock
House Lannister
“Hear Me Roar”
Storm’s End
House Baratheon
“Ours is the Fury”
Highgarden
House Tyrell
“Growing Strong”
Sunspear
House Martell
“Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”
The Eyrie
House Arryn
“As High as Honor”
Riverrun
House Tully
“Family, Duty, Honor”
The Iron Throne Loyalists
Archival Intelligence
Frequently Asked Questions
Untangling the complex lineage, customs, and relationships of the dragonlords.
Who is the Mad King?
Aerys II Targaryen, father of Daenerys, Viserys, and Rhaegar. His descent into paranoia eventually sparked Robert’s Rebellion, ending his family’s reign.
How are Daenerys and Jon Snow related?
Aunt and nephew. Daenerys is the younger sister of Rhaegar Targaryen, who is Jon Snow’s biological father.
Is Jon Snow really a Targaryen?
Yes. Born Aegon Targaryen to Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, his identity was hidden to protect him from Robert Baratheon.
Who are Daenerys’s parents?
Aerys II (The Mad King) and his sister-wife, Queen Rhaella Targaryen.
Why did Targaryens marry each other?
They practiced incest to preserve their rare Valyrian bloodline, which allowed them to bond with and control dragons.
How many dragons did House Targaryen have?
Over twenty at their historical peak before the catastrophic Dance of the Dragons civil war. Daenerys later hatched three.
Did Daenerys have any full siblings?
Yes — Rhaegar and Viserys, both children of Aerys II and Rhaella. Daenerys was born after both her father and older brother had already died.
Targaryen
Family Tree
The Chronicled History of Westeros
Fire and Blood
House Targaryen Words
© The Targaryen Family Tree 2025. All proprietary contents belong to HBO & George R.R. Martin.
THE STARTING POINT
The Targaryens at the Start of Game of Thrones
Short answer: When Game of Thrones begins, the Targaryens have been out of power for about 15 years, and only two are known to be alive: Viserys and his younger sister Daenerys, living in exile in Essos. Their father, Aerys II, was killed in the Sack of King’s Landing in 283 AC, and their brother Rhaegar died at the Trident. Two more Targaryens are hidden in plain sight: Maester Aemon at the Wall, and Jon Snow, whose true parentage is a secret.
The tree below shows who is who. For the full branching map, use the interactive Targaryen family tree, and for the older generations see Aerys II, Rhaegar, and Daenerys.
Aegon V ═ Betha Blackwood (brother: Maester Aemon, at the Wall)
└─ Jaehaerys II ═ Shaera
└─ Aerys II, "the Mad King" ═ Rhaella
├─ Rhaegar ═ Lyanna Stark
│ └─ Jon Snow (born Aegon Targaryen)
├─ Viserys
└─ Daenerys ═ Khal Drogo
└─ Rhaego (died before birth)REVEAL TRACKER · SEASON 1
Season 1 (2011): Daenerys and the Dragon Eggs
Viserys marries Daenerys to Khal Drogo to buy an army, and she receives three petrified dragon eggs as a wedding gift. Drogo kills Viserys in the season’s sixth episode, and in the finale Daenerys walks into her husband’s funeral pyre and emerges with three newly hatched dragons. After the death of her unborn son Rhaego, the line of Aerys II rests on Daenerys alone.
REVEAL TRACKER · SEASON 6
Season 6 (2016): R + L = J Confirmed
The season finale confirms what fans had suspected for years. In a vision of the Tower of Joy, a young Ned Stark finds his dying sister Lyanna holding a baby, and Bran sees that the baby is Jon Snow. Jon is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, not Ned’s bastard. The reveal turns Jon into Daenerys’s nephew.
REVEAL TRACKER · SEASON 7
Season 7 (2017): Jon’s True Name
In the finale, Sam and Bran piece together the rest: Rhaegar’s marriage to Elia Martell was annulled, and he married Lyanna in secret, which makes Jon legitimate. His true name is Aegon Targaryen, and he is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. For the family tree and the incest problem that follows, see Jon Snow’s family tree explained.
REVEAL TRACKER · SEASON 8
Season 8 (2019): The End of the Line
The final season ends the dynasty’s story. Daenerys destroys King’s Landing and is killed by Jon in the finale, and her dragon Drogon melts the Iron Throne. Jon, now the last known Targaryen, is sent to the Night’s Watch and then north of the Wall. In the books, none of this has happened yet; read about the book canon in our A Song of Ice and Fire family tree.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE GOT-ERA TARGARYENS
Game of Thrones Targaryen Questions
Who were the Targaryens alive during Game of Thrones?
At the start of the story, Viserys and Daenerys are alive in exile, Maester Aemon is serving at the Wall, and Jon Snow is secretly Rhaegar’s son. Viserys dies in Season 1, Aemon dies in Season 5, and Daenerys dies in the Season 8 finale.
Is Jon Snow a Targaryen?
Yes, in the show. His father is Rhaegar Targaryen, his mother is Lyanna Stark, and his true name is Aegon Targaryen. Read the full explanation in Jon Snow’s family tree explained.
How did the Targaryens lose the Iron Throne?
Aerys II’s cruelty and the disappearance of Lyanna Stark led to Robert’s Rebellion (282–283 AC). Rhaegar died at the Trident and Aerys was killed in the Sack of King’s Landing, which ended nearly three centuries of Targaryen rule.
Who is the last Targaryen in Game of Thrones?
Jon Snow is the last known Targaryen at the end of the series. Daenerys is killed in the finale, and Jon is sent to the Night’s Watch.