Explained · A Song of Ice and Fire
Who ruled the Iron Throne, in order?
Seventeen Targaryen kings, a usurper's house, and a show that ends by melting the chair itself.
Spoilers for the published novels and Game of Thrones seasons 1 to 8.
The short answer
Seventeen Targaryen kings ruled from the Iron Throne, from Aegon I, who took it in 1 AC, to Aerys II, whose reign ended in 283 AC with Robert's Rebellion. Robert Baratheon followed, then Joffrey and Tommen, and in Game of Thrones Cersei Lannister was crowned after her last child died. The show ends with the throne melted and Bran Stark chosen as king. The table below lists each monarch with house and reign.
In one place
- First monarch
- Aegon I Targaryen, from 1 AC
- Targaryen kings
- 17, before Robert's Rebellion
- Longest reign
- Jaehaerys I, 48 to 103 AC
- Shortest Targaryen reign
- Viserys II, 171 to 172 AC
- End of Targaryen rule
- Robert's Rebellion, 282 to 283 AC
- First Baratheon king
- Robert I
- Made from
- The swords of Aegon's defeated enemies, fused by dragonfire
- Royal style (books)
- Names three peoples: Rhoynar, Andals and First Men
- Last crowned on it (show)
- Cersei Lannister, season 6, episode 10 (2016)
- The throne's fate (show)
- Melted by Drogon in season 8, episode 6
- King at the show's end
- Bran Stark, of six kingdoms
How did the Iron Throne begin?
With a conquest and a statement. Aegon I had the throne made from the swords of the enemies he had defeated, fused together by dragonfire, so that the seat of the new monarchy was itself a record of how it had been won. Every ruler after him sat on that reminder, which is why the throne outlasts every dynasty that fights over it in the histories and the show alike.
The kingdom it ruled was new as well. Before the Targaryens, Westeros had several crowns; afterwards one monarch claimed six of the seven kingdoms under a single royal style, one that named the realm's three founding peoples, Rhoynar, Andals and First Men alike, as his subjects. The table on this page starts with that first king and follows the chair through every change of hands the books and the show record.
How long did the Targaryens hold it?
For seventeen kings and almost three centuries. Reigns varied wildly. Jaehaerys I held the throne for fifty-five years, from 48 to 103 AC, the longest of the dynasty, while Viserys II reigned for only about a year, from 171 to 172 AC. The table makes the extremes easy to pick out, and the dates alone show how unevenly the dynasty's three centuries were spent.
The worst crisis came early. When Viserys I died in 129 AC, his daughter and his son both claimed the throne, and the civil war that followed ended with Aegon III crowned in 131 AC over a realm that had lost most of its dragons. The Targaryens kept the throne for another century and a half without them, until Aerys II, the king remembered as mad, lost it to Robert Baratheon's rebellion in 283 AC.
What happened to the throne after Robert's Rebellion?
Robert Baratheon took it by force, after Jaime Lannister killed Aerys II in the coup that ended the war, and the new royal house was Baratheon. Robert's heirs were the children of his queen, Cersei Lannister: first Joffrey and then Tommen. In the books as published, Tommen holds the throne, though his claim is disputed by Stannis Baratheon, by Daenerys Targaryen and by a young man presented as Aegon Targaryen.
The show runs the line further and in a different direction. After the deaths of all three of her children, Cersei has herself crowned queen at the end of the sixth season and rules in her own right. That makes her the last monarch crowned on it, because the throne itself does not survive the series. A page on how the series ended sets out what replaced it.
How does the show end the line of monarchs?
By breaking both the chair and the principle behind it. The throne is melted in the final episode, and the next ruler is chosen by a council of lords rather than inheriting by blood or taking the crown by conquest. Bran Stark becomes king, but of six kingdoms rather than seven, because the North leaves the realm under its own queen at the same moment.
Set against the table, the ending reads as a comment on everything above it. Nearly three hundred years of the list are a single family passing a chair from parent to child, or fighting over who should; the last entry is a choice made by a room. Whether the new arrangement would last is outside the story, but the list of monarchs, at least, stops where the thing they sat on stops.
The monarchs of the Iron Throne, in order
| Monarch | House | Reign (AC) |
|---|---|---|
| Aegon I | Targaryen | 1 to 37 |
| Aenys I | Targaryen | 37 to 42 |
| Maegor I | Targaryen | 42 to 48 |
| Jaehaerys I | Targaryen | 48 to 103 |
| Viserys I | Targaryen | 103 to 129 |
| Aegon II | Targaryen | 129 to 131 |
| Aegon III | Targaryen | 131 to 157 |
| Daeron I | Targaryen | 157 to 161 |
| Baelor I | Targaryen | 161 to 171 |
| Viserys II | Targaryen | 171 to 172 |
| Aegon IV | Targaryen | 172 to 184 |
| Daeron II | Targaryen | 184 to 209 |
| Aerys I | Targaryen | 209 to 221 |
| Maekar I | Targaryen | 221 to 233 |
| Aegon V | Targaryen | 233 to 259 |
| Jaehaerys II | Targaryen | 259 to 262 |
| Aerys II | Targaryen | 262 to 283 |
| Robert I | Baratheon | From 283 |
| Joffrey I | Baratheon | After Robert |
| Tommen I | Baratheon | After Joffrey; holds it in the published novels |
| Cersei I (show) | Lannister | From season 6 to season 8 |
| Bran (show) | Stark | Chosen in the final episode |
Questions people also ask
Who was the first king on the Iron Throne?
Aegon I Targaryen, called the Conqueror, who had the throne made after his conquest and reigned from 1 to 37 AC; the realm's calendar counts its years from his coronation.
How many Targaryen kings sat on the Iron Throne?
Seventeen, from Aegon I, who took the throne in 1 AC, to Aerys II, whose reign ended in 283 AC when Robert's Rebellion overthrew the dynasty.
What is the Iron Throne made of?
Swords. Aegon the Conqueror had the throne made from the blades of the enemies he defeated, fused together with dragonfire, and every monarch after him sat on it.
Sources, last checked 21 October 2026
- The World of Ice & Fire, by George R. R. Martin, Elio M. García Jr. and Linda Antonsson (Bantam Books, 2014): cited for facts only; nothing reproduced. Located and checked via A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Great house, revision 329543; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, House Targaryen, revision 352777; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, revision 328251; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Iron Throne, revision 350272; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Doom of Valyria, revision 353086; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Aegon's Conquest, revision 352180; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Torrhen Stark, revision 347742; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Field of Fire, revision 350143; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Robert's Rebellion, revision 347183; Wikipedia, World of A Song of Ice and Fire, revision 1379358001; Wikipedia, Iron Throne (A Song of Ice and Fire), revision 1368708928; Wikidata Q18786788.
- A Storm of Swords, by George R. R. Martin (George R. R. Martin, 2000): cited for facts only; nothing reproduced. Located and checked via Wikipedia, Jon Snow (character), revision 1378114497; Wikipedia, Jaime Lannister, revision 1381260590; Wikipedia, Tyrion Lannister, revision 1380451546; Wikipedia, Daenerys Targaryen, revision 1380455171; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Night's King, revision 354651; Wikipedia, White Walker, revision 1378924650; Wikidata Q431927.
- Game of Thrones, season 6, episode 10 (HBO, 2016): cited for facts only; nothing reproduced. Located and checked via Wikipedia, The Winds of Winter (Game of Thrones), revision 1372413248; Wikidata Q24707474.
- The Winds of Winter (Game of Thrones, season 6, episode 10) (Wikidata), Wikidata Q24707474: free to reuse (CC0).
- Game of Thrones, season 8, episode 6 (HBO, 2019): cited for facts only; nothing reproduced. Located and checked via Wikipedia, The Iron Throne (Game of Thrones), revision 1362009269; Wikidata Q63964668.
- Fire & Blood, by George R. R. Martin (Bantam Books, 2018): cited for facts only; nothing reproduced. Located and checked via A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Dance of the Dragons, revision 352554; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Rhaenyra Targaryen, revision 347592; A Wiki of Ice and Fire, House Targaryen, revision 352777; Wikipedia, Fire & Blood (novel), revision 1370967895; Wikipedia, A Son for a Son, revision 1375771230; Wikipedia, Rhaenyra Targaryen, revision 1380747696; Wikidata Q55611675.
- Cersei Lannister (Wikidata), Wikidata Q3665163: free to reuse (CC0).
- Game of Thrones, seasons 1 to 8 (HBO, 2011): cited for facts only; nothing reproduced. Located and checked via Wikipedia, Game of Thrones, revision 1379209901; Wikipedia, Jon Snow (character), revision 1378114497; Wikipedia, Daenerys Targaryen, revision 1380455171; Wikipedia, Arya Stark, revision 1380454440; Wikipedia, Sansa Stark, revision 1380455075; Wikipedia, Tyrion Lannister, revision 1380451546; Wikipedia, Night King, revision 1378647870; Wikidata Q23572.
- Game of Thrones, season 8, episode 5 (HBO, 2019): cited for facts only; nothing reproduced. Located and checked via Wikipedia, The Bells (Game of Thrones), revision 1375273954; Wikidata Q63781867.
Drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed above. See a mistake? Tell us in the Game of Thrones forum room.
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