Aerys I Targaryen

2026-09-21T17:29:04Z

73.114.123.85: /* Reign */

{{See homonyms|Aerys Targaryen}}
{{Infobox monarch
| arms = Targaryen
| title = King
| firstname = Aerys
| regnalnumber = 1
| lastname = Targaryen
| image = [[Image:AERYS I.jpg|350px|]]
| image_caption = Aerys I, by [http://en.amokanet.ru/gallery/martin/ Amok] ©
| reign = {{Date|209|221}}
| coronation =
| othertitles = [[King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men]] [[Lord of the Seven Kingdoms]] [[Protector of the Realm]]
| fullname = Aerys Targaryen the First of His Name
| predecessor = [[Daeron II Targaryen]]
| successor = [[Maekar I Targaryen]]
| suc-type =
| heir = 1st: [[Rhaegel Targaryen]] ({{Date|209}}-{{Date|215}}) 2nd: [[Aelor Targaryen]] ({{Date|215}}-{{Date|217}}) 3rd: [[Aelora Targaryen]] ({{Date|217}}-Unknown) 4th: [[Maekar I Targaryen|Maekar Targaryen]] (Unknown-{{Date|221}})
| queen = [[Aelinor Penrose]]
| consort =
| spouse1 =
| issue = None
| royalhouse = [[House Targaryen]]
| dynasty =
| royalanthem =
| father = [[Daeron II Targaryen]]
| mother = [[Myriah Martell]]
| dateofbirth = {{Date|172|177}}<ref>''See the [[Years after Aegon's Conquest/Calculations Ages#Aerys I Targaryen|Aerys I Targaryen]] calculation.''</ref>
| placeofbirth = [[King's Landing]]
| dateofdeath = {{Date|221}}
| placeofdeath =
| dateofburial =
| placeofburial =
| Books = ''[[The World of Ice & Fire]]'' (mentioned) ''[[Fire & Blood]]'' (lineages) ''[[The Hedge Knight]]'' (mentioned) ''[[The Sworn Sword]]'' (mentioned) ''[[The Mystery Knight]]'' (mentioned) ''[[A Game of Thrones]]'' (appendix) ''[[A Clash of Kings]]'' (mentioned) ''[[A Feast for Crows]]'' (mentioned) ''[[A Dance with Dragons]]'' (mentioned)
}}

'''Aerys I Targaryen''' was [[Lord of the Seven Kingdoms]] and the thirteenth [[House Targaryen|Targaryen]] king to sit the [[Iron Throne]]. He succeeded his father, King [[Daeron II Targaryen]].{{Ref|AGOT|appendix}}

==Appearance and Character==
{{See also|:Category:Images of Aerys I Targaryen|l1=Images of Aerys I Targaryen}}

According to semi-canon sources, Aerys was spindly and stooped, with long, straight hair. He had a long, thin face, a long, thin mustache and a long pointed beard, and his eyes were often red-rimmed from reading. Aerys wore the [[crown]] of his grandfather, King [[Aegon IV Targaryen]].<ref name="ssm">[[So Spake Martin]]: [https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Targaryen_Kings Targaryen Kings], November 1, 2005</ref> On his [[Currency|coinage]], he was depicted with a beard.{{Ref|TMK}}

[[Raymun Fossoway]] believed that Aerys was more clever than his youngest brother, [[Maekar I Targaryen|Maekar Targaryen]].{{ref|THK}} As king, Aerys was a bookish man who preferred reading to ruling, and it was said in the [[Seven Kingdoms]] that "Aerys would sooner bring a book to his bed rather than [[Aelinor Penrose|his wife]]".{{Ref|TSS}} His obsession with reading made him forgetful of other tasks, such as changing his clothes or donning his crown.<ref name="ssm" />

==History==
Aerys was the second son of King [[Daeron II Targaryen]] and Queen [[Myriah Martell]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|Appendix: Targaryen Lineage}} Ser [[Quentyn Ball]], the [[master-at-arms]] of the [[Red Keep]], taught Aerys and his brothers how to fight.{{Ref|TMK}} However, Aerys lacked martial prowess.{{Ref|THK}} From an early age Aerys was obsessed{{Ref|AWOIAF|Aerys I Targaryen}} with books about ancient [[prophecy]] and the [[higher mysteries]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I}} At some point, Aerys read a prophecy that spoke about the return of [[dragon]]s.{{Ref|TMK}} Aerys and his younger brother Rhaegel seldom left the court, leading their father to pass the castle of [[Summerhall]] instead to their youngest brother, Maekar.<ref>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Summerhall Summerhall], June 19, 1999</ref>

Aerys was married to his cousin, Lady [[Aelinor Penrose]], but he never showed any interest in getting her with child, instead shunning her bed. According to rumor, Aerys did not even consummate the [[marriage]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I}}{{Ref|TSS}}

===Reign===
Aerys became king in {{Date|209}}, following the death of his father, King [[Daeron II Targaryen]], and Daeron's immediate heirs, Princes [[Valarr Targaryen|Valarr]] and [[Matarys Targaryen|Matarys]], in the [[Great Spring Sickness]]. The plague continued for some time under his rule.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I}}

Upon becoming king, Aerys I appointed his uncle, [[Brynden Rivers]], known as Bloodraven, as [[Hand of the King]] and let him rule while he occupied himself with the study of books and lore.{{Ref|TSS}} A new [[Grand Maester (Aerys I)|Grand Maester]] was also elected, and said to be involved in [[Magic|sorcery]].{{Ref|TSS}} As Aerys had not yet fathered a child on his wife Aelinor, his [[small council]], hoping that Aerys shunned her bed because he disliked her, urged Aerys to set Aelinor aside and take another wife. Aerys would not hear of it, however, and they remained married.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I}}

The start of Aerys's reign suffered a great drought that lasted more than a year.{{Ref|TSS}} It was widely held that travel was less safe during the reign of Aerys than under his father's.{{Ref|TMK}}

Aerys's reign was furthermore troubled by war. In {{Date|212}} [[Dagon Greyjoy]], [[Lord of the Iron Islands]], led the [[ironborn]] in raiding [[Fair Isle]], the [[Arbor]], and the [[north]].{{Ref|TMK}} That same year, Lord [[Gormon Peake]], a [[House Blackfyre|Blackfyre]] loyalist, brought [[Daemon II Blackfyre]] to the [[Seven Kingdoms]] from across the [[narrow sea]] and attempted to gather support for an insurrection, the [[Second Blackfyre Rebellion]]. Thanks to Bloodraven's network of [[Espionage|spies]] and the actions of Ser [[Duncan the Tall]] and his squire, Prince [[Aegon V Targaryen|Aegon Targaryen]], this rebellion ended at the [[Wedding tourney at Whitewalls|Whitewalls tourney]] with relatively little bloodshed.{{Ref|TMK}}{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I}}

The [[Third Blackfyre Rebellion]] was launched in {{Date|219}} and ended with the capture of Ser [[Aegor Rivers]], known as Bittersteel, and the death of [[Haegon I Blackfyre]]. Aegor was brought to [[King's Landing]] in chains and while Bloodraven and Prince [[Aerion Targaryen]] wanted him put to death, King Aerys sentenced him to [[Night's Watch|take the black]] instead. Bittersteel's allies rescued him during the journey north, however, and Aegor returned to the [[Golden Company]] and soon crowned [[Daemon III Blackfyre]] in [[Tyrosh]] in opposition to Aerys.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I}}

Throughout his reign, Aerys acknowledged four different heirs. First was his brother, Prince [[Rhaegel Targaryen]], who died in {{Date|215}} when he choked on a [[lamprey]] pie.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I}} Aerys next acknowledged Rhaegel's only son, Prince [[Aelor Targaryen]], as his heir, but Aelor died in {{Date|217}} during a mishap caused by his twin sister and wife, Princess [[Aelora Targaryen]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I}} Aerys's third heir was Aelora,<ref>asoiaf.westeros.org: R+L=J v.164 – [https://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/146027-rlj-v164/&do=findComment&comment=8092607 Comment by Ran], December 12, 2017</ref> who was was mad with grief following Aelor's death. Aelora committed suicide after an incident with the [[the Rat, the Hawk, and the Pig]], leaving Aerys to recognize his fourth and last heir to the throne, his youngest brother, Prince [[Maekar I Targaryen|Maekar Targaryen]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I}}

When Aerys died of natural causes in {{Date|221}}, he was succeeded as king by Maekar I.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I}}{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Maekar I}}

==Recent Events==
===''A Clash of Kings''===
While explaining the lineage of Maester [[Aemon Targaryen (son of Maekar I)|Aemon]] to [[Jon Snow]], [[Lord Commander of the Night's Watch|Lord Commander]] [[Jeor Mormont]] tells him about Aerys. He explains that Aerys unexpectedly succeeded his father as king after the deaths of his older brother and nephews. Jon initially thinks he means the [[Aerys II Targaryen|second Aerys]], but Lord Mormont explains this is the first Aerys who ruled about eighty years ago. He mistakenly relates that Aerys wed a sister in the Targaryen tradition,{{Ref|ACOK|6}} though he actually wed a cousin,<ref>A Forum of Ice and Fire: [https://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/119534-twoiaf-spoilers-inconsistency-or-intentional/#comment-6391447 [TWOIAF Spoilers<nowiki>]</nowiki> Inconsistency or Intentional?] (October 28, 2014).</ref> and then died without issue.{{Ref|ACOK|6}}

===''A Feast for Crows''===
[[File:Aelinor_Penrose_%26_Aerys_I_Targaryen_by_Lopata_Four.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Aerys and his wife [[Aelinor Penrose]] by Lopata Four]]
Ser [[Jaime Lannister]] recalls that his brother [[Tyrion Lannister|Tyrion]] had found portraits of all of the kings from [[House Targaryen]] in [[Darry]]'s cellar; Ser [[Raymun Darry]] had removed the tapestries for King [[Robert I Baratheon]]'s visit to the castle.{{ref|AFFC|30}}

After learning of the death of Maester Aemon, Aerys's nephew, at the age of 102, [[Alleras]] tells [[Samwell Tarly]] that they could have learned much from him about the reigns of both [[Maekar I Targaryen|Aemon's father]] and uncle.{{Ref|AFFC|45}}

===''A Dance with Dragons''===
[[Victarion Greyjoy]] recalls the raiding of Lord [[Dagon Greyjoy]] during Aerys's reign, who he considered a weak king.{{ref|ADWD|63}}

==Quotes==
{{Quote|His Grace cares more for old scrolls and dusty prophecies than for [[lord]]s and [[Law and justice|laws]]. He will not even bestir himself to sire an heir. Queen [[Aelinor Penrose|Aelinor]] prays daily at the [[Great Sept of Baelor|Great Sept]], beseeching the [[Mother (the Seven)|Mother Above]] to bless her with a child, yet she remains a [[maiden|maid]]. Aerys keeps his own apartments, and it is said he would sooner take a book to bed than any woman.{{Ref|TSS}}|[[Sefton Staunton|Sefton]] to [[Duncan the Tall]]}}

{{Quote|In [[Dagon Greyjoy|Dagon]]'s day a weak king sat the [[Iron Throne]], his rheumy eyes fixed across the [[narrow sea]] where [[Aegor Rivers|bastards]] and [[House Blackfyre|exiles]] plotted [[Blackfyre Pretenders|rebellion]]. So forth from [[Pyke]] Lord Dagon sailed, to make the [[Sunset Sea]] his own.{{Ref|ADWD|63}}|thoughts of [[Victarion Greyjoy]]}}

==Family==
{{Targaryen tree Daeron II}}

==References==
{{References}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Daeron II Targaryen|Daeron II]]}}
{{S-ttl|order=13th|title=[[King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men]] [[Lord of the Seven Kingdoms]]|years={{Date|209|221}}}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Maekar I Targaryen|Maekar I]]|rows=2}}
{{S-break}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Baelor Targaryen (son of Daeron II)|Baelor Targaryen]]}}
{{S-ttl|order=18th|title=[[Protector of the Realm]]|years={{Date|209|221}}}}
{{S-end}}

{{Kings of Westeros}}

[[Category:House Targaryen]]
[[Category:170s AC births|Targaryen, Aerys]]
[[Category:221 AC deaths|Targaryen, Aerys]]
[[Category:Characters from the Crownlands|Targaryen, Aerys I]]
[[Category:Characters with long face|Targaryen, Aerys I]]
[[Category:Deaths by natural causes|Targaryen, Aerys I]]
[[Category:Kings of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men]]
[[Category:Monarchs|Targaryen, Aerys I]]
[[Category:Nobles|Targaryen, Aerys I]]
[[Category:Protectors of the Realm|Targaryen, Aerys I]]

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[[zh:伊里斯·坦格利安一世]]

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Aerys I Targaryen