Aerys II Targaryen

Aerys II Targaryen, called the Mad King, was the last of the Targaryen dynasty to rule the Seven Kingdoms from the Iron Throne. His escalating paranoia and sadism alienated the great houses and ultimately triggered Robert's Rebellion, a war that ended with his death and the extinction of his line. His reign is remembered not for its achievements but for its atrocities: the brutal murders of his own lords, the rape of his queen, and the wildfire plot that nearly destroyed King's Landing.

Reign and Madness

Aerys II was the only son of King Jaehaerys II and succeeded his father in 262 AC. In his early years he showed promise, but the Defiance of Duskendale—where he was held captive for half a year—broke his mind. Afterward he grew deeply paranoid, seeing traitors everywhere and trusting no one but his own Kingsguard. He became obsessed with wildfire, stockpiling caches of the substance throughout the Red Keep with the intention of burning the entire city rather than surrendering it. His cruelty became legendary: he murdered Brandon Stark and his father Rickard Stark—Brandon by strangulation while Rickard was burned alive in his armor—after Brandon came to King's Landing demanding satisfaction for the abduction of Lyanna Stark. Ned Stark recalled that Aerys had forced Lord Rickard to watch his son die before executing him.

The Kingsguard and the Fall

Despite his madness, Aerys retained the loyalty of several of the finest knights in the realm. His Kingsguard included Ser Gerold Hightower, the White Bull; Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning; Ser Oswell Whent; and the young Jaime Lannister, whom he had appointed to spite Tywin Lannister. When Robert's Rebellion reached its climax, Aerys sent Rhaegar to meet the rebels at the Trident, where Rhaegar was killed by Robert Baratheon. As the Lannister army approached King's Landing under the banner of fealty, Aerys opened the city gates—only to be betrayed. During the Sack of King's Landing, Jaime Lannister, who had been left to guard the king, killed Aerys by slitting his throat, an act that earned him the epithet "Kingslayer." Ned Stark later recalled finding Aerys dead on the floor of the throne room, drowned in his own blood, with Jaime seated on the Iron Throne wearing a lion's-head helm.

Legacy and Aftermath

Aerys's death did not end the Targaryen line, but it shattered it. His wife Queen Rhaella fled to Dragonstone with their son Viserys and their unborn daughter Daenerys, where she died in childbirth. Aerys's grandchildren—Rhaegar's children, Rhaenys and Aegon—were brutally murdered by Lannister men during the sack, an act that haunted Ned Stark and deepened the rift between the houses. The Mad King's legacy of fire and blood, his obsession with wildfire, and his willingness to destroy his own capital rather than yield it became a cautionary tale of tyranny. His name is invoked throughout the story as a measure of the worst a king can become, and his death—at the hands of his own sworn protector—remains one of the most contested acts of the rebellion.