- This article is about the son of Viserys II Targaryen. For other uses, see: Aegon Targaryen (disambiguation)
- "Aegon the Unworthy legitimized all his bastards on his deathbed. Inevitably the greatest of these, Daemon Blackfyre, declared himself the rightful heir, and ignited yet another war for the crown."
- ―Varys
Aegon IV Targaryen, also called Aegon the Unworthy, was the eleventh king of the Targaryen dynasty to rule the Seven Kingdoms. He was known for his endless gluttony, and even better known for legitimizing all of his bastards on his deathbed, eventually leading to the Blackfyre Rebellion.
Biography
Background
He succeeded his father Viserys II Targaryen and was, in time, succeeded by his sole trueborn son Daeron II. Aegon IV fathered several children, both trueborn and bastard. He was the father of Daeron and Daenerys by his sister-wife, Queen Naerys and with his cousin and mistress, Queen Daena, he fathered Daemon I Blackfyre.
On his deathbed, Aegon IV legitimized all his bastard children, leading Daemon Blackfyre to declare himself the rightful heir to the Iron Throne and igniting another war for the crown.[2][3] Daemon's descendants in House Blackfyre would continue to revolt for almost a century afterwards, and the Blackfyre Rebellion would finally end when the rogue Targaryen cadet branch was rendered extinct in the War of the Ninepenny Kings.
Season 1
Aegon IV (along with his vast progeny) is mentioned in the House Targaryen entry of the book The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms. The entry notes that he became king in his thirty-seventh year, after the death of his father.[1]
Season 4
Tyrion Lannister mentions that Aegon the Unworthy is one of the kings analyzed in the classic book, Lives of Four Kings.[4]
Family tree
Aegon III Targaryen Deceased |
Unknown queen Deceased |
Viserys II Targaryen Deceased |
Visenya Targaryen Deceased | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daeron I Targaryen "Daeron the Young Dragon" Deceased |
Baelor I Targaryen "Baelor the Blessed" Deceased |
Elaena Targaryen Deceased |
Rhaena Targaryen Deceased |
Daena Targaryen "Daena the Defiant" Deceased |
Aegon IV Targaryen Deceased |
Naerys Targaryen Deceased |
Aemon Targaryen "the Dragonknight" Deceased | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daemon I Blackfyre Deceased |
3 other Great Bastards of Aegon IV by different women: Bloodraven, Bittersteel, and Shiera Deceased |
Daeron II Targaryen Deceased |
Daenerys Targaryen Deceased | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Quotes
- "The Lives of Four Kings. Grand Maester Kaeth's history of the reigns of Daeron the Young Dragon, Baelor the Blessed, Aegon the Unworthy, and Daeron the Good. A book every king should read."
- ―Tyrion Lannister
In the books

Aegon IV knighting Daemon.
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Aegon IV is remembered as one of the worst kings in the entire history of the Targaryen dynasty, which is the reason why he is popularly known as "Aegon the Unworthy." Aegon was a decadent, gluttonous, and corrupt ruler, who indulged his passions and whims at every opportunity. Being attractive in his youth, he was popular with women both highborn and lowborn. He had as many as nine mistresses and many bastards. Supposedly, he had any woman he wanted, whether they were married or not. People often joked that while the Targaryen words were "Fire and Blood," Aegon IV's motto might as well have been "Wash her and bring her to my bed." Due to his years of overindulgence, by the end of his reign, Aegon IV was extremely obese, to the point that his legs could barely support his own weight. Even so, he remained quite vain throughout his life. Moreover, he was a very petty man, needlessly causing strife at the royal court and in his own family.

Four of his bastard children were born to noblewomen, and they became known as the "Great Bastards." Chief among them was Daemon, who, upon being legitimized, created House Blackfyre. Other notable bastards were Aegor Rivers ("Bittersteel"), Brynden Rivers ("Bloodraven"), and Shiera Seastar. Aegon IV foolishly legitimized all of his bastard children upon his deathbed, which resulted in Daemon Blackfyre, rumored to be Aegon's favorite child despite being a bastard, declaring himself the rightful heir and tearing apart the Seven Kingdoms in a civil war. Ultimately, Aegon IV's corruption led to a series of Blackfyre Rebellions, which would plague Westeros for five generations.
According to author George R.R. Martin, Aegon IV is loosely the Targaryen equivalent of King Henry VIII of England. Martin's instructions for artistic depictions of Aegon IV explicitly cite Henry VIII. Both kings started out young and attractive, but by the ends of their reigns became infamously fat from overindulgence, and their numerous sexual affairs resulted in bloody succession conflicts, which were eventually resolved with the rise of good rulers (Daeron II and Elizabeth I respectively).
See also
References
Monarchs of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros | |
---|---|
Titles: |
King of the Andals and the First Men · Lord of the Seven Kingdoms · Protector of the Realm · Protector of the Seven Kingdoms |
Targaryen dynasty: |
Aegon I (1–? AC) · Aenys I · Maegor I · Jaehaerys I · Viserys I · Aegon II · Aegon III · Daeron I · Baelor I · Viserys II (?–172 AC) · Aegon IV (172–184 AC) · Daeron II (184–209 AC) · Aerys I (209–? AC) · Maekar I · Aegon V (?–258 AC) · Aerys II (258–280 AC) · Daenerys I (305 AC) |
Baratheon dynasty: |
Robert I (280–298 AC) · Joffrey I (298–301 AC) · Tommen I (301–303 AC) |
Lannister dynasty: |
Cersei I (303–305 AC) |
Elected monarchs: (Six Kingdoms) |
Bran I (305 AC–present) |