Maekar Targaryen

King Maekar I Targaryen was the fourteenth king of the Targaryen dynasty to sit on the Iron Throne.
==Biography==
===Background===
Maekar was the fourth son and fifth child of King Daeron II Targaryen and Queen Myriah Martell. His siblings were Baelor, Aerys I, Aelinor, and Rhaegel. Being a fourth son, he took for his personal sigil the Targaryen dragon quartered.
He wed Dyanna of House Dayne with whom he had three sons: Aerion, who ultimately killed himself by drinking wildfire; Aemon, who would become a maester at Castle Black and a member of the Night's Watch; and Aegon V Targaryen, who would succeed him to the Iron Throne.
Although he was the fourth son, a rather grim chain of events ultimately led to his ascension to the Iron Throne. First, he accidentally killed his oldest brother Baelor in the trial by seven of Duncan the Tall, which was ironically provoked by his eldest son Aerion. This led to the ascension of the second son, Aerys I, who died without issue. The third son, Rhaegel, either predeceased both Aerys and Maekar or was skipped over because he had succumbed to the "Targaryen madness" that has afflicted many members of House Targaryen due to multiple generations of compound inbreeding, hence the throne passed to Maekar instead.
===Game of Thrones: Season 1===
When revealing his true identity and origins to Jon Snow, Maester Aemon mentions the name of his father.
==Family==
==In the books==
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Maekar Targaryen is the fourteenth Targaryen king to sit the Iron Throne and was the fourth son of King Daeron II and Myriah Martell. As the son of Daeron II, he was also the grandson of King Aegon IV Targaryen. Maekar was given the Targaryen seat of Summerhall, and was a capable army commander who served in the Blackfyre Rebellion.
As King Daeron's fourth son, Maekar was not expected to inherit the throne and thus lived in the shadow of his older brother Prince Baelor Breakspear, who was widely believed to be everything a king could want in a son and everything a kingdom would want in a king. A rivalry of sorts developed between the brothers, with Maekar hoping that his four sons could outdo the deeds of Baelor's two sons, Valarr and Matarys. However, of his four sons, his eldest, Daeron, proved to be a drunkard, plagued by visions that often emerged in those of Targaryen descent. The second son, Aerion, was cruel and prideful while, of the younger two, Aemon was bookish and Aegon was willful. With Prince Daeron a disappointment, Maekar put all his hopes in Aerion and sent Aemon to study at the Citadel.
Aside from his sons, he was the father of two daughters, Princesses Rhae, and Daella.
In 209 AC, after an incident during the tourney at Ashford Meadow, in which Aerion cruelly assaulted a Dornish woman and the hedge knight, Duncan the Tall, attacked him to defend her, Maekar falsely believed that Duncan had wronged Aerion and had kidnapped Prince Aegon. Because of this, he sided with Aerion during a trial by seven. During the battle, Maekar, armed with his mace, accidentally inflicts a head injury on Prince Baelor, who sided with Duncan, and this resulted in his death.
As Aerion's cruelty had indirectly caused the death of Baelor Breakspear, Maekar regrets his son's behavior and sends him to Lys for a few years, hoping that this would change him, but for naught. Aerion would later die drinking a cup of wildfire, believing it would shed his mortal appearance and allow him to be reborn as a dragon. Even worse than his son's cruelty was the fact that Baelor's death came at Maekar's own hand, as they had fought on opposing sides during the Trial.
Branded as a kinslayer by many, Maekar's reputation, along with that of his uncle Bloodraven's (who was widely believed to be a sorcerer), was believed by many in the realm as one of the reasons for the hardships that struck the Seven Kingdoms following Ashford Meadow. The Great Spring Sickness tore through Westeros, killing thousands, including Baelor's children, Valarr and Matarys, and Good King Daeron II himself. With his father and nephews dead, Maekar witnessed his bookish, older brother ascend the iron throne as Aerys I. King Aerys slighted Maekar by passing him over as his choice for Hand of the King, granting the honor instead to their uncle Bloodraven. 
Angered by the perceived slight, Maekar left court and withdrew to his seat at Summerhall where the smallfolk and lords alike claimed he 'brooded' and 'sulked'. A two-year drought did little to ease the tensions in the realm, nor did the knowledge that the Blackfyre pretenders remained in exile in Tyrosh, with many friends in Westeros. The rivalry between Maekar and Bloodraven also worried many, who knew that once King Aerys died a succession crisis would occur. Maekar and Aerys's brother Rhaegal, the next in the line of succession, was simple-minded, as were his children. Therefore, Maekar would ascend the throne unless Aerys produced an heir. Many feared that such an event would see another Dance of the Dragons between Maekar and Bloodraven for the iron throne.
After a number of unexpected deaths in the royal family, Maekar came to the throne in 221 AC, becoming Maekar I. Wanting to split from the past, he wore a warlike crown with black iron points on a band of red gold. Despite fears that his accession would lead to war with his uncle, Maekar confounded expectations by granting Bloodraven the office of Hand of the King once again. Bloodraven would remain in that office for the entirety of Maekar's reign.
Maekar I ruled until 233 AC, when he fell in battle against a rebel lord of House Peake.
He appears as a major character in the Dunk & Egg novellas.
==Gallery==
The Hammer and the Anvil.png|Maekar (right) battles his brother Baelor in the trial by seven of Duncan the Tall. Maekar's shield bears his personal sigil.
==Appearances==
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==References==
===Notes===
==External links==
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Category:Crownlanders
Category:Individuals from Histories & Lore
Category:Individuals mentioned in Game of Thrones
Category:Kings of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men
Category:Kinslayers
Maekar Targaryen
Maekar Targaryen
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