The Mad King was Aerys II Targaryen , the last Targaryen king to sit on the Iron Throne in Westeros.

Who was the Mad King?

  • Aerys II Targaryen was the sixteenth Targaryen to rule from the Iron Throne.
  • He began his reign as a promising and relatively benevolent king, but over time he descended into paranoia and cruelty.
  • His obsession with wildfire and his order to “burn them all” in King’s Landing ultimately led Jaime Lannister to kill him and end his reign.

Quick timeline of Aerys II

  1. Early reign: Charismatic and hopeful, with noble houses initially optimistic about his rule.
  2. Gradual decline: Becomes increasingly suspicious, fears poison, and starts using brutal punishments.
  3. Final madness: Plans to burn King’s Landing with wildfire rather than let it fall, prompting his assassination by Jaime.

Why is he important?

  • He is Daenerys Targaryen’s father.
  • His tyranny and madness directly sparked Robert’s Rebellion, which overthrew the Targaryen dynasty and set up the political landscape at the start of Game of Thrones.

In short, if you’re asking “which Targaryen was the Mad King,” it’s Aerys II Targaryen, whose fall ended centuries of Targaryen rule.

TL;DR: The Mad King = Aerys II Targaryen, Daenerys’s father and the last Targaryen king before Robert Baratheon.