Daenerys Targaryen (, ) is a fictional character in the series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire by American author George R. R. Martin. She is a prominent point-of-view character, and is one of the series' most popular characters. The New York Times cites her as one of the author's finest creations.
Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, thirteen-year-old Daenerys is one of the last surviving members (along with her older brother, Viserys III, the "Beggar King") of House Targaryen, which, until 14 years before the events of the first novel, had ruled Westeros from the Iron Throne for nearly 300 years before being ousted. She subsequently appeared in A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Storm of Swords (2000). Daenerys was one of a few prominent characters not included in 2005's A Feast for Crows but returned in the next novel, A Dance with Dragons (2011).
In the story, Daenerys is 13 years old (at the beginning of AGoT), living in exile in Essos, where she has developed a Tyroshi accent, in Valyrian. She remains dependent on her abusive older brother, Viserys, and is forced to marry Dothraki horselord Khal Drogo in exchange for his army reclaiming the Iron Throne in Westeros for Viserys. Daenerys adapts to life with the Dothraki, and her character emerges as strong, confident, and courageous. She becomes the heir of the Targaryen dynasty after her brother's murder and plans to reclaim the Iron Throne herself, seeing it as her birthright. A pregnant Daenerys loses her husband and child, but blood magic allows Daenerys to hatch three dragon eggs. The dragons provide her with a tactical advantage and prestige.
Later, Daenerys agrees to go to Astapor—instead of returning to Pentos—for an army as safe measures against the elusive Illyrio Mopatis. After acquiring all of the Unsullied, she frees them, and most agree to join her revolution. She executes the Good Masters and sets up a council for the city. Later, she conquers Yunkai and Meereen, the latter Daenerys settles in to learn how to rule. Despite her strong moral compass, she can deal ruthlessly with her enemies and those she believes to be conspiring against her. She is also disturbed by the prophetic warnings of Quaithe, a shadowbinder from Asshai. While in Meereen, she establishes herself as a powerful, relentless, but self-critical ruler. Eventually, she becomes a dragonrider to Drogon, whom she tames with a whip after he disturbs the fighting pits arena at Daznak's Pit.
In the television adaptation of Game of Thrones, she is portrayed by British actress Emilia Clarke. While having many similarities, the television depiction of Daenerys is older (late teens) and has several mystical qualities, such as an unexplained fireproof ability. She is also not forewarned or haunted by prophecy like her book counterpart. Clarke's portrayal of Daenerys has garnered Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2013, 2015, and 2016 and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2019. She has also earned many other nominations and accolades for her portrayal. Her character arc from heroic to villainous at the end of the HBO series has been a source of controversy with critics and fans.
Character description Daenerys Targaryen is the posthumous daughter of King Aerys II Targaryen (also referred to as the "Mad King") and his sister-wife, Queen Rhaella, and is one of the last survivors of House Targaryen. She serves as the third-person point-of-view character of 31 chapters of A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Dance with Dragons. This makes her the series's fourth-most-prominent narrative voice after Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow and Arya Stark.
Background Almost 14 years before the events of the novels, after her father and eldest brother, Rhaegar, were killed during Robert's Rebellion, Daenerys is born during a great storm, earning her the nickname "Stormborn." Her mother, Rhaella, died in childbirth, and the master-of-arms of the Red Keep, Ser Willem Darry, whisked Daenerys and her older brother Viserys away to Braavos before Dragonstone's garrison could surrender the children to Robert Baratheon. Darry died when Daenerys was five years old, and she and Viserys spent the following years wandering the Free Cities. By the beginning of A Game of Thrones, Daenerys and her brother have been a guest of Illyrio Mopatis in Pentos for half a year. Game of Thrones creators D. B. Weiss and David Benioff described Daenerys as a combination of Joan of Arc, Lawrence of Arabia and Napoleon.
Appearance and personality Daenerys is most often described as uncommonly beautiful, with long, pale silver-gold hair and purple eyes. She is slender and pale, although taller than some of her female ancestors. Tales of Daenerys's beauty are numerous, and throughout the novels she encounters countless suitors who seek her hand in marriage, sometimes to gain control of her three dragons. She is fluent in the common tongue of Westeros, the Dothraki language, High Valyrian, and bastard Valyrian, which she speaks with a Tyroshi accent. Over the course of the first three novels she becomes fluent in Dothraki and Ghiscari, which is spoken in the slave cities in Essos.
Daenerys grew up in constant fear of being discovered and killed by agents of "Usurper King" Robert Baratheon. Her older brother Viserys frequently abused her, which led to the development of her fearful, submissive, and furtive nature. However, over the course of the narrative, Daenerys finds her inner strength and courage, emerging as a natural leader adored by her people. She is often described as honorable and compassionate, if somewhat naïve, although she can be harsh and vengeful against those who seek to harm her or her followers.
Paul Youll illustrated Daenerys on the cover of the July 1996 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction, which contained a Daenerys excerpt from A Game of Thrones entitled "Blood of the Dragon". Other illustrators for the book series include John Picacio and Gary Gianni.
Storylines A Game of Thrones In A Game of Thrones (1996), Daenerys is sold by her brother Viserys III and Illyrio Mopatis into a marriage with Khal Drogo, a Dothraki warlord, for an army for Viserys. Daenerys befriends Jorah Mormont, an exiled Westerosi knight. At her wedding, she is given three petrified dragon eggs by Illyrio Mopatis. Although Daenerys is initially terrified of Drogo, their marriage grows into a happy union. She comes to love him and takes to Dothraki customs, finding strength for the first time, and she stands up to Viserys's attempts to bully her into coercing Drogo. When Viserys threatens her, Drogo kills him by pouring molten gold over his head. With Viserys dead, Daenerys sees herself as the heir to the Targaryen dynasty and responsible for reclaiming the throne for her family.
Later, Drogo is wounded in a fight. An enslaved Lhazareen priestess, Mirri Maz Duur, offers to dress Drogo's wound to prevent the cut from festering. Daenerys accepts, but the priestess, to avenge her fellow villagers massacred by the Dothraki, causes Drogo to become seriously ill. In desperation, Daenerys asks Mirri Maz Duur to heal Drogo with blood magic. Despite being saved by Daenerys from being raped by the tribe's warriors, the priestess betrays her, and the magic ritual results in Daenerys's unborn child being stillborn and leaves Drogo in a catatonic state. Because Drogo will never recover, Daenerys smothers him with a pillow. Refusing the traditional practice of royal widows joining the order of priestesses called dosh khaleen and asserting that she will lead a warband herself, Daenerys burns both the priestess and the dragon eggs on Drogo's funeral pyre, allowing herself to be engulfed by the flames. When the pyre dies out the following morning, Jorah Mormont recovers Daenerys from the ashes alive and unburned, with three hatched dragons.
A Clash of Kings Leading the remnants of Drogo's khalasar through the Red Waste, Daenerys arrives in the city of Qarth. There, she unsuccessfully appeals to the rulers of the city for aid in reclaiming the Iron Throne. Daenerys accepts an invitation from a group of warlocks to discover her future. At their temple, the House of the Undying, Daenerys drinks a magical potion and enters.
Inside, she sees several visions and resists their temptations. When Daenerys enters the final hall and meets the real Undyings, she is told prophecies about her destiny as the "child of three" and advised that "three fires must you light", "three mounts must you ride", and "three treasons will you know"; they also tell her she is the "daughter of death", the "slayer of lies", and the "bride of fire". When the Undyings attack Daenerys and intend to hold her prisoner, Daenerys's dragon Drogon kills them and burns down the temple, allowing Daenerys to escape. Before departing Qarth, a venomous manticore nearly assassinates Daenerys. She is saved by Arstan Whitebeard, who has been sent by Illyrio Morpatis, along with the eunuch ex-gladiator called Strong Belwas and three ships to take Daenerys back to Pentos.
A Storm of Swords Seeking an army, Daenerys sails to Astapor in Slaver's Bay to purchase the Unsullied slave soldiers. She negotiates with Kraznys mo Nakloz, promising a dragon in payment, but she betrays the Good Masters and commands the Unsullied to kill the slavers. Daenerys frees the Unsullied and the slaves. She later conquers the city of Yunkai and gains the service of Daario Naharis, who commands a large mercenary company. As Daenerys marches on Meereen, she learns one of her companions is Barristan Selmy, a knight of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard. Selmy informed Daenerys that Jorah had previously been an informant. Disgusted, she sends the pair on a suicide mission to capture Meereen. When the mission is successful, Barristan asks to be forgiven for his deception, but Jorah refuses to ask forgiveness, so Daenerys banishes him. Unwilling to abandon the slaves she freed, Daenerys decides to remain in Meereen as she fears they will return to bondage.
A Dance with Dragons Throughout A Dance with Dragons (2011), Daenerys struggles to maintain order in the city in the face of growing unrest as well as the chaos she left behind in the other cities she conquered. Furthermore, Yunkai has rebelled and is gathering forces to besiege Meereen. When Drogon supposedly kills a child, Daenerys feels compelled to chain her dragons Rhaegal and Viserion, but Drogon escapes. Her advisers suggest she marry Hizdahr zo Loraq to bring peace, and she agrees, although she takes Daario as a lover. Hizdahr successfully negotiates an end to the violence, and Daenerys marries him. At her wedding feast, the blood and noise of the fighting pits attract Drogon, who is immediately attacked. Initially, Daenerys's attempt to control her dragon fails, but she manages to climb atop Drogon, who flies off with her. After several days in Drogon's lair, Daenerys becomes ill from some berries and begins to hallucinate. She is later found by Khal Jhaqo, formerly a captain of her Khalasar who betrayed her late husband.
Family tree of House Targaryen
TV adaptation
Casting and development
Martin said the character was portrayed as older in the television series than her literary counterpart because of child pornography laws. Tamzin Merchant played Daenerys in the pilot episode. After receiving a negative reception at private viewings, HBO ordered the pilot to be reshot and recast. Elizabeth Olsen also auditioned, reading the role with two accents as the producers weren't sure if they wanted a British accent for the role, but didn't receive a callback. Emilia Clarke was recast as Daenerys following an audition in 2010. Weiss and Benioff said, "Emilia was the only person we saw—and we saw hundreds—who could carry the full range that Daenerys required."