What if there was a Roman emperor behind Tyrion? What if there was Queen Cleopatra behind Daenerys? The characters in Game of Thrones look a lot like real-life men and women.
Tyrion Lannister = Claude
In the series, Tyrion is the outcast of the Lannister family because of his physical appearance since he is a dwarf. Everyone hates him and thinks he is an idiot. However, when he enters politics by becoming Hand of the King in season 2, he turns out to be very intelligent and very cultured.
You shouldn’t trust physical appearances.
The resemblance is striking to the Emperor Claudius who ruled the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD.
Before he became emperor, he was also an outcast in his family because of his physical appearance: he limped, he drooled, he stuttered. Everyone thought he was a simpleton.
He had come to power just after the reign of Caligula, who was assassinated by his own guard. The soldiers then proclaimed his uncle, Claudius, the new emperor, believing they could manipulate him.
But once emperor, Claudius actually turned out to be very intelligent and highly educated, to everyone’s surprise. He even became one of the greatest emperors in Roman history.
Daenerys Targaryen = Cleopatra
Daenerys belongs to a dynasty that originated in a country foreign to Westeros, but which still ruled the continent for 3 centuries. After the death of her father, she is sent to Essos and finds new allies like Khal Drogo. Daenerys is ruthless and knows how to play on her charms.
Ceopatra was the last queen of Egypt. But she too belonged to a foreign dynasty: the Ptolemies, who came from Macedonia. Like the Targaryens, the Ptolemies were accustomed to marrying within the same family.
After her father’s death, Cleopatra found new allies, including Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. And like Daenerys, she was highly intelligent, cultured, ruthless, and did not hesitate to use her charms to achieve her ends.
Cersei Lannister = Isabelle of France
Cersei was married at a young age to King Robert Baratheon. She is an ambitious woman, hungry for power and ready to do anything to achieve her goals. She therefore ends up having her husband assassinated and places her son Joffrey on the throne, hoping to be able to reign through him.
Isabelle of France, for her part, was the daughter of the King of France Philip the Fair. She was also married young, at 12 years old, to the King of England Edward II in order to consolidate an alliance in the 14th century.
Like Cersei, Isabelle also aimed for supreme power and she did not embrace scruples. She also ended up having her husband assassinated to replace him with her son Edward III. Thus, Isabelle could rule over the kingdom by manipulating her son.
Khal Drogo = Genghis Khan
Khal Drogo and Genghis Khan are the leaders of a people of nomadic horsemen. Eager for conquest, they travel the steppes with their warriors to build an empire. Charismatic and ruthless, they have many things in common.
The two characters also share a taste for molten metal. Indeed, Drogo kills Daenerys’ brother by pouring molten gold on his head. Genghis Khan, for his part, sometimes poured liquid silver into the mouths and eyes of his prisoners.
Joffrey Baratheon = Edward of Westminster
Edward of Westminster was the son of King Henry VI of England and his wife Margaret of Anjou. Like Joffrey, he was also suspected of being an illegitimate son. In addition, he was also a sadist, who particularly enjoyed beheadings.
Lyanna Stark = Lucretia
Lyanna Stark was the sister of Ned Stark and the great love of Robert Baratheon. At the time, the kingdom of Westeros was under the tyrannical yoke of the Mad King , Aerys II Targaryen, a foreign dynasty. But the latter’s son, Prince Rhaegar, kidnapped and raped Lyanna Stark.
This led Robert Baratheon to lead a rebellion that overthrew the Mad King and drove the Targaryens out of the country. But it was later revealed that Lyanna was not raped by Rhaegar, the two were in fact in love. The rebellion was therefore based on a lie.
But Lyanna’s story is very similar to that of Lucrezia, a Roman noblewoman who lived during the time when Rome was ruled by the Etruscans, a dynasty of foreign kings who had conquered Rome centuries before.
But in 509 BC, Lucretia was raped by Sextus, the son of the tyrannical king Tarquinius Superbus. Following this, the Roman aristocracy rose up against Tarquinius and the Etruscans and expelled them. The monarchy was then abolished and a new regime was installed: the Republic.