A number of infamous and notorious rulers have risen and fallen throughout history who brought horror in their pursuit of power and recognition. Their authority was unchallenged, and they were ruthless in their suppression of all threats. As strange as it might sound, the idea that a mad ruler would have absolute control and power over his or her people is also fascinating and unnerving in the same breath. In ancient times, however, nearly every major civilization saw infamous kings and queens ascend to the throne, and their names became notorious throughout history.
Here are 11 of the most notorious historic rulers:
11. Commodus (Roman Emperor)
The infamous Roman emperor Commodus was disliked by his people for his outrageous behavior throughout his reign. Announcing that he was Hercules’ reincarnation, he participated in gladiator combat openly. Gladiators were popular among the common people in those days, but upper-class Romans considered fights between gladiators a mere spectacle in which slaves participated. Commodus’ open participation in gladiator fights angered many of his followers. Additionally, he did not fight fairly, often fighting injured gladiators or maimed animals to show off his skills.
Taking over as Emperor of Rome meant stepping into some pretty big shoes. History would have graciously forgiven Commodus for not living up to the high standards set by his father, Marcus Aurelius. Yet he failed in every possible way to become a great emperor. In addition, he was a vain ruler with no regard for his own people. The public and the Roman Senate were disgusted by his ridiculous displays of manliness. The colossal ego and unspeakable cruelty that he possessed keep his memory alive today.
10. Attila the Hun (Ruler of the Huns)
During the first century AD, the Huns were a powerful force with fierce warriors who caused a lot of trouble for the Roman Empire. They regularly struck terror into the hearts of the common people as they appeared in the declining centuries of the Roman Empire. All the predecessors combined could not compare with the havoc Attila the Hun caused alone. The Huns ascended to power under him in 434 AD and over the next 10 years, he led multiple invasions of the territory that encompasses modern-day Hungary, Spain, Greece, and Italy.
In addition to being a skilled horseman, Attila was an excellent general. As a result, the Huns became a lethal fighting force under his rule and were never challenged by him. It was not uncommon for him to rampage through enemy colonies, burning down or capturing towns and killing every civilian who lived there. When he was in Italy, he destroyed so much that the entire city of Aquileia was brought to its knees. As a result of his training and discipline, he was able to train his men to be absolutely merciless towards their enemies. This led to the complete annihilation of the city. The old Aquileia was no longer discernible when they were finished.
9. Nero (Roman Emperor)
You probably guessed that this list is going to include quite a few ancient Roman emperors if you are familiar with ancient Roman history. Among Rome’s emperors, Nero was perhaps the most notorious. The history books remember him as a madman with absolute authority, a ruler who was frequently debauched and hated Christians.
His mistreatment of the common people aside, he is also known to have been responsible for the murders of his own mother Agrippina, and his wives, Octavia and Poppaea Sabina. Lastly, there is the story of how he set fire to Rome in order to construct a brand-new city center and palace for himself. A brand-new palace was the first thing he built after the monstrous fire had engulfed much of the city and died out.
8. Timur ( Timurid Empire)
Among Mongol rulers, Tamerlane’s reputation is one of bloodshed and cruelty. As the most legendary warrior Tamerlane – otherwise known as Timur – is best remembered for his brutal military campaigns, which may have led to the deaths of tens of millions of people. His empire stretched from Delhi to the Mediterranean. He was the most powerful ruler in the Islamic world of the 14th century, and he was both feared and respected by his contemporaries. In the West, his legacy consists of obscene caricatures, such as Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, in which the savage emperor shows no more respect for human life than he would for an ant.
Much like Genghis Khan, Tamerlane pounced on opportunities whenever they arose. He used power struggles to weaken the defenses of Persia and Delhi during his campaigns. The cruelty of Timur grew as he aged. Legend has it that for his invasion of Baghdad (Iraq) in 1399, each of his soldiers was required to present him with two severed heads of the predominantly Christian population.
7. Fu Sheng (Ancient China)
In the period of the Dong Jin dynasty (317-420 AD), Fu Sheng, an infamous emperor of the Qin dynasty, ruled for only two years. The lunacy and unprecedented pride that he had displayed during these two years were enough to bring him to his death at the hands of his own family members. According to legend, when he tried to steal an eagle’s eggs he was viciously stabbed in the eye by an eagle and became blind in one eye. He made it a sin for anyone to use words such as “without,” “devoid,” or “lacking.” Once he came to power, he made such phrases taboo.
The true nature of his notoriety came to light when he began to execute important government officials for no apparent reason. As well as being bloodthirsty, he was also physically strong and brutish, making him a formidable opponent. His habit of perpetual alcohol consumption led to him making important state decisions while under the influence of alcohol.
6. Emperor Yang of Sui (Ancient China)
Yang of Sui ruled mainland China as the second emperor of the Sui dynasty. His rise to power was also marred by controversy as some historians believe he murdered his father for his throne. Upon ascending to the throne, he devoted many of the dynasty’s funds to completing large and unnecessary architectural projects. Known as one of the most self-indulgent tyrants in history, he showed total disregard for the conditions of the poor peasants and common citizens.
To finance his projects such as the reconstruction of the Great Wall of China, the construction of the Grand Canal, and the renovation of the entire eastern capital of Luoyang, he imposed excessive taxes on the general public. Yang employed eight million people to complete these massive construction projects, requiring unprecedented amounts of manpower. This led to a number of uprisings against Yang’s government, and eventually, Yang committed suicide.
5. Vlad the Impaler (Wallachia)
The cinematic Dracula is well known, but only a few know that he was based on a real-life figure. As his name suggests, Vlad the Impaler was known for impaling his enemies’ bodies on blunt stakes. During his life, he spent most of his time retaliating for the deaths of his father and older brother, a mission he completed without mercy. There was no quick death for his enemies. Their chest and abdomen would be pierced by stakes, causing them excruciating pain as they died slowly. There was only one punishment, death by impalement, irrespective of which felony you committed – murder or just stealing some bread.
But the tales of his notoriety do not stop there. During the reign of Vlad III, there was a great deal of sickness among the locals of Tirgoviste (then the capital of the Wallachian empire). Vlad the Impaler decided to address the problem and started cleaning up the streets. At one of his castles, he held a great feast for the sick and the poor. As soon as everyone was finished, Vlad excused himself, locked the entire building from the outside, and then set fire to it while everyone else was inside. Contrary to Bram Stocker’s Dracula, he didn’t suck the blood out of his victims’ necks. He preferred munching on blood-dipped breadcrumbs.
4. Ivan IV the terrible (Notorious Rulers)
Ivan the Fourth earns a place in the top five despite competing with a number of other Russian tsars. He played an important role in creating a central, more stable Russia, but he was also known for his violent outbursts, which led to dire consequences on multiple occasions. After his first wife died in 1560, things started going downhill. He fell into depression and developed paranoia. His conviction that aristocratic boyars were responsible for the death of his beloved was completely unshakeable.
Throughout the next 24 years, he ruled with absolute power, annihilated his enemies brutally, and terrorized the general public on a regular basis. He was annoyed at one point due to his son’s apparent insolence. Then, in a fit of rage, he struck him with an iron bar 30 pounds heavy. Neither of his other sons fared much better. The middle son suffered from mental disabilities, while the third son died mysteriously at an early age. Although the cold corner of Russia grew into a powerful empire under Ivan’s reign, his only legacy remains the moniker earned through his dastardly actions.
3. Herod( Roman Client King Of Judea)
Generally, Herod is depicted in the Bible as a heartless paranoid who wanted to kill Jesus and other innocents. Even though Herod committed some notorious atrocities, this depiction does an unfair disservice to him, since he was devoted to Judaism and committed to his religion. He saw himself as a savior, and a protector of Jews in Palestine and beyond during his reign from 37 BC to 4 BC but in actuality wanted to protect his throne. Nevertheless, his dark side became more evident as he grew older.
As his mental instability grew, the deception and mistrust within his family further contributed to it. In particular, his sister Salome exploited his condition to poison his mind against his family. In the end, he killed not only his wife but also her two sons and other members of her family. He became completely insane in his dying years and ordered the massacre of infants in Bethlehem. In addition to all these disorders, he unsuccessfully attempted suicide before finally succumbing to a prolonged illness in 4 BC.
2. Caligula
Almost as soon as you thought Nero’s reign had reached its peak of heinousness, Caligula stepped into the breach, bringing about the carnage of unimaginable proportions in only four years irony is that the Romans felt relief when he became emperor in 37 AD since it marked the end of Tiberius’ reign. During his first six months in power, he could not have done better. Reforms were implemented under him, and he freed civilians who had been unjustly imprisoned by Tiberius. After a little more than six months he became seriously ill, and when he recovered in October of 37 AD, he was no longer the same.
Suddenly, he began to exhibit strange behaviors. First, he discarded his regular togas and began wearing feminine dresses like silken gowns. His absolute madness led him to declare himself a living god and build a bridge between his palace and the temple of Jupiter so that he could consult the god regularly. he even attempted to appoint his horse Incitatus as a senatorial representative. Anyone who objected to this lunacy faced dire consequences. His brutal methods of killing rivals included forcing parents to watch their own children being killed. The city of Rome had enough. His assassination took place on January 24, 41 AD, when a group of guardsmen stabbed him to death.
1. Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan, born Temujin, was a Mongolian warrior and ruler known for creating the largest empire in history, the Mongol Empire. Over the course of 21 years from 1206 to 1227, his troops marauded across northeast Asia, destroying any tribes that stood in their way and conquering nearly 12 million square miles (31 million square kilometers) of land. In expanding his empire, Genghis Khan was ruthless. His bloodbath swept through Asia and Europe, killing millions. Although this unprecedented expansion was gruesome, he did succeed in modernizing the Mongolian culture that now extended far beyond its original borders. In addition to this, he was known for being tolerant of other religions and allowing full religious freedom for anyone who paid taxes to his empire.
His enemies found him terrifying, but he remained generous to all his allies. Betraying him or being disloyal meant that he would not only kill them but anyone associated with them as well. While it is impossible to comprehend exactly how many people Genghis Khan killed during his extended conquests in Asia and Europe, historians estimate there were between 38 and 40 million killed. In fact, evidence shows that the native Chinese population in mainland China declined by millions during his conquest. During the war between the Mongols and the Khwarezmid Empire, modern historians suggest he decimated around three-quarters of the population of present-day Iran. As a matter of fact, the Mongol expansion may have actually reduced the world population by 11 percent.
Conclusion
Over the course of human history, mankind has experienced both the good and the bad aspects of human nature. Whenever the ruling class becomes greedy and cruel, they will do anything to remain wealthy and powerful. Many infamous people embodied the physical manifestation of evil when human life is worth a mere fraction of a coin. The deeds they did to remain in power are what we remember more today than the good they did (some of which actually brought about positive change). As long as it furthered their personal cause, they did not hesitate to torture and kill innocent people. They will do whatever it takes to remain wealthy and powerful if they become greedy and cruel.
