Top 10 Rulers in History
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There have truly been many great rulers in history. Some managed to conquer the world, some managed to end violence and put their countries into periods of peace and stability, and some changed not only their nations, but the world. Here are history’s greatest rulers:
10. Hitler
Yes, that’s right. The creator of the Nazi party, the man responsible for mass genocide during World War II, was indeed a great ruler. Germany was in bad times when Hitler rose to power, and Hitler was the charamistic leader that the Germans could look up to. This one man blamed all of Germany’s problems on a scapegoat: the Jews living in Germany at the time, and somehow managed to convince the entire country of Germany that it really was the Jews’ fault for all of Germany’s problems. Even if it was a terrible thing to do, it was no mean feat and required the skills and prowess of a great leader.
9. Odysseus
In Greek mythology, Odysseus was the Greek king of Ithaca with achievements so great he was immortalized in Homer’s epic The Odyssey. Odysseus’s renowned intelligence and cunning supplements his strong combative skills. Odysseus managed to trick the Trojans during the Trojan War by building a wooden horse and hiding his soldiers in it. The Trojans took the horse into their city and into their walls, and just like that, the Greeks got past the impenetrable walls of Troy. Odysseus also managed to take back his kingdom of Ithaca after it was overrun with selfish tyrants and single-handedly saved his kingdom.
8. Caesar
Caesar, also known as Augustus, became the first emperor of the Roman Empire and ruled from 27 BC until his assassination in 14 AD. His rule established an era of unfamiliar peace and quiet, known as the Pax Romana, a feat that had never before been accomplished. Caesar managed to acquire total power but he didn’t have to use any false promises and lies like rulers before him.
7. Alexander the Great
Known for his brutal and legendary military tactics, Alexander was probably one of the best if not the best military commanders of all time. He was definitely one of the most successful, however, conquering much of the world at the time and sometimes making entire cities surrender to him without killing a single person.
6. Joseph II
Joseph II was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790. He was the first ruler of Austrian dominions of the House of Lorraine. Joseph is probably history’s most unselfish ruler. If anyone doesn’t apply to the phrase “absolute power corrupts absolutely,” it is him. He truly wanted what was best for his people and even abolished slavery and serfdom.
5. Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan was perhaps the most brutal leader the world has ever seen, but he was one of the most successful. He founded the Mongol Empire, one of the most powerful forces in the world at that time. Genghis Khan’s brilliant military strategies and tactics puts him on this list. He conquered most of the world during his prime and united many nomadic tribes in Asia.
4. Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I was the Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until the day she died. She has had many nicknames, the most famous of which being the Virgin Queen, because of the fact that she never depended on a King, but ruled quite well herself. Queen Elizabeth I set the model for a female ruler at that time and is probably one of the most successful female rulers in history. Before her reign, most females weren’t thought to be fit of such power and they were secondary to Kings or other male heirs. Elizabeth managed to prove that her gender could match and even do better than the rule of men.
3. Charlemagne
Charlemagne was the King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He has had a long record of accomplishments that prove his worth to be on this list. He expanded and united the Frankish kingdoms into the single, powerful Frankish Empire. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, the period in which art and other cultural artifacts revived and peaked through the Catholic Church.
2. Napoleon
Napoleon I of France, later known as Emperor Napoleon, was a prominent military and political leader of France and he heavily influenced European politics in the early 19th century. He basically dominated continental Europe through superior military tactics and intelligence. He continued to prosper until the French invasion of Russia in 1812, and his success steadily declined. But his establishment of the Napoleon code laid the administrative and judicial foundations for much of Western Europe.
1. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and led the country through its greatest internal struggle, the Civil War. He successfully preserved the union; if not for Abraham Lincoln, the United States would probably be divided into two countries right now. He also signed the Emancipation Proclamation, abolishing slavery in America. Abraham Lincoln is widely considered one of the greatest US presidents, if not one of the greatest leaders in history.
Written by Johnny Dunn
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Hello!! George Washington, only led the American army to defeat the (Prior to US) greatest military force known to man. Napoleon was quoted on his deathbed saying “If only I was more like George Washington”
Hey Jon (First comment) wake up!
Washington won an attritional war against an overstressed opponent which was fighting militia elements in the north (Quebecuois) and a whole host of old world enemies (Most notably France). The New World just wasn’t that valuable to the British; and though there were some fearsome, history worthy battles fought the American Revolution just wasn’t that important at the time. It was quickly over shadowed by the French version.
The only reason it’s seen significant is because the United States is currently a powerhouse in the world, though that is quickly changing.
Besides, Washington was just a general; he was only a political leader for a few short years while those on the list ruled vaster territories, or for longer.
you need to wake up and smell Georges left hanging..umm…anyway, this is hogwash
Um, Washington was president for 8 full years. Lincoln was only president for a little over 4.
Plus, while Washington was admittedly not a military genius, he was a magnificent leader, riding out to the front of the lines as bullets whizzed by him and inspiring his troops and the entire nation with his bravery and boldness. He not only had to hold together an army that was ill-equipped, often starving, and threatening to fall apart every day, he also had to train it and manage the expectations and constant meddling coming from Congress. He found the right people to promote and listened to their advice. That he managed to come out of this at all is amazing, that he managed to come out the most beloved man in the country is practically a miracle. Then, after the war was over, he preserved its meaning by refusing to be appointed king and defusing a coup in such a way that he left the conspirators crying with love for him.
As president, he managed to hold together 13 separate, fractious states and the beginning of a new constitutional system. Political parties started and grew incredibly hateful of each other, small revolts had to be put down, an entirely new form of government had to be managed and turned into a lasting system. And everything he did became a model that all presidents after him followed.
The French Revolution mattered more to Europe because it established the precedent of killing off a king and overthrowing an aristocracy. But it fell apart within a few years, turning first into a semi-totalitarian oligarchy, then into a bloodbath, then into an expansionary dictatorship, then back into a monarchy. America, on the other hand, established a constitutional system which has stood virtually unchanged for over 200 years and became a model for governments around the world. So which was more important in the long run?
I know this is opinion but where’s Louis the fourteenth the sun god of France. Many great leaders missing here.
agreed, abe should be on the list, not on #1 though, what are the parameters of this? he was a great US leader but people such as Alexander, Caesar or Napoleon ruled the world. see my point?
in that sense, we should put Clinton and Bush on the list, since the US has basically ruled the world Economically and Militarily the last 16 years.
The United States have ‘basically ruled the world economically and militarily’ since the end of WWII–not the last 16 years. Fortunate for the Free World too, otherwise Europe would be speaking Russian and propagandizing their children with Marist theory.
The inclusion of Adolf Hitler at the expense of either Franklin D. Roosevelt or Winston Churchill (Both great leaders) is appalling and shameful.
Actually, wasn’t it Stalin’s Red Army of Peasants and Workers who actually beat Hitler? The vast majority of German casualties were in the Soviet Union.
agreed fully, I nearly vomited in my mouth when I saw Hitler on the list
Hitler was a dumb A$$! The guy had no tactical skills to speak of, he made countless mistakes that finally led to the ultimate demise of the Nazi party. How could you leave GW off this list? The man was a god on the battlefield and defeated the greatest military of that time.
I disagree with what he said about Ghengis Khan. Our society has an awful, and misguided, view of him. While he was a brutal conquerer, while under his rule there was peace and prosperity. He even managed to keep the silk road safe.
What about Qin Shi Huangdi, the man who made the Great Wall of China, the Terracotta army, and oh… China! Abraham Lincoln shouldn’t have been number 1.
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation only abolished slavery in the states that had left the union, abolishing slavery in the union could have persuaded some states to secede.
I completely agree! Finally, someone with a little bit of education! Abraham Lincoln did NOT “free the slaves”. Like Kyle stated, it only abolished slavery in certain states, as a way of appeasing/coaxing people. Lincoln couldn’t have cared less about the freedom of African Americans.
He may not have ‘freed the slaves’, but it was a HUGE step in that direction, something NO ONE in history, president, king, or whatever, had the BALLS to do.
It should be pointed out, though, that he did support the 13th Amendment, which, when passed, did outlaw all slavery. So if he had lived, he would have essentially been the one to free the slaves, though the Amendment was passed by Congress and the states, too.
USA USA USA (Alexander the Great should be like fourth, behind Washington, Lincoln, and THEODORE ROOSEVELT)
This is just ignorant. There have been so many great rulers in history, and honestly no American ruler is Top 10 worthy. Since when has an American conquered a large portion of the WORLD?? (Ceaser, Alexander the Great, and Ghengis Khan)
Since when did America have the chance to conquer the world? When America was founded we were too busy slaughtering all the Native Americans and cutting down all our trees to worry about the rest of the world. By the time we started to care about the rest of the world (around about the time of WWI and WWII) all the other countries were giving back the countries they conquered. Therefore, America never had a chance to conquer the world – BUT – this does not by any means that America was void of great leaders. Great leaders don’t need to be conquers.
you’re mom is ignorant, Viva Poland!!!! you’re such a dolt, AMERICAN OWNS THE WORLD, what rock have you lived under lately, get out of the Siberian snow and join society already!
Caesar wasn’t called Augustus, that was Octavian, the guy who managed to rise to power after his death. And he would also be a far better selection for this list since Caesar, while being a great general, didn’t do so well in ruling the Roman Republic.
Augustus is Octavian. He was born Octavian and changed his name when he “adopted” Julius Caesar as his father (he was actually Julius’ nephew) for political reasons. The only ruler in Roman history to be called Caesar was Julius Caesar whom never held the title of emperor but rather Dictator for life.
Allow me to correct myself. Augustus is not “also known as” Caesar. His full name was originally Gaius Octavius Thurinus. He was later adopted by Julius Caesar than later changed his name to Gaius Julius Caesar (his adopted fathers name) for political reasons. Augustus is an honorary title bestowed on him latter but in Roman tradition this title became a part of his name. So I guess in a way a Caesar was an emperor. However the only person to be referred to as Caesar is his adopted father. Augustus is only referred to as either Octavian or Augustus.
Shi Huagndi has to be on this list, it’s not even a debate. Ramses the Great? Trajan? I think Rome deserves more then one on this list… Maybe even a Eastern Emperor such as Justinian… Where is Cyrus the Great??? I have a lot of problems with this list, Hitler was an opportunist not a great ruler. Great Rulers must have a legacy, what is his?? Odysseus?? Is there any historical evidence that he even existed?? and Joseph II? This needs a lot of work, I’m sorry… I’m a nice guy, but come one
Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus are two different people. Augustus was Caesar’s adopted son and ruled far longer and more successfully than Caesar himself.
LINCOLN???!?!? 550 thousand Americans died under his presidency! How can you even consider having him in there, let alone in first? My jaw dropped when I saw this. This list must have been comprised by Americans. I always hear how he saved the union, and no one ever asks themselves why they believe that to be such an important thing. He reintroduced powerful central governments to a country that was founded on the people choosing their destiny. Look at the individual states now, they have been stripped of all their power. That was not the intention of the founders. Small localized government with limited power. Allow the people to govern themselves. Now the united states is a giant bureaucracy with government married to corporate power. There is no accountability. Lincoln made it okay for the federal to be the sole ruler of the people and if any states disagreed, well, the civil war established what the recourse would be.
There are countless on the lists:-
a) Darius/ Xerxes/ Cyrus the Great (Persian/ Iran)
b) Tang Tai Tsung (Li Shi Min)/ Kang Hsi/ Xian Long/ Shi Huang Ti/ Wu Ti / Mao Tse Tung (China)
c) Akbar/ Asoka (India)
d) Genghis Khan/ Kublai Khan/ Ogodei/ Tamerlane (Mongol)
e) Sulaiman/ Saladin (Ottoman/ Turkey)
f) Harun al-Rashid (Iraq)
g) The Inca, Mayan etc. king (Americas)
h) Peter/ Catherine (Russia)
i) Bismark (Prussia)
j) Fredinard & Isabella (Spain)
k) lists go on and on
h) Peter/
I think the person who made the top 10 is of US, that is the reason why we see US at no.1, i always think Hitler, Alexander Caeser and even Ghenghis Khan should be moved further upwards. They were certainly one of the greatest and gave everything for what they belived was right. I dont see the reason why US Ruler is included in the this list.
People; this list is RULERS. Not GENERALS; MILITARY COMMANDERS.
Although many people on this list were heavily involved with the military; it’s about Political (Civilian) ruling, not Military conquerors.
Learn the meaning of words before you hatefully and ignorantly espouse your own non-nonsensical preferences under mistaken conditions.
And yes, as bad as Hitler was (Stalin was much worse, read up on him) he was a better ruler post war then some of these people. Although the Jews were one of many, many reasons/excuses Hitler used in getting the German people off their depressed arses the main force was the severe economic depression caused by, among other things, the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler took his people past this, a move that was actually applauded by many other countries. There was a reason Hitler was named person of the year in 1938.
Get off your knee jerk high horse and learn what really happened in History.
For one thing, yes this is a list of RULERS, not GENERALS. Alexander the Great was a military leader. He was always away from home, nearly always out of touch with Greece. Yes, he did build one of the largest empires in history, but for less than a few years. It tore itself apart after his death, which was one of his greatest failings. Ne is a great ruler, but I think he is over-exagerated.
If you include Hitler, then you will have to include FDR or Winston Churchill. Stalin, on the other hand, almost lost the entire war thanks to his delusion prior to the launch of Barbarossa, and almost lost it after it had began. It was only thanks to some measure of stupidity on the part of Hitler that he turned his Panzers south toward Kiev that Stalin and his generals stopped the fall of Moscow.
Another thing, what about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the man who built the entire Turkish nation from scratch? History has nearly forgotten him. Cyrus the Great should also be here.
Abraham Lincoln. Some of you seem drawn to the Emancipation Proclomation. But, yes, although that did have its limitations, you fail to say that his greatest achievement was in actually keeping the nation together, and his superior grasp on how a war should be fought by a president, namely in keeping out of his generals way. Davis could have taken some lessons from him. And was it his fault that over 600,000 Americans died? What should he have done, let the sates secede? What if he had have let the south have its independence? If the North lost that war, the results to history could have been disastrous.
Genghis Khan is one of the greatest rulers in history. He is, however, not brutal. History has portrayed him badly. Take the destruction of Otrar, for instance. When his ambassadors were killed on the orders of the governor of the city, he demanded that the guilty men be handed over to him. But they just spat in his face. He then proceeded with his invasion of Central Asia, and destroyed the city. The city bought it on itself. This was customary of Genghis Khan. People back then should just have been nicer, and made alliances with him.
What if the South would have seceded, people instantly say that that would have been a disastrous thing without logically asking themselves why? The United States was founded on secession. Human beings are not intrinsically indentured to a single idea of government and country. A group of people at anytime have the natural right to see their own path the way they see fit. It is not the right of the North, another group of Americans, to step in and force the South into adhering to what they want. It is tyrannical and authoritarian and goes against the principles that the United States was built on. Saying that it ended slavery is a weak argument to excuse the deaths of 600,000 Americans. The cost of the war could have bought every slave in the south, not to mention that slavery at that time was coming to and end around the world. It could not have existed in a viable financial and ethical manner for more than 10 or 15 more years. The civil war was about Federal power over individual states, the byproduct is the United States as we have it today.
Is there a non-USA version of this site? I’d like to read a little more unbiased lists.
Lol @ Lincoln
Americans……….
how there could some from the US be there on this list i believe this is too obvious , lets talk about countries who had been existing for the past decades and become what they are today because of the contribution and some disasters their leaders had made to the wold i.e italy, france, england, garmany. e t c. Abraham Lincoln should not be on these list, His rule was on U S and not the world