Top 10 Most Cruel Rulers Ever in History

There have been many rulers who used their own kind of tactics to rule their legion. Many rulers were famous for their kind hearted ruling strategies. On the contrary, there have been such rulers who stained the pages of history with blood, terror and cruelty. In this article, we will enlist the top 10 most cruel rulers ever in history.

1. Joseph Stalin

The Premier of Soviet Union from May 6 1941 to his death March 5, 1953, Joseph Stalin is top of the list of most cruel rulers ever in history. He brought the 1917 revolution of Russia among the Bolshevik revolutionaries. Stalin is considered to exercise the greater political power as compared to any other historical figure. Abiding by his orders in 1930, millions of peasant were murdered or forced to starve till death. Maintaining an iron grip over S.U. for around 29 years, Stalin brought death to more than 20 million of his own people.

2. Adolf Hitler

The Australian born German politician and leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, Adolf Hitler stands at no. 2 of our list. From 1993 to 1945, Hitler was chancellor of Germany. His was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. Hitler was the central reason behind foundation of Nazism, World War II and the Holocaust. By the time world war ended, Hitler’s racial suppression and regional conquest had brought destruction and death to tens of millions of people. It also included the famous genocide of more than 6 million Jews also known as Holocaust. The present Germany does not allow discussing the Holocaust in public and feels ashamed of what their leader did in past history. The infamous murderer and dictator committed suicide on April 30, 1945 by shooting himself while biting into a cyanide capsule simultaneously.

3. Leopold II Belgiums

The King of Belgians, Leopold II is remembered for the ruthless exploitation of Congo Free State. Leopold was the son of Leopold I and Louise Marie of Orleans. Born in Brussels, he succeeded to throne on December 17, 1865 and ruled till death. During his rule, he created the Conge Free State in 1885. It was his privately controlled state where he used to extract ivory, rubber and other minerals through forced labor. Sooner, the Congo State became one of the greatest international scandals of 20^th century. It resulted in exploitation and death of more than three million Congolese. According to some authors, the death numbered up to 10 million people which were a big 20 percent of total population. Leopold II stands at number 3 on this list.

4. Adolph Eichmann

Resident of a small industrial city of Solingen in Rhineland, Adolf Eichmann was born on 19^th March, 1906. In 1932, He joined Nazi party in and rose quickly through the ranks as he travelled through Nazi controlled territory in Jewish population search. The German national Eichman was among the major organizers of Holocaust. He was trialed by the state of Israel for his involvement in Nazi extermination of Jews in WW II. He held firmly that he was just following the orders while having the view, “The death of 5 million Jews on my conscience gives me extraordinary satisfaction”. Found guilty, he was executed by Israel in 1962 for his logistics coordination role for “the final solution to the Jewish question”. Eichmann comes at no. 4 on the list of top 10 most cruel rulers ever in history.

5. Ivan IV of Russia

Famous as Ivan the Terrible, Ivan Iv of Russia was Muscovy’s Grand Duke from 1533 to 1547. He was the first sovereign of Russia and the first who proclaimed tsar of Russia. History explains the contrasting accounts of Iva’s complex character. Despite of being very devout and intelligent, he was prone to episodic eruptions of mental sickness. He was fond of piercing people. He enjoyed burning of 1000s of people in frying pans. Ivan ordered his soldiers to build walls around the city so that no one could escape. On a daily routine, a number of 500 – 1000 people were assembled by the troops. These people were tortured and brutally killed in front of Ivan and his son. He is also famous for his paranoiac dubiousness and cruel oppression of nobility. The dreadful king died from a stroke while playing chess.

6. Vlad Tepes

Known for executing his enemies by impalement, Vlad III was the Price of Wallachia. Infamous as Vlad the Implaer, this cruel ruler stands at number 6 on the list of most cruel rulers in the history ever. His reign comprises of the period of incipient Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, 1456 – 1562. Vlad is recognized for the most cruel punishments he used to impose during his rule. Fond of tasting human blood, he is considered the source of inspiration for the Dracula. While torturing the thousands, he used to eat from the dead bodies. Vlad impaled more than 20 thousand people, the whole city of Amlas, leaving no child, man or woman alive. From rectal & facial impalement and disemboweling, he tortured the people ordering them to be boiled, skinned, decapitated, hanged, strangled, nailed, roasted, stabbed and buried alive. He even used to cut off their organs like ears, noses, limbs and sex organs.

7. Pol Pot

The leader of Khmer Rouge and the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Pol Pot was born on 19^th May, 1025 in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. He became leader of Cambodia in 1975. Pot’s government was a radical communist government. His army forced the mass evacuation of cities, killed and displaced millions of people and left a gift of starvation and diseases. During his rule, his government brought death to more than one million people by starvation, execution, torture and forced labor. The large number of graves he ordered his people to dig was often referred as “The Killing Fields”. The people of Cambodia were kept deprive of any medical and health facility. There were orders to kill any suspected rival, especially intellectuals and those with political experience. Under his life prison sentence, he died due to heart failure in 1998.

8. Genghis Khan

Starting from insignificant and obscure beginnings, Genghis Khan brought all the nomadic tribes of Mongolia under his rule. With the help of his family, he managed to build a strongly disciplined military state. He developed Asia’s most advanced army ever seen. Being a most cruel ruler and warrior, he comes at number 8 on our list. Born as Temujin in north Mongolia around 1162, Genghis was the founder of Mongol Empire, which became the largest adjoining empire in history after his death. He came into power by uniting small nomadic tribes of north Asia and proclaimed Genghis Khan aka The Great Khan. Mongol invasions conquered the most of Eurasia. Khan with his army wiped out more than 11pc of world’s population, around 40 million people. In most of the invasions, Khan’s army used to leave no living thing, not even the animals. The victory was normally enjoyed by parade of captive girls. These girls were ranked and top rank was taken by the Khan leaving rest for his officers.

The reason behind Khan’s death is unknown. It is said that more than 40 virgins and horses were sacrificed on the funeral along with the murder of 2000 guests in order to keep the funeral secret.

9. Attila the Hun

At number nine, comes ruler of the Huns, Attila aka Attila the Hun. He was leader of Hun Empire form 434 to 453. This empire expanded from Ural River to Rhine River and from Danube to Baltic Sea. Considered as one of the greatest villains of history, he is remembered as essence of rapacity and cruelty in Western Europe. Attila crossed Danube River twice and robbed the Balkans, but he failed to conquer Constantinople. Before his defeat in Catalonian Plains, he crossed Rhine and marched to farther lands of Aurelianum to conquer Roman Gaul (France). In another attempt to take Rome, he invaded Italy and devastated the north provinces. He made further campaigns against Rome. On his way back for his marriage in 452, he invaded and ravaged Italy again. On his wedding night, Attila the Hun drowned in his own blood due to a sever nosebleed.

10. Idi Amin Dada

The last on our list of top 10 most cruel rulers ever in history, is Idi Amin Dada. Amin was the President of Uganda and a military dictator from 1971 to 1979. Joining the British colonial regiment, Amin got the rank of Major General. Later, he became the Commander before grabbing power in military coup of January 1971. Promoted to field marshal, he became the head of state. The key notables of his rule include political repression, extra judicial killings, human rights abuse, and expulsion of Indians from Uganda. In his rule, according to an estimate, more than 5 lac people were killed. He always hated Europeans. The African leader was with the mission of ruling the Europeans. Even after being overthrown, he was of the view that Uganda needed him. That’s why he never uttered regret for the abuse of his government. He died in a Saudi Arabian hospital due to kidney failure.