- 6 weeks ago
History is filled with powerful rulers—but not all used their power for good. In this countdown, we reveal 20 of the most ruthless, cruel, and tyrannical kings to ever rule.
From bloodthirsty conquerors and oppressive monarchs to leaders whose reigns were marked by terror and injustice, these kings left a legacy of fear.
Discover the darkest chapters of royal history and the stories of rulers whose cruelty still shocks the world today.
📌 Perfect for history buffs, dark history fans, and anyone fascinated by the rise and fall of empires.
From bloodthirsty conquerors and oppressive monarchs to leaders whose reigns were marked by terror and injustice, these kings left a legacy of fear.
Discover the darkest chapters of royal history and the stories of rulers whose cruelty still shocks the world today.
📌 Perfect for history buffs, dark history fans, and anyone fascinated by the rise and fall of empires.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're discussing the most despicable male monarchs from the entirety of human history.
00:14Not all will be kings in name, but they all serve the same role.
00:18He was tried for treason, murder, and embezzlement. Charges of cannibalism were, though, dropped.
00:25William the Conqueror, King of England
00:27England's first Norman king was given a much less flattering title by his contemporaries, particularly the Anglo-Saxons whom he conquered.
00:34William's mind is made up. He will cross the channel and take the English crown by force.
00:40When he conquered England in 1066, he made himself busy replacing Anglo-Saxon and Viking cultures with Norman culture.
00:47William, known now as William the Conqueror, is the new master of the kingdom.
00:52This involved him replacing the noble class and heading north and crushing a rebellion by decimating the countryside.
00:58He has Europe's most centralized kingdom, England, under his control, but he also is simply by virtue of being Duke of Normandy, a leading power in northern France.
01:08There's no consensus on how severe the damage was, but contemporary sources make it appear genocidal.
01:14The effects of his conquest can still be seen today, such as the Three Lions of England, which descend from a Norman crest.
01:20If William failed, England might still have a dragon for a flag, much like Wales today.
01:25Emperor Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
01:28The Thirty Years' War was one of the most destructive wars in European history.
01:32It was fought in Central Europe, essentially between Protestants and Catholics, after decades of rising tensions between the two groups.
01:39Between 4.5 and 8 million people died, with areas of Germany losing over 50% of their population.
01:45The actions of Rudolf II were one of the main reasons it began.
01:49His biggest mistake was the letter of majesty, which gave Bohemian Protestants religious freedom, but it wasn't long before he regretted it.
01:56After his death, leadership in the empire fragmented.
01:59A devout Catholic Ferdinand II took over, and the security Rudolf II had provided for Protestants was proven false.
02:06Peter the Cruel, King of Castile and León
02:08The name alone lets you know what type of man Peter was.
02:11He ruled the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and León basically from 1350 to 1369.
02:17During that period, he was excommunicated by the Pope for his extreme cruelty.
02:21He got his title from the huge number of people he had personally killed, including some of his half-brothers, his father's mistress, and his treasurer.
02:29Supposedly, he murdered a deposed Grenadan ruler with his bare hands.
02:32Some claim he even murdered his first wife, Blanche of Bourbon, but this fact is disputed.
02:38On the bright side, he was fairly tolerant toward Jewish people, but this meant that after his death, his Jewish supporters were forced to wear yellow badges to make them stand out.
02:46Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia
02:48After Alexander I's rule during the Napoleonic Wars, Nicholas I became Emperor of Russia, holding this title from 1825 to 1855.
02:57During his rule, he became known for crushing multiple revolutions.
03:00Under Nicholas, the Tsar's absolute rule became Russia's official creed.
03:06He declared democracy, or a constitution, out of the question.
03:10First was the Decembrist revolt in 1825, started by a radical liberal movement that wanted to establish a constitutional monarchy and to abolish serfdom, which was almost slavery.
03:20Then Nicholas opened fire.
03:23The Decembrist rebellion and the dream of sweeping political change collapsed in chaos.
03:30Nicholas also crushed Poland's November uprising, helped crush the Hungarian Revolution, and in 1853, brought Russia into the disastrous Crimean War.
03:39It lasted until 1856, resulting in a major defeat for Russia, which Nicholas never lived to see.
03:45Tsar Nicholas reviewed his troops under a cold, driving rain.
03:49The next day, he came down with pneumonia.
03:55One week later, he was dead.
03:57Justinian II, Byzantine Emperor
03:59Also known as the Slit-Nosed, Justinian II wasn't considered an ugly man for having his nose cut off, but mainly for being exceedingly despicable.
04:08He ruled the Byzantine Empire from 685 until 695, when he was deposed and had his nose removed, to prevent him from reclaiming the throne.
04:17This didn't work, and he came back in 705.
04:20He spent his second rule obsessed with revenge, hunting down anyone who helped depose him.
04:25Justinian had two of his rivals publicly humiliated and then executed.
04:29Eventually, the people revolted again in 711.
04:32This time, they decided to cut off his whole head rather than just his nose, which was then put on display in Rome and Ravenna.
04:39Pope John XII
04:39We don't often think of popes as monarchs, but for hundreds of years, that's pretty much what they were.
04:45To many, John XII was the worst in history.
04:48He took the title in 955, aged between 17 and 25, then lost it in 964.
04:55His contemporaries were far from fond of him, alleging he turned the Lateran Palace into a brothel.
05:00One of his biggest blunders was making German King Otto I the Holy Roman Emperor, then later betraying him.
05:07Otto responded by deposing John, who fled Rome and died soon afterward.
05:11One source claims he died committing adultery, either because of an outraged husband or a ruptured internal organ.
05:17Andronicus I Komnenos
05:19Byzantine Emperor
05:20The Komnenos dynasty gained prominence with Alexios I in 1081.
05:24He took control of the Roman Empire in 1081, then fought for almost 40 years and restored the empire to glory once again.
05:32The dynasty ended with Andronicus I, who took charge in 1183 and lost it two years later.
05:38He usurped the throne by killing 14-year-old Emperor Alexios II.
05:43Andronicus's rule was a constant state of terror, with him killing and blinding tons of opponents.
05:47In the end, the people of Constantinople revolted and murdered him themselves.
05:52It was a brutal death that lasted days, with his corpse remaining unburied for years after.
05:58Jean Bédel Bocasa
05:59Emperor of Central Africa
06:01Few modern dictators stylized themselves as monarchs, but Bocasa of the Central African Republic loved Napoleon so much he couldn't resist.
06:09After being president for 10 years, he decided to name himself the Emperor of Central Africa in 1976.
06:14It only lasted three years before a coup kicked him out of power.
06:19During his rule, he was exceptionally evil.
06:21He reportedly loved to dine on human flesh, and even allegedly fed it to foreign ambassadors.
06:27Eventually, he was tried in 1986 after fleeing to France.
06:31They found him guilty of some disgusting things, resulting in a death penalty that was ultimately never carried out.
06:37Sentenced to death, he spent a total of seven years in prison before being released in 1993 under an amnesty.
06:43He died of a heart attack three years later.
06:46Hirohito, Emperor of Japan
06:48Under Hirohito's reign, Imperial Japan terrorized the Asian continent all in the Emperor's name.
06:54Hirohito was aware of the Nanjing Massacre, biological warfare, Japan's treatment of prisoners, and comfort women alongside many other war crimes.
07:03Despite this, he barely intervened.
07:05If he had pushed for peace when the war was clearly lost, millions of lives could have been saved.
07:10After the war, he never issued a formal apology and framed Japan as a victim.
07:15The war situation has developed, not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest.
07:23General MacArthur protected him from the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, with others taking the blame.
07:28Hirohito then went on to rule until 1989, never once showing genuine remorse for the crimes he was culpable for.
07:35Hirohito was the longest-serving emperor in Japanese history, a period when Japan saw itself rise and fall and rise again.
07:42Attila the Hun, ruler of the Hunnic Empire
07:45Nicknamed the Scourge of God, Attila was the ruler of the Huns from 435 until 453.
07:51He preyed on the Western Roman Empire, sacking cities and slaughtering their inhabitants.
07:55He forced towns to pay large sums of gold to prevent him from attacking.
07:59Attila particularly enjoyed gruesome forms of execution, often impaling his enemies through the rectum and leaving them to die a slow, painful death.
08:13I see you in my lands ever again. I will kill you.
08:18In fact, it's said that the corpses of one massacred city completely clogged up the Danube River for years.
08:24After his death, he committed one more act of cruelty by having the men who buried him murdered to keep the location of his coffin a secret.
08:32Commodus, Roman Emperor
08:33During his reign as the Roman Emperor from 177 to 192, he earned himself a reputation as one of the worst emperors ever.
08:41The Pax Romana was a golden age for Rome, which ended when Commodus took power.
08:45After inheriting a vast and powerful empire from his father, the great Marcus Aurelius, Commodus is at odds with the ruling class of Rome.
08:55The Senate.
08:56He barely cared about doing his job. Instead, he focused more on being a gladiator, allowing his corrupt officials to do as they pleased.
09:04Allegedly, he killed hundreds of people and exotic animals simply for fun.
09:08He had a huge god complex and even renamed the city of Rome to Colonia Lucia Agna Comodiana.
09:14And we wouldn't believe that this was true if we're not for the fact the coins of Commodus' era showed that this was the case.
09:22He really did name it after himself.
09:24After dying, the Senate named him a public enemy, destroyed his statues, and renamed Rome.
09:30Timur, the first ruler of the Timurid Empire
09:33The Timurid Empire was one of the largest empires in southwestern Asia.
09:36Like most empires, it wasn't formed peacefully.
09:39Timur created it in the 14th century, and according to most accounts, he was a very naughty man.
09:45Many of his campaigns involved massacres against civilians in cities such as Delhi, Baghdad, Damascus, and Aleppo alongside others.
09:52Timur claimed he was the sword of Islam, but contradicted this by killing many Muslims.
09:57Historians estimate between 5 and 17 million people died because of his conquests.
10:02This allowed him to control an exceptionally large empire, mainly because all the people who would oppose him were dead.
10:08John, King of England
10:10Reigning from 1199 to 1216, King John is thought by many historians to be the worst monarch in Britain's history.
10:17And considering how long their history is, that is saying something.
10:21For starters, he betrayed his own brother, who was off fighting in the Crusades at the time, by attempting to seize power while he was gone.
10:28Eventually, he did become king.
10:29And to prevent any potential uprising, it's believed he had his own nephew, Arthur, murdered.
10:34John further alienated the English nobles by losing all of Normandy to France, and exiled those he felt suspicious of.
10:40Your father, Sir Walter, owes tax to the crown.
10:49My crown.
10:50To top it off, he frequently forced himself on their wives, and immediately broke the agreement of the Magna Carta, beginning the First Barons War.
10:58I think you'll find our grievances are more serious.
11:01I think you'll find mine now.
11:02I don't think you will, actually.
11:03Chengde, Emperor of China
11:05While his era name may have meant right virtue, the Chengde Emperor was neither right nor virtuous.
11:11He became emperor at age 14, but had little interest in ruling China.
11:15Instead, he invested his time in brothels or his harem, which held so many women that many starved to death due to lack of food.
11:22He once ordered his ministers and soldiers to dress up as street vendors so that he could walk through his palace and play act being a commoner in the marketplace.
11:30Those who refused were punished severely.
11:33He reportedly died at the age of 29 after he drunkenly fell into the foul waters of the Grand Canal, and came down with a fatal illness.
11:40Vlad the Impaler
11:41Voivode of Wallachia
11:43You have to figure the person who inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula wouldn't be the nicest of guys.
11:47Vlad reigned as Prince of Wallachia on three separate occasions during the 15th century, and demonstrated a marked tendency toward bloodthirstiness.
12:02Purging those who plotted against him was only the start.
12:05Vlad enjoyed torturing his prisoners, including roasting them alive, skinning them, and removing several body parts before finally killing them.
12:12Of course, his favorite method of execution was impalement, with some sources claiming he once had 20,000 corpses impaled outside the capital city.
12:20Vlad sought to earn such a reputation for savagery and brutality that enemies would be reluctant to attack him.
12:26Yeah, he achieved that goal.
12:30Leopold II, King of the Belgians
12:32The second King of the Belgians, Leopold II earns a spot on this list for his atrocious behavior in the Congo.
12:38Although the Congo was not a colony of Belgium, Leopold secured it on the grounds that he would improve the lives of the native inhabitants.
12:44To put it simply, he did not.
12:46He forced the natives to harvest rubber, earning him a fortune, but leading to the deaths of around 10 million Congo natives.
12:53The men were forced to work, and if they refused, their wives and children were mutilated.
12:58What Leopold did was to establish government as a system of organized plunder.
13:04Reports of extreme human rights abuses eventually led to a huge international scandal, and ultimately, Leopold was forced to surrender the colony.
13:12Herod the Great, King of Judea
13:14The ancient world had its fair share of terrible rulers, and Herod ranks right near the top of the list.
13:19The King of Judea, from 37 BCE to 4 BCE, he is perhaps best remembered for the Bible's account of his attempted murder of Jesus Christ as an infant.
13:28What is unwise, Tero, is to take such a prophecy too lightly.
13:33The Bible states that Herod tried to achieve this goal by ordering the murder of every boy under two years old in Bethlehem,
13:39although some sources claim this may never have actually happened.
13:42He had several of his family members murdered, including his wife and sons,
13:46and his enormous spending was largely responsible for the debilitating poverty among his people.
13:51No wonder he needed some 2,000 soldiers as bodyguards.
13:54Take my enemies your enemies, and I offer you a substantial gift.
13:58Genghis Khan, Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
14:01The founder of what would become the largest contiguous empire the world has ever seen.
14:06Genghis Khan was certainly an effective leader, but he was also extremely ruthless.
14:11His army didn't only crush other armies, it destroyed civilians and children along with the armed soldiers.
14:17In fact, some sources claim that over 700,000 people were murdered in one massacre alone.
14:26He allowed his soldiers to assault women in front of their families and enslaved hundreds of thousands of people.
14:33Considered by many to be a genocidal ruler,
14:35it's estimated that his armies killed somewhere between 20 and 60 million people during his 21-year reign.
14:41Caligula, Emperor of the Roman Empire
14:56Believing he was a god, Caligula quickly began murdering people for his own amusement
15:05when he became Rome's third emperor in 37 CE.
15:08He was rumored to have forced his three sisters to have sex with him,
15:12and frequently had sex with the wives of his personal bodyguards,
15:15whom he made stand outside the room and listen.
15:17He made it illegal for people to mention the word goat in his presence,
15:21under the punishment of death, and tried to make his horse a Roman consul.
15:25Silence, scum!
15:27As a surprise to no one, his own guards eventually assassinated him.
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15:48Ivan the Terrible
15:49Tsar of all the Russias
15:51When terrible becomes your epithet,
15:53you know you've done a few bad things during your time.
15:55Although considered by many to be an effective ruler,
15:58Ivan often fell into fits of uncontrollable rage.
16:00One of these fits resulted in the murder of his son,
16:06while another resulted in the severe beating of his pregnant daughter-in-law,
16:09possibly causing a miscarriage.
16:11He also used a mounted police force and gave them absolute power to arrest and execute anyone they desired.
16:17Any nobles he disliked, he had crushed,
16:20going so far as to have one eaten alive by dogs,
16:23and he massacred the people of Novgorod because he distrusted them.
16:27Is it any wonder Joseph Stalin considered him to be a great man?
16:30Who do you think was the most bloodthirsty monarch in history?
16:33Did we include them or not?
16:34Let us know in the comments section.
16:35He fills the city with statues of himself,
16:38dressed as the god Hercules.
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