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From Genghis Khan to Pol Pot: The 10 Most Brutal Rulers in History
“The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.” — Josef Stalin
According to Niccolo Machiavelli, a Renaissance philosopher and writer, an efficient ruler should use cruelty when necessary and it’s better to be feared than loved.
The following ten rulers took the Machiavellian idea about harsh measuring being sometimes needed to maintain control over the population to the very extremes.
Let’s have a look at the 10 most cruel rulers in history, who committed horrific crimes against humanity.
1. Genghis Khan— Khan of the Mongol Empire
Death toll: 40 million people
Genghis Khan (reign 1206-1227) united the steppe tribes of Mongolia thus creating an unstoppable war machine that carved out the largest contiguous land empire in history.
Genghis military tactics were efficient and brutal. For example, if the besieged city didn’t surrender, all the citizens were slaughtered.
