Brutal Ruler: Ivan the Terrible
Ivan the Terrible, AKA Ivan IV Vasilyevich, was the first Tsar of Russia. He became ruler when he was three, and as a mere child, the country was ruled by a regency council.
During his childhood, Ivan witnessed the adverse effects an all-powerful aristocracy can have and never forgot this lesson. He was assisted by a Royal Council full of reformers during his early reign.
During this period, this brutal ruler scored his most significant successes by conquering the Khanate of Kazan and Astrakhan. After a fake abdication, he was recalled by the nobles.
Ivan agreed, but he demanded more control over the affairs of state. During his “second” reign, he became cruel and authoritarian. He set up the first political police force in Russian history, the Oprichnina, and ruthlessly purged the nobility using them.
The purge caused the death of many nobles, whose properties were, of course, then confiscated by the state. One of the ugliest episodes of the Oprichnina terror was the Massacre of Novgorod. Before its attack, Novgorod was one of the most thriving cities in Russia.
After, it declined, never to recover again. He also started numerous unsuccessful wars during the latter decades of his rule. Thanks to his battles, Russia lost territories around the Baltic Sea, and the high taxes also impoverished the population.
As he aged, he became increasingly paranoid, leading to further purges of people he distrusted. His temper also worsened, and he even accidentally killed his son and heir during one of his raging fits.
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Attila is revered in Hungarian history books. I even have a biography of him buried somewhere on my bookshelves, though I can’t find it not. Title: Attila, King of the Huns, by Patrick Howarth. Terrifying conqueror: Yes, and I would have hated to be in his path. But the true Hungarians are the descendants of the Huns who settled in that region.
How is Nebuchadnezzar seen by his conquered states? The Jews revile his memory. Same for Vepasian and his general, Titus, who destroyed the second temple of the Jews. But in general, the history books don’t seem to see them as anything worse that conquerors consolidating their rule.