Brutal Ruler: Vlad Tepes
Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, AKA Vlad the Impaler, was known for executing his enemies by impaling them. He ruled mainly from 1456 to 1462 during the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans and was best known for the tales of the ruthless punishments he imposed during his reign.
In fact, his reputation preceded him in such a way that he became the primary inspiration for many vampire tales. This brutal ruler seems to have been a fan of many forms of torture, including disemboweling and rectal and facial impalement.
He tortured thousands while he ate and drank among their corpses. One story says that he impaled every person in the city of Amlas. This includes nearly 20,000 men, women, and children.
Tepes tortured the people ordering them to be skinned, boiled, blinded, strangled, hanged, burned, hacked, nailed, buried alive, stabbed, and the list goes on.
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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.