Brutal Ruler: Genghis Khan
The rise of this brutal ruler was one of the unlikeliest in history. Even though he was born into a noble family, Genghis Khan and his family were abandoned by their tribe following the poisoning of his father. The years that would follow were challenging for them.
Eventually, though, Genghis managed to unite the Nomadic tribes living north of China into one strength. Once these tribes were unified, he unleashed his armies on the bordering states.
Between 1206 and 1279, the Mongols of Genghis and his successors conquered China, the Khwarezmian Empire, stopped most of the tribes of the Eurasian Steppe, destroyed the southern Rus principalities, and raided as far west as the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary.
Although it’s difficult to estimate the exact numbers, some historians believe that as much as 10% of the world’s population, that’s around 60 million, may have vanished thanks to the Mongol conquests.
To put this in perspective, it would mean between 700–800 million people in today’s world.
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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.