When we think of leaders, many qualities come to our mind like bravery, courage, generosity, ethics, discipline and a certain dynamism that makes them adorable. Our world has raised many heroes and leaders who have led the group under their supervision to victory. But time is also the witness of the ravages and cruelties of leaders who influenced our lives and changed the course of human history. The cruelest leaders of the world rose to power because they had a lot of qualities that are essential for leadership but the way they used their power has brought humanity to great shame.
Atilla the Hun
No list of cruel leaders is complete without mentioning his name. Atilla was the king of the Hun Empire that stretched over a vast area, from the Ural mountain ranges to the Rhine River, in the 5th century. He was a greedy king and killed thousands of people without any regret just for power and money. He invaded western European countries, including Austria and Germany, and forced the innocent citizens to join his army, the only other option being death. He died on his wedding night. Stories tell that he was drowned in his own blood.
Gaius Caesar
Gaius Caesar is also known as Caligula in history of the Roman Empire. He thought himself to be God. He committed a lot of violent deeds, making him one of the cruelest leaders of all time. He used to kill criminals by lions and ordered to cut off the tongue of rebel leaders. He also killed rich aristocrats and kept their properties for himself.
Adolf Hitler
He was a power crazy political leader who rose to the position of the German Fuhrer with the power of his intellect. He was a racist who killed more than 6 million people, most of them Jewish, in Holocaust. He was a terror across Europe and people did not have the guts to publicly speak against him. He made Germany a super power and dreamt of conquering the world.
Saloth Sar
Pol Pott aka Saloth Sar raised to power at the time of the Vietnamese war. This Cambodian leader ruined his country with the communist plans. In an interrogation room created by him, 20,000 people were killed by torturing.
Joseph Stalin
Probably the most number of innocent lives were taken due to his orders. He was the leader of the Communist Party in Russia. Around 60 million people are supposed to have died under his leadership.