Top 10 Villainous Rulers - TopTenzNet

[@aneiasl]

I'm was expecting to see the Roman Emperor, Caligula on the list. Not only was he villainous but all around insane

[@vegetasaiyanprinceofragebo5520]

dont forget a sex fiend as well

[@rsd9988]

Commodus actually killed far more people than Caligula

[@keatsqrst1042]

Ryan Clapp the empower nero I think killed more than commudus

[@brandonseff6044]

Ann B did you know that he had his horse appointed as a public figure?

[@jerry321999]

Calugula would've bee better choice than Vladd Dracula

[@pinewaves]

I'm surprised Pol Pot didn't make the cut. Nero also too could deserve some dishonourable mention.

[@eruditootidure2611]

Vlad's Surname was actually Tepes, not Dracula. Dracula was a nickname, roughly translating to "son of the dragon", on account of his father being nicknamed Dracul, "the Dragon".

[@nicholastapu5902]

+Erudito Subject 18 otidurE Dracul=demon,not dragon

[@imgaybutnotsomuch2293]

+Nicholas Nico You don't even speak romanian, so don't correct us. We know better

[@nicholastapu5902]

I'm from Romania

[@eruditootidure2611]

Thank you all for your further corrections, I'm no expert on any of this, and was going off of information that I thought to be accurate.

[@InnannasRainbow]

+Madalin Grama 'Dracul' was also used as a word for Dragon. His father was a member of the Order of the Dragon.

[@anonymousmonkey9491]

...you know, for Attila the Hun, you listed things he did to his enemies, but not a single thing about his behaviour towards his people. Battle crazed warlords aren'y necessarily evil rulers, he's just ruthless towards his enemies.

[@angelandsoulsoul2924]

Genges khan and temerlane not on the list ???

[@longjohnteabag8291]

Vlad wasn't evil he was a Romanian national hero.

[@nnsnathan5656]

I cant believe you forgot Kim Jung Un

[@whenthemusicsover6028]

First, Josef Stalin was born on December 18th, 1878. NOT in 1894. Second, it's Vlad Tepes. NOT Vlad Dracula. Lastly, it's Adolf. NOT "Adolph". Seriously, a little research goes a long way.

[@ryansanchez319]

@@newjones1754 he was born December 18, 1878. There research done ✔

[@davidthomas6591]

Vlad's father was part of a religious organization called "Order of the Dragon" and was known as Dracul which means Dragon, Dracula means son of the Dragon.

[@Master_Yoda1990]

Vlad was known by a few names, Vlad III Dracula, Vlad Dracula, and Vlad Tepes, so saying either one is correct; and Adolf can also be spelled Adolph, albeit Hilter's name is most commonly spelled Adolf, however was born Adolphus Hitler, so either spelling is correct. Seriously, a little research and being less condescending goes a long way.

[@ThatDangBee]

Yikes, must be really fun at parties.

[@davyt0247]

I know there is only so much room on a list like this, but I am surprised Caligula Nero Pol Pot and Queen Jezebel didn't make it on this list

[@otisdylan9532]

The first 3 are possibilities, an I would have included Pol Pot for sure. Queen Jezebel might not be an actual historical figure.

[@Kleinfurkon]

Czar or Tsar is merely the russification of the word 'Caesar'. Same goes with the German form 'Kaiser'.

[@levth01sct]

Caligula, Nero, Tiberius, Commodus, Caracalla, Valentinian III, Elizabeth Bathory (though she was royalty, not sure if she was actually ruler of anything though), Kim Jong-un, Saddam Hussein, Vladimir Putin should be added to another top 10 villainous rulers

[@waynekendrick8524]

+levth01sct Putin? Why?

[@rtauzin64]

They misspelled "Adolf"

[@ignacioandresadasme8553]

Netanyahu should be on the list, just saying...

[@daveparrott9530]

Again a very wonderful history lesson. Thank you Simon to you and your team.

[@Cory_Nverse]

The blood countess Elizabeth Bathory would of made a great candidate ☠️

[@carolyncolebeck981]

Bloody Mary or king Henry the 1st

[@DANtheMANofSIPA]

Villainous is subjective. Lot's of people thought these people as great people. How else would they get followers?

[@burntgrahamcracker2866]

By force deception and blackmail

[@mogaandrei8509]

And Vlad III IS a hero, a national hero.

[@lilgay12]

Absolutely NO mention of Genghis Khan? He'd be my pick for the most villainous leader of all time.

[@exillens]

Europeans clearly imperialize and colonize by uprooting cultures and causing division through christianity. Putting the Madagascarian queen Ranavalona on this list is beyond suspect despite her questionable acts to maintain power. Killing foreign invaders is hardly one of them. All rulers from all countries will be guilty as well. Replace her with Cecil Rhodes or Kahn then the list looks much better if body counts matter

[@davemarten3029]

What about Caligula?

[@tommytwotacos8106]

I'm not too sure that some of these names deserve to be on this list when names like Pol Pot, Robert Mugabe, and Nero the Mad (or Caligula) are missing. If there's a second list, maybe consolidate Papa Doc/Baby Doc into a single entry, definitely have a spot for Madame Nhu, and don't forget that Dick Cheney, John Negroponte, or Henry Kissinger have all left their disastrous marks on history. If it needs to be an actual president instead of just a powerful leader, maybe Andrew Jackson for his treatment of Indigenous Americans or Andrew Johnson for his actions in the aftermath of the civil war that preserved the racist slave-owning southern aristocracy and doomed African Americans to another 100+ years of government sanctioned second class citizenship.

[@salahradik2420]

Stalin should be 1, Mao 2, and Ariel Sharon 3

[@ansahs]

dID I MISS SOMETHING? I DIDN'T SEE POL POT

[@martinmackey7191]

Great list. Was a little surprised to see the queen surpass stalin and mao. I like vlad being really high. I've seen a case for him at #1, he was perhaps the most soulless human ever, forced parents to eat their children, horrible unimaginable stuff like that. You could make a case for Stalin and Mao being above Hitler, considering death toll. But yeah great list

[@joeycottone7755]

vlad knew what he was doing

[@mattsterling2952]

The monster we needed

[@paulosullivan3472]

I know you would have had a lot of people to choose from for this list (unfortunately) but I am surprised Elizabeth Bathory didn't make this list. As a serial killer who owned her serfs she terrorised an entire nation with some of the most horrific direct murders a leader has ever committed. seems a real ommision to me

[@paulosullivan3472]

***** Yeah how disappointed in humanity should we be that is the case! Thanks for answering my enquiry,

[@artea2930]

+Paul O'Sullivan - Believe it or not, I watched 2 completely different documentaries about E. Bathory - one with her being described as a "the bloody countess", and the other one with her being...the complete opposite! -She was just a victim of the aristocrats who were greedy and envious of her immense richness , so they had to find a "reason" to get rid of her in order to be able to enter in possession of all of her goods (castles, land, gold, etc). She was accused by them of being a "Bram Stoker's Dracula" feminine version:), so they could kill her in a...legal way. Now, which version do you believe?:) After all, as we already know, the history, generally speaking, was written BY THE WINNERS.

[@paulosullivan3472]

Art a I know what you mean but the story of her being a good person just doesn't add up. Many people assume that as she wasn't a man or a queen that she was the one with no power but this wasn't the case. She was by far the most powerful person in the whole of eastern Europe and totally controlled all the other Barons. The most telling thing to me though is that of the behavior of her own serfs. At this time being a handmaiden to a wealthy woman was considered to be an amazingly good job for a commoner to have. Girls would strive to be a handmaiden to a wealthy woman but all the local girls avoided being Elizabeths handmaiden because it was well known by her own people that she tortured them to death. In addition the Baron who stood up to her and stated that she should not be allowed to murder her serfs was totally destroyed by her, she took everything he had and had him and his family killed. So who was the powerful one? Lastly her own family ordered all of the records of her purchases etc destroyed when she died but not any of the positive letters etc, so what were they hiding? No if you look into it, it is very clear that she was evil and her very powerful family tried to twist the facts after her death.

[@artea2930]

Paul O'Sullivan I'm not trying to have a debate here about how guilty (or not) was she. But me, after reading many historical books, watching hundreds of docs, and finding so many discrepancies in this or that story, just because was depending of whom wrote that book/made that documentary, I realized that we should never believe 100% of what they say (whoever is "they") And, BTW, according to what Wikip says, I think that E. Bathory wouldn't fit anyway in this Top 10 list, simply because her victims were a few DOZENS, while all the others' in this video were a few...MILLIONS. "The exact number of Elizabeth Báthory's victims is unknown, and even contemporary estimates differed greatly. During the trial, Szentes and Ficko reported 36 and 37 victims respectively, during their periods of service. The other defendants estimated a number of 50 or higher. Many Sárvár castle personnel estimated the number of bodies removed from the castle at between 100 and 200. One witness, a woman named Susannah, who spoke at the trial mentioned a book in which Báthory supposedly kept a list of a total of over 650 victims, and this number has passed into legend.[4] As the number of 650 could not be proven, the official count remained at 80.[3]".

[@paulosullivan3472]

Art a Well fair enough if you dont want to get into a debate on guilt. I as I am sure you can imagine believe she was but its fair enough that when people try to create doubt by making up stories it is always difficult to say anything with absolute certainty. Re your comment she may not be valid for the list I disagree though, the list is the 10 most villainous rulers not the rulers with the highest victim count. Ivan the terrible for instance was an inept and stupid ruler who just didnt care about other people whereas Elizabeth Bathory personally tortured people to death for fun, I think this is fundamentally more villainous to my mind.

[@michalravid3744]

Great video but here is what I would change. My list of worst rulers to ever live 10. Emperor Hirohito 9. Benito Mussolini 8. Caligula 7. Nicholas II 6. Pol Pot 5. Leopold II 4. Joseph Stalin 3. Genghis Khan 2. Mao Zedong 1.Adolf Hitler

[@slibertas1996]

Vlad Tepes was more antihero not a villain.

[@nunyabiznez6381]

Dracula does not belong on this list because he was good to his own people.

[@hunterstallings3400]

Also he made the family who he framed to kill his brother go up a 30 mile hike up a mountain to a broke down castle in the cold snowey winter with no food to rebuild the castle and to not return until it was finished. Vlad actually poisoned his brother so he would be king when his father died.

[@martinmackey7191]

This isn't a measure of despotism, it's a measure of cruel leaders.

[@TheAlystraStardust]

They BELIEVE he died in a monastery, but I think we know the truth...

[@ericlanglois9194]

Where's Palpatine? Sauron? Thanos? or Darkseid? Like really... get your lists straight!

[@sneed3840]

+Eric Langlois and frieza

[@thathorsethatdrivesasherma7003]

+Eric Langlois And don't forget Zurg.

[@Honeysmile13]

palpatine is not that evil he was pro human

[@suprememasterleader]

+Eric Langlois teemo?

[@rspallax1138]

+Eric Langlois LOL! and don't forget Joffrey Baratheon and Walder Frey.

[@drveritystrange-fish4685]

Vlad the impaler wasn't wrong though, was he? Meanwhile, on the other side of the border, the Ottoman Turks persecuted Christians with gusto, whilst trying to expand their empire toward western Europe.

[@vgmaster9]

Was expecting Genghis Kahn to be on there.

[@candlewax122]

Just wanna add Kim-il Sung and Kim Jong-il.

[@zachmatthews4291]

Besides causing deliberate famines they come no where near to these rulers

[@damonturnbull5903]

No one ever mentions Alexander of Macedon (the Great)

[@Ironman666]

a bit surprised Caligula wasn't on this list

[@0NodMan0]

I'd have put Joseph Stalin above Adolf Hitler, personally. I mean yah Hitler was bad, but Stalin killed so many of his own people we just don't know how many. Estimations are between 20-100 million of his own citizens.

[@maalikdgamer]

Damn...

[@burntgrahamcracker2866]

I think it's more on what they would do if they weren't stopped Stalin killed those who were in his way and viewed life as expendable hitler however hated people and would have slaughtered millions more had he the opportunity

[@Carnivore301]

+NodMan He also put Kim Il-sung into power in North Korea. Which is still suffering horrifically from the Kims to this very day.

[@bigjonfaulkner]

Between Stalin, Hitler, and Mau, the nazis had the smaller body count but the best photographers. I'm very ambivalent about this ongoing attempt to immortalize the Nazis as super villains, talking for the billionth time about how bad the holocaust was to the point where it has lost all meaning and people can't name another genocide to save their lives. I can only hope that the layman's knowledge of the Nazis includes how and why they came to power, rather than just espousing ad hominem propaganda like a trained seal. Otherwise, the murder machine will be built all over again, and this WILL happen to us.

[@MemoryOfTheAncestors]

+NodMan Demographics of Soviet Union (English Wikipedia article) January 1926: 148,656,000 January 1937: 162,500,000 January 1939: 168,524,000 June 1941: 196,716,000 January 1946: 170,548,000 (26 mln died in Great Patriotic war 1941-1945 against Nazi Germany) January 1951: 182,321,000 Stalin died in 1953. Dispelling the cult of Stalin by Khrushchev and condemnation of the repression took place in 1956 at the 20 Congress of the CPSU. January 1959: 209,035,000 July 1991: 293,047,571 Tell me please, how could my country, which has experienced in the 20th century the first world war, a bloody civil war and then the second world war, how could it exist now, if your calculations of "Stalin's murders" would be true?

[@fduranthesee]

#1: Kim Jong Il #2: Kim Jong Il #3: Kim Jong Il #4: Kim Jong Il Need I say more?

[@joedavis2692]

Stalin killed 2x as many people as North Korea's entire population. Yes, you need to say much more.

[@Jeffrey314159]

Where is Fidel Castro, Ayatollah Khomeini, Shaka Zulu, Catherine DeMedici, Timur Lenk, and Bokassa, ruler of the Central African Republic- he had little school children for dinner

[@chance8143]

Wtf where's Caligula man I mean you gotta have him there ?!?

[@ravager48]

No George Bush Jr?

[@chasehammond9308]

no obama?

[@150booyadragon]

+Chase Hammond Somebodies Texan.

[@1acroyear1]

+ravager48 He was Dick Cheney's puppet.

[@BigLobster44]

Do some research, if Bush Jr. makes the list then both Clinton and Obama should be up there as well. Cheap shot, we all know Presidents of America are puppets

[@150booyadragon]

ReadySetBlow1 Especially J.F.K. War mongerer to the max.

[@150booyadragon]

Fun Fact: Attila did not murder Bleda, Bleda tried to murder Attila and Attila won. Another fun fact, "Livonian Teutonic Knights" is false. The Teutonic and the Livonian order were two seperate entities.

[@JasonPrice1]

The list is about right but the order is debatable. Mao, Stalin and Hitler should be in place 1, 2 and 3 in any order. 4 should be the Empire of Japan at the hands of Tojo. 5 should be Pol Pot. Here are the whys to my statements. Hitler may be the titular despotic villain of all time but he only managed to cause maybe 40m deaths and that is including what Mussolini did too. On his own, Hitler is only credited with killing 17 million people. Oh and remember, that was because he started WW2! Stalin and Mao killed more than that with NO war and ONLY in their own respective nations! Stalin has been assessed as not killing thousands with his policies as you state in your video but MILLIONS. The highest estimates being 50 million people that died due ONLY to Stalins rule. Even the lower estimates are 34 million. Mao. Oh here we go again. China under Mao. Mao Zedong is credited with between 49 and 78 million deaths due to his rule. Imperial Japan was responsible for at least 5 million deaths, oversaw heinous prison camps that made even Joseph Mengele look like a birthday party clown (Unit 731 in PingFang, China). Pol Pot. He may have only killed 1.7 million people but it was 33% of his entire nation. How many maniacal leaders can claim the death of one third of their entire nation! Matter of fact, no one on the list you have can!

[@BigLobster44]

Agreed, Mao at #1, Hitler at #2, Stalin at #3, Togo at #4, Pol Pot at #5. The rest is subjective and up to personal interpretation but those 5 are hands down the worst.

[@johnsoucy4664]

You missed Lenin and Stalin and Mao should have topped the list in that order. Elisabeth the first should also have mad the list, not to mention her father or Cromwell.

[@thecursed01]

mao not among top 3? WTF???

[@thecursed01]

if you starve all poor people to death, i guess you can call that bringing down poverty.

[@HaloFTW55]

thecursed01​ They make everybody equal by making sure that they are all dead. Genius !

[@crimsongate3248]

you miss The Roman emperor Nero

[@stellarsearcher8997]

You should do a list about the iconic rulers who did terrible things.

[@commodoreluigi1596]

How Is Hitler worse than Stalin and Mao? Ivan the terrible and Mussolini were not as bad leaders as everybody says

[@commodoreluigi1596]

The Loveless Bayonetta Lover Everybody did horrible things during the war. Everybody goes mad at times of war. Stalin was killing his own citizens before the war.

[@marbodblackmoore3844]

One could say the same about Vlad III of Wallachia. Many sources about his deeds are biased for they were being published by political enemies of his.

[@commodoreluigi1596]

Marbod Blackmoore exactly. many see him as a hero in Romania because he defended Christianity from the Islamic armies

[@ALuz-gr7jp]

Qowkdjnd Xiwjsjd Mao did commit genocide in the (anti) cultural revolution and civil war. The great leap forward wasn't his only crime.

[@ALuz-gr7jp]

Benito Mussolini I don't think they should be in the list at all, there are far worse rulers. And I don't know why Pol Pot from Camboja isn't in the list since he was clearly worse than any of these, including Hitler.

[@blackblurable]

That impalement was a scare tactic to deter his enemies which worked and he would dine outside while he watched them suffer and died slowly. He was at war with Ottomans or Persians in a sense or whatever it was. I can't remember, he also did torture people in other various ways. Then again, he was at war and it was long ago with nothing to do besides eat, sleep, and conquer. So... yeah. Madness follows eventually. Fun fact, he had 40,000 corpses in front of his castle (impaled) when there was a ton (more than 40,000 soldiers easily) of invaders and they turned tail from fear of being taken alive.

[@brianticas7671]

This video loses credibility for not having ancient rulers from italy and also not having ghengis khan here.

[@scotcarr3390]

For the sake of a more representative list, one of the Central & South American dictators should've been included.

[@brandonhoun]

You missed a lot of ruthless rulers far worst than most on this list.

[@lesleyoxspring9655]

How about Causescu; Marcus; Pol Pot (as suggested below)

[@shortsdeliveries]

i always think Genghis Khan should win all Top 10s

[@erictaylor5462]

4:00 Wait! Why are there meat hooks at a gas station?

[@Alex2K]

It's Vlad Tepes not Vlad Dracula...

[@Trevor_Austin]

You left out the narcissistic Tony Blair.

[@chandlerfelty1284]

stalin wasn't born in 1894. it was 1879

[@8sins236]

How the hell did you spell Adolf wrong.

[@vladcristian7722]

I live in Bucharest from where vlad dracula ruled xD

[@HDrobveelben]

you missed a few roman and greece and also Alexander the great

[@stevensimpson9024]

Vlad was a national hero. Brutal actions (such as those on the part of the Turks) sometimes call for brutal countermeasures.

[@chaosmcchaos4607]

In fact, his infamous torture method of impalement he actually learned from the ottomans when he was forced there with is brother

[@amandalevesque3840]

What about Elizabeth Báthory, a Hungarian noblewoman who killed 630 woman!!??

[@iOSAndroidRebelForever]

Iosif Stalin was born in 1878, not 1894.

[@michaelahern9883]

Joseph Stalin was born in 1878 not 1894.

[@comradenixon3830]

for number ten that was not attilas story it was his son. I know this since I was watching the story of mankind on history channel

[@Shirokroete]

"AdolPH"? Seriously?

[@johnd1372]

Do people not realize Stalin was worst than Hitler i disagree with Stalin's placement I think he should have been 1st or 2nd on the list

[@williamheiland]

I thought the list was spot on. I was happy to not see Chinggis Khan on the list. yes he did many horrible acts in regards to war. He actually did many positive things for Mongolia and Asia.

[@joshuahanenburg9503]

You missed Pol Pot.

[@mardasman428]

The author of these lists seems to be a socialist or marxist or anarchist. Stalin and Mao aren't being criticized that much, and what exactly is a "capitalist threat"? That's already a justification of their brutal policies.

[@JakeWeller]

Ghandi because he always nukes me in Civ

[@joeyfields7852]

Where is Kim Jong- il, Caligula, Nero, Caligula, Bloody Mary, Herod the Great, or Pol Pot

[@joeyfields7852]

Did I mention Caligula?

[@brockknight7562]

How did Nero not make it on this list?

[@tomearl99]

Where's Tony Blair or Gordon Brown?

[@suzythecreator]

Surprised that Caligula didn't make the list. He was the Ur-Example of a villainous ruler and there is a reason why the trope that describes batshit insane and outright villainous rulers is called The Caligula.

[@alexcrowell1404]

Are you literally taking Matthew Santoros lists?

[@Inaxrising]

you missed the most terrible ruler of them all.....Gabe Newell. *shivers*

[@marcelinolino6412]

where is pol pot, caligula,vlad III and saddam hussein

[@nobodyfromnowhere3597]

Not that I exalt their methods but we can not deny efficiency of them people take note from those monsters and ask yourself how could they rise to power.

[@danielortman2534]

I might have dropped Attila and added Napolian, largely because we know more about him, and he is a monster in his own words, whereas Attila is only known through his victims.

[@ian3624]

I'm not sure what criteria you used in making this list. If you were looking at the body count, I think the consensus among historians would have the top 3 look something like: 1. Stalin 2. Mao 3. Hitler

[@robinturner4344]

Good job

[@redneckhorde9374]

hey!!!! i like VLAD!!! ROMANIA RULEZ!!!!!!!

[@kharris3352]

I really like the new format.

[@900bz]

run your mouse across the grey line on the video

[@jasonwaste]

Why is Mao on the list? Mass starvation was an unintended consequence of the failure that was "the great leap forward" and not the goal. How does the term "villainous" apply?

[@joshlaya8881]

I'll get this out of the way. WHERE'S OBAMA?!?!?!?? WHERE'S BUSH?!?!!?

[@peppermintparasite]

RE: Attila The Hun - If I murdered my brother, my mom and dad would be so mad at me!

[@mardasman428]

Attila the Hun most definitely was killed and did not die naturally. Noone suddenly chokes to death on a nosebleed, not even in their times :D. The assassins probably were very successful in making it look like an accident.

[@kelscheney]

Where’s Simon’s infamous glasses and beard?!

[@usicebeatha]

No Pol Pot on the list, he should be number 1 on the list

[@o24601o]

I'm surprised Kim Joung-Un didn't make this list.

[@libertarian-xp3yi]

Shouldn't ghengis Khan deserved to be higher on this list

[@chrisdorris6207]

I think Vlad gets a bad rap from history, he was vicious yes, but he took to out on the invading forces and the corrupt elements in his nation. Besides, the invading Muslims were known to do worse things to thier captives then Vlad did to his.

[@AA-uh6rp]

He name is Vlad Tepes, and he is a respected ruler to this day. Only foreigners have dificulties understanding what he did and why he did it

[@Yeagerbonebone]

what about Nero or other roman emperors?

[@ladycplum]

I kind of figured I'd see more than a few people in the comments trying to make excuses for Vlad the Impaler but DAYUM I never thought I'd see Queen Ranavolona on here....you need to do a Part 2 of this list, there's plenty more dictators out there to deal with, there's more in Africa than just Idi Amin

[@Kleinfurkon]

Incidentally, Tanzania does not rhyme with Tasmania. Just thought you should know.

[@rastaskate4546]

hahaha I also noticed that he says that in all his videos. Another typical british thing he does that annoys me is when something or somewhere ends with an "a" he says "er" instead....like Ethiopier instead of Ethiopia.... hahaha cant stand it I dont know why it just sounds so silly

[@Zach-Fetters]

You should do a top 10 fake death conspiracy video

[@Galantski]

Hitler belongs on the top ten list, but he certainly fell well short of the sheer number of atrocities perpetrated by Mao or Stalin, who should be topping the list. Germany might have defeated the Soviet Union if it hadn't treated Slavs as "inferiors", but rather enlisted them in the fight to liberate Russia, because the hatred for the Stalinist regime was so deep and profound. Not that would have helped those people in the long run, but it would have been easier to fight back later against a weakened Wehrmacht than a strong Soviet army.