1. Genghis Khan — 4,860,000 Square Miles
Without a doubt, the greatest conqueror in history, who conquered more
than double the area of land that Alexander the Great did, is often one of the
most forgotten conquerors in the minds of people of the western world. Genghis
Khan (birth name of Temujin) is often reduced to a caricature, a cartoonish idea
of a big barbaric Mongol who terrorizes villages. Well, he certainly did
terrorize plenty of villages over his lifetime. He was born in 1162 in
Mongolia, and created his empire first by unifying nomadic tribes of northeast
Asia into one army, where he would sweep across Asia and western Europe with
unprecedented speed and efficiency. He conquered what is nearly the entirety of
modern day China, as well as spilling over into Russia, Turkey, most of the
Persian middle East, and nearly everything in between (except India). The scope
of his conquests are so enormous that it seems nearly impossible for anyone at
the time, with only the speed of horseback to have created such a massive
empire as that of the Mongol Empire. Though he is often credited with creating the
unified concept of the Silk Road from Asia to Europe, that’s about the extent
of the positive depictions of Genghis Khan, as he is responsible for the deaths
and conquest of innumerable peoples across the known world. However he is
remembered, since his death in 1227 A.D., he remains the single greatest
conqueror in human history by a incredibly wide margin.
2.
Alexander The Great — 2,180,000 Square Miles
Easily one the greatest conqueror in western history, Alexander the
great created an empire so vast for its time it is staggering. He succeeded his
father, Philip II, when he was 20 years old, having been trained in warfare and
tutored by Aristotle. He took command of the Macedonian Empire and ceaselessly
spread from Greece eastward. He defeated the Persians, conquered Egypt and tore
through Asia Minor all the way to India where he finally stopped his conquest
at the behest of his soldiers. His influence spread across the world, creating
around twenty cities named after him, the most famous being Alexandria in
Egypt. His empire also created trade between the east and the west, though that
was something of an unintended consequence, historically speaking. He also
greatly influenced Rome and Roman thinking in the military, as Romans often
looked to Alexander and his tactics for military knowledge. In fact, his
military brilliance was so extensive that military academies around the world
still teach tactics he created to this day. After his death in 323 B.C. his
empire split into a number of parts, as territories and rulers squabbled over
rights to rule. Despite the fall of the Macedonian empire, his influence on the
world would greatly change the course of human history.
3.
Tamerlane — 2,145,000 Square Miles
Timur, Tarmashirin Khan, or more commonly known in history as Tamerlane,
is the second greatest Asian conqueror who founded the Timurid dynasty. A
figure of Islamic faith, he often called himself “the sword of Islam” and used
religious rhetoric and aspirations to recreate Genghis Khan’s Empire as a
motive to drive his multicultural army all across Asia, Africa and Europe.
Incredibly, his vast expanses of military conquest is estimated to have caused
17 million deaths during his reign from 1370-1405. That is also thought to be
about 5% of the population of the world at that time. So it may not surprise
you to know that Tamerlane is known most prominently as a military figure and
for his violent conquests across the world, rather than his Muslim influences and
his love for art and architecture. Because of his religious motivations though,
his existence and subsequent empire is the main reason why Christianity was
largely expunged from Asia, and conversely why the Muslim cultural world
flourished.
4.
Cyrus The Great — 2,090,000 Square Miles
Often described as the founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the great
reigned from 559-530 B.C. Persia was originally a state within the empire of
Medes, until Cyrus liberated Persia, started a revolution and took the Median capital
of Ecbatana, and proclaimed himself ruler. His Persian Empire was gigantic, as
he conquered from India to the middle east, northern Africa and into Greece.
His conquests led to the Persian Empire as being one of the largest and most
historically influential empires in recorded history. Unlike Attila, Cyrus
created a political infrastructure under him that kept the Persian Empire going
long after his death, and his exploits as a conqueror lead to the spread of
middle eastern philosophy, literature, culture and religion across Europe and
Asia. Persia remained in existence for a long, long time and is often
attributed to the spread of Islam and the Islamic “Golden Age”.
5.
Attila the Hun — 1,450,000 Square Miles
Attila The Hun, also known as Flagellum Dei, or “Scourge of God” is one
of the greatest barbarian conquerors in all of history. The Scourge of
God title was bestowed upon him because of the rampant destruction he rained
down on the Roman Empire, he led the Huns, an eastern European barbarian tribe,
to conquer much of eastern and central Europe. His birth date is unknown, but
he reigned between 434-453 A.D., where he controlled an empire from Italy to
Germany, Russia, Poland, and southeastern Europe. While he never was able to
successfully conquer Persia and Constantinople, he repeatedly invaded the Roman
Empire, and was renowned for the devastation and plundering he left in the wake
of his barbarian hordes. Attila dominated Europe during his reign, until the
Visigoths and the Romans actually joined forces to defeat the conqueror. He
died in 453 A.D., and with no established order to follow him, the barbarian
empire crumbled soon thereafter.
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