Henry VIII
One of England's most famous monarchs was a foul-tempered, gluttonous, bloodthirsty tyrant who, as well as ordering the executions of two of the women who had the misfortune to marry him, had an estimated 57,000 people executed during his 36-year reign.
King John I may forever be known as a Bad King following that seminal history textbook 1066 and All That, but according to history authors, it is Henry VIII who should bear the title of the worst monarch in history.
Much like his brother before him, King John was never meant to take the throne. Being the youngest son of Henry II and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, John wasn't expected to have much in the way of land and titles. He would however go on to be known as England's most hated king.
1. Alfred the Great (AD 849-899)
Charles II was tall, handsome, sharp of mind, impeccably attired and charming.
But when all the votes are in, one figures in the minds of scholars and historians as the greatest. He is Cyrus the Great of Persia, who in the mid-6th century BC ruled the greatest empire the world had ever known.
George III is widely remembered for two things: losing the American colonies and going mad.
King George didn't speak English and he spent a lot of time in Germany, so he gave some power to another man called Robert Walpole to make decisions whilst he was away. He would tell King George what parliament were talking about. He was called the 'Prime Minister' and prime means first.
George remained unpopular in England throughout his life, partly because of his inability to speak English but also because of the perceived greed of his mistresses and rumours concerning his treatment of his wife.
1. Attila The Hun. Ruling the Hunnic Empire from A.D. 434-453, Attila the Hun was known as “The Scourge of God.” After seizing power for himself by killing his older brother, Bleda — Attila went on to expand his empire into areas of Germany, the Balkans and Russia.
Military conquests
Narasimhavarman I is claimed to be one of the Indian kings who never lost on the battlefield to their enemies.
In antiquity, no one stands taller than Alexander the Great - the young military genius who never once lost a battle and established a vast empire that heralded a new historical era.
Lady Elizabeth Báthory: One of the World's Cruelest Women
It is what separates a simple murderer from a grotesque butcher who redefines our understanding of depravity. Born in 1560 on a family estate in Royal Hungary, Elizabeth Báthory was of noble blood.
Elizabeth I (1533–1603)
She survived interrogation and imprisonment during the reigns of her half-siblings to become England's greatest ruling queen. Elizabeth presided over a period of exploration and great invention, as well as the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.
1547-1553) Edward VI became king at the age of nine upon the death of his father, Henry VIII, and a Regency was created.
The first king of England
Æthelstan's sister had married Sihtric, the Viking ruler of the Northumbrians. When Sihtric died in 927, Æthelstan succeeded to that kingdom. Æthelstan's coins and charters began to describe him as 'king of the English'.
Aramaic is best known as the language Jesus spoke. It is a Semitic language originating in the middle Euphrates. In 800-600 BC it spread from there to Syria and Mesopotamia. The oldest preserved inscriptions are from this period and written in Old Aramaic.
Richard III was the last English king to be killed in battle.
Henry II had to allow himself to be whipped by the monks of Canterbury, to signal his atonement for the fact that he had, supposedly unwittingly, led to the murder of the most important Church official in England.
Charles was convicted of treason and executed on 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall.
In the Book of Psalms, God's universal kingship is repeatedly mentioned; for example, Psalms 47:2 refers to God as the "great King over all the earth." In Christianity, the title is sometimes applied to Jesus.
Meet the world's first emperor. King Sargon of Akkad—who legend says was destined to rule—established the world's first empire more than 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia.