Emperor
Explore 9 of history's most influential emperor, ranked by historical influence. Each figure links to a full biography, feats, trivia and similar people.
Augustus
94Augustus was the first Roman emperor, the heir of Julius Caesar who ended a century of civil war, established the Roman Empire, and inaugurated the Pax Romana.
Napoleon Bonaparte
94Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose during the French Revolution, crowned himself Emperor, and dominated European affairs for over a decade.
Genghis Khan
93Genghis Khan was the founder and first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, a military genius who united the nomadic tribes of the steppe and forged the largest contiguous land empire in history.
Qin Shi Huang
92Qin Shi Huang was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China, who standardized the state, began the Great Wall, and built the Terracotta Army.
Ashoka the Great
90Ashoka was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire who, after a devastating war, embraced Buddhism and non-violence, becoming one of history's most remarkable rulers.
Marcus Aurelius
90Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, the last of the "Five Good Emperors", whose private journal, the Meditations, is the most cherished work of Stoic thought.
Charlemagne
89Charlemagne was the King of the Franks who united much of Western Europe and was crowned Emperor in 800 AD, reviving the idea of a Roman empire in the West and sparking a cultural revival.
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar
88Akbar was the third Mughal emperor, who expanded the empire across much of the Indian subcontinent and is remembered for his administrative reforms, religious tolerance and patronage of the arts during a long and powerful reign.
Chandragupta Maurya
85Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Maurya Empire, who united most of the Indian subcontinent for the first time and established one of the ancient world's great states.