Famous Emperors & Kings - List of Famous Emperors & Kings - page 12

When we talk of emperors and kings, the picture of a regal man dressed in resplendent attire reigning over some ancient land comes to our mind, for in today’s world what we know about emperors and kings comes primarily from folklores and history books. An emperor is the male sovereign ruler of an empire. There have been many vast empires worldwide which consisted of several states and countries. Kings were the rulers of their own kingdoms over which they exercised complete power. Being extremely powerful, the emperors and kings have played crucial roles in shaping the history of not just their own empires and kingdoms, but of the whole world. Titus, the ancient Roman Emperor might have had a short reign, but he secured his place in history as he completed the Colosseum and dealt with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Genghis Khan, the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire conquered vast territories, four times the lands of Alexander the Great. Other rulers still revered today are Atilla the Hun, Timur the Lame and Charlemagne. Over the centuries, absolute monarchies gave way to several other forms of government and now only a handful of monarchies, that too ceremonial, remain in the world. Browse on to learn more about the great emperors and kings who had once walked on this earth.

The Most Famous Emperors & Kings

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
Sundiata KeitaAugust 20, 1217Central AfricanSundiata Keita was the founder of the Mali Empire in West Africa
Ashoka304 BCIndianAshoka was the third emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty and ruled almost the entire Indian subcontinent
Murad IVJuly 26, 1612TurkishMurad IV was one of the mighty Sultans in the history of the Ottoman Empire
Abdullah of Saudi ArabiaAugust 1, 1924Saudi ArabianAbdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was the King of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2015 and the third wealthiest head of state in the world
Xerxes I519 BCIranianXerxes I (Xerxes the Great) was the fourth and the most famous king of the Archaemenid dynasty of Persia
Sargon of Akkad2340 BCIraqiSargon of Akkad, also called ‘Sargon the Great’, ‘Sarru-Kan’ and ‘Shar-Gani-Sharri’, was the founder and first king of the Akkadian Empire
Ibn SaudJanuary 15, 1876Saudi ArabianKing Abdulaziz al-Saud was the first monarch of Saudi Arabia
Gia LongFebruary 8, 1762VietnameseGia Long was the first emperor of the Nguyen dynasty as well as the founding father of the modern nation of Vietnam
Flavius Odoacer435Ancient RomanFlavius Odoacer was a soldier who went on to become the King of Italy
Suleiman The MagnificentNovember 6, 1494TurkishSuleiman I, commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent, was the tenth and longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Sisavang Vatthana

Sisavang Vatthana

Sisavang Vatthana was the second and last King of the Kingdom of Laos before being overthrown by the communist regime

LaotianNovember 13, 1907228 views

Norodom Sihanouk

Norodom Sihanouk was the King of Cambodia and also the first Prime Minister of the nation

CambodianOctober 31, 1922125 views

Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was the King of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2015 and the third wealthiest head of state in the world

Rainier III, Prince of Monaco

Rainier III, Prince of Monaco was one of the longest reigning monarchs in European history

MonacanMay 31, 1923191 views

Norodom Sihamoni

Norodom Sihamoni is the present King of Cambodia, who is famous for his efforts to promote fine arts and culture in his country

CambodianMay 14, 1953222 views

Gia Long

Gia Long was the first emperor of the Nguyen dynasty as well as the founding father of the modern nation of Vietnam

Albert II, Prince of Monaco

Prince Albert II is the reigning monarch of the principality of Monaco

FrenchMarch 14, 1958139 views

Haile Selassie

TafariMakonnen better known as Haile Selassie was the last ruler of Ethiopia

EthiopianJuly 23, 1892144 views

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was the Last Shah of Iran who introduced many reforms to foster economic developments in the country

IranianOctober 26, 1919134 views

Louis Bonaparte

Louis Bonaparte was the brother of Napoleon I and the king of Holland

FrenchSeptember 2, 1778126 views