History’s biggest Badasses
Zhu Yuanzhang
The monastery burned, and the boy who would be emperor learned that Heaven answers in smoke. He rose from famine with a spear in one hand and suspicion in the other. On the water at Lake Poyang, ships burned and rivals vanished beneath the ash-choked sky. He built a dynasty bright as fire—and ruled it like the fire never went out.
Rank - 122
Ibrahim Pasha
Ibrahim Pasha was an Ottoman-Egyptian general and son of Muhammad Ali, famed for his modernized army and ruthless efficiency. He played a decisive, brutal role in suppressing revolts and reshaping power in Greece, Syria, and the eastern Mediterranean during the early 19th century.
Rank - 129
Ragnar Lothbrok
The Viking who died in a snake pit but lived forever in fear, fire, and legend.
Rank - 134
Mehmed II “The Conqueror”
Mehmed II “the Conqueror” was the Ottoman sultan who captured Constantinople in 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire and reshaping the balance of power between East and West. A scholar-warrior with ruthless ambition, he fused gunpowder, centralized rule, and imperial vision to build the foundation of a world-spanning Ottoman state.
Rank - 140
Smedley D. Butler
Smedley D. Butler was a two-time Medal of Honor–winning U.S. Marine who spent decades fighting America’s overseas wars during the age of imperial expansion. After retiring, he became one of the nation’s fiercest critics of war profiteering, condemning the very system that had made him famous.
Rank - 148
Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts
Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts was the ruthless, impeccably dressed Welsh pirate who terrorized the Atlantic before dying in a blaze of cannon fire in 1722.
Rank - 178
Arturo Prat Chacón
Arturo Prat Chacón was the Chilean naval officer who turned a hopeless battle into a national legend, dying in a single leap that defined a country’s idea of courage.
Rank - 180
Artemisia I of Caria
Artemisia I of Caria led her boat through the chaos of Salamis, proving that cunning could strike harder than any bronze ram.
Rank - 196