History’s biggest Badasses
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden was a warrior-king who personally led his armies through the Great Northern War, turning early victories into legend through ferocious discipline and reckless courage. His refusal to compromise or retreat ultimately shattered Sweden’s empire, leaving behind a mythic figure admired for bravery and criticized for destroying everything he fought to protect.
Rank - 125
Tipu Sultan
When the walls of Seringapatam fell, he didn’t flee—he fought until the tiger stripes faded from his own blood.
Rank - 146
John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski was the Polish king who thundered downhill at Vienna and changed Europe’s fate in a single charge.
Rank - 152
Moulay Ismail ibn Sharif
Moulay Ismail ruled Morocco like a furnace with a crown, forging unity through terror, the Black Guard, and a fifty-year rei gn where mercy was the only thing he never built.
Rank - 163
John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough
The general who won with charm, math, and other forms of subtle violence.
Rank - 167
Banda Singh Bahadur
Banda Singh Bahadur was a fearless Sikh revolutionary who rose from ascetic origins to lead a populist uprising that shattered Mughal power and redefined resistance in 18th-century India.
Rank - 170
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was a 17th-century English general and ruler who reshaped Britain through military victory, regicide, and authoritarian rule.
Rank - 174
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
Maurice De Saxe
Bloated, brilliant, and half-dying, Maurice de Saxe turned Fontenoy into a masterpiece of smoke, steel, and spite—the last waltz of France’s hungover genius.
Rank - 188