5 Asian Rulers Who Committed Horrific Acts of Evil

These five men were ruthless

An illustration of Genghis Khan by an unknown artist, c. fourteenth century (Wikimedia Commons)

For those of us who grew up in the West, school history lessons were always dominated by European and American history. We know about the French Revolution, the American Civil War, and the horrors of Nazi Germany, but our knowledge of Asian history is pretty thin.

This massive continent has had plenty of evil rulers over the years, ranging from tyrannical emperors to communist dictators. Indeed, the following individuals committed horrific acts of evil and killed the innocent without remorse.

1. Emperor Yang of Sui

An illustration of Emperor Yang of Sui by Yan Liben, c. seventh century (Wikimedia Commons)

Emperor Yang of Sui was the second emperor of China’s Sui dynasty and reigned between 604 and 618.

Yang was a man with big ideas, and his ambitions revolved around building projects. He conscripted millions of labour workers, forcing them to partake in the creation of imperial highways, palaces, and canals.

The death toll for some of these projects was horrific. Millions of labourers died of exhaustion, lack of food, disease, or a combination of all three. Yang also celebrated the opening of…