Sandy Donovan - Lethal Leaders and Military Madmen

Special thanks to research assistant Henry BraunSD

NOTE TO READERS: The leaders of some nations were too

awful even for the pages of this book. For information

about terrible rulers of the twentieth century and

beyond, older readers should check out Genocide by

Brendan January or the Dictatorships series from

Twenty-First Century Books.

Copyright 2013 by
Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International
copyright secured. No part of this book
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Donovan, Sandra, 1967

Lethal leaders and military madmen / by Sandy Donovan.

p. cm. (ShockZoneVillains)

Includes index.

ISBN 9781467706094 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper)

ISBN 9781467710329 (PDF ISBN)

ISBN 9781467760027 (Audisee ISBN)

1. DictatorshipJuvenile literature. 2. DictatorsJuvenile literature. 3. Military
governmentJuvenile literature. I. Title.

JC495.D59 2013

920.02dc23

2012018444

Manufactured in the United States of America

1 CG 12/31/12

Table of
Contents

They Came, They Saw,
They Were Horrible

Did you know that some of the worlds most famous rulers
used to spend their free time watching other people fight
to the death? Or that some great military leaders
taught soldiers to lob off their enemies headsand then
string them up on doorways? Throughout history, conquerors and cruel rulers have figured out new ways to define evil.
One great warrior used women and children for human
shields. Another oversaw hundreds of human sacrifices.

One ruler in ancient China created an entire army made of clay.
The soldiers were supposed to protect him in the afterlife.

Dive into this book and discover some totally amazingand truly terriblefacts about some of historys most infamous leaders. From the temples of the Aztec Empire to the battlefields of ancient Greece, youll uncover the stories behind the legends.

Do you really want to know what happened on top
of these pyramids? Turn to page 13if you dare.

THE E MPER O RS
OF R O M E

The Roman Empire ruled much of Europe for
centuries, from a few hundred years B.C. until A.D. 476. Its center
was the Italian city of Rome. The Roman army was ruthless on
the battlefield. If they defeated a village or a tribe, Roman soldiers
would make its people fight for Rome. Anyone who refused had
his head chopped off. Then the Romans would hang those heads
around the conquered village.

A series of emperors ruled over the empire. Some of them were good rulers. Some were not so good.

Caligula ruled from A.D. 37 to 41. He insisted that everyone call him a god. His favorite pastime was watching lions eat people during gladiator games. Nero ruled from 54 to 68. He also demanded to be called a god. He took it one step further than Caligula. Anyone