We here at Mega Curioso have already talked about some historical figures beyond bloodthirsty who have touched terror in the past, but we decided to complement the evil team with four other characters. Check out:

1 - Atila the Hun

What to expect from someone known by the affectionate nicknames “Scourge or Plague of God”? That was Atila, the last Hun monarch, the leader who reigned between the years 434 and 453, narrowly took no Rome, and established the greatest empire of his time. No one knows exactly where the Huns came from - possibly from Mongolia - but, according to historical records, these guys have touched terror in Asia and Europe.

Someone nicknamed the Scourge of God couldn't be a good thing, right?

Atila is said to be incredibly cruel and inhumane, and his armies reportedly murdered hundreds of thousands of people during their invasions. His name eventually became synonymous with destruction and looting, especially in Western Europe, and a famous legend associated with Attila also involves another illustrious character: Santa Ursula.

According to history, Ursula, after converting to Christianity, promised that she would remain a virgin until death. Except Atila fell in love with the girl as soon as he laid eyes on her, but as she didn't give the barbarian much ball, he, displeased, martyred not only the girl but also another 11, 000 maidens.

2 - Herod

As you may know, there are two famous - and cruel - Herods in history: the Great, responsible for the biblical episode known as the “Massacre of the Lambs, ” the infanticide reported in the Gospel of Matthew, and the Agrippa, who was the son of the former and was who had John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, beheaded.

The guy was evil!

Herod Agrippa was undoubtedly a bad guy. But Herod the Great, his father, was much worse. The Massacre of the Lambs, as you may know, refers to that episode in which Herod reportedly had the boys of Bethlehem killed up to two years old - and more than 10, 000 children were killed.

In fact, there are no historical references (other than the Bible) about the killing, and many scholars believe that had the massacre really happened, the death toll would not have been more than a few boys. Does not matter! The guy had to be really mean to get involved in such a thing!

On the other hand, discounting the episode of the massacre, Herod was responsible for the deaths of thousands during his reign and had all his rivals and enemies killed - including a high priest and a number of rabbis, his mother-in-law, his brother-in-law on the list., an uncle, his first wife and three of his children!

3 - Tamerlane

Tamerlane, if you've never heard of this guy, was a nomad of the Asian steppe who made history as the last of the great Turkish-Mongol conquerors. He was responsible for dominating Western, Central, and South Asian territories during the 14th century - and for the deaths of an estimated 15 to 20 million people.

Bloodthirsty is little!

During the conquest of India alone, more than 200, 000 people - civilian and military - lost their lives, and it is said that Tamerlane was forcing the enemies of the defeated territories to jump to their deaths from cliff tops. The conqueror also enjoyed watching his rivals beheaded and had the habit of having his opponents burned or buried alive. As if little, one of his favorite pastimes was to enjoy towers made with the skulls of his victims.

4 - Wu Zetian

Our list of bloodthirsty leaders wouldn't be complete if we didn't have at least one wicked woman, don't you think? Wu Zetian ruled China from the year 690 to 705 and was the only woman in the country's history to become empress. She, in fact, was one of Emperor Gaozong's concubines and took the throne after his death and ridding himself of his rivals. But that wasn't the only thing that made her famous!

The woman was a sadist

Wu was also known for his extreme cruelty and complete lack of mercy. They say she used to order torture and execution left and right, and it was common for her disaffected to be poisoned, burned or boiled alive. On better days, the punishments consisted of mutilations and amputations - and many people had a severed nose, ears, or feet at the behest of the sadistic empress.

In addition, according to legends, Wu allegedly arranged to poison her husband, order several of her nephews, including a niece, to be executed, and her newborn daughter, forced her children into exile, and forced one of them to commit suicide. A whole mother figure!

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