Who was the most powerful king?

Answer 1

Here are some of the most powerful men in history:

Alexander the great made a massive empire that reached India, he also made some of the best battle tactics ever.

Julius and Augustus Ceasar as well as some other Roman emperors were also very powerful as they controlled one of the most advanced empires in the world at that time. They had a powerful trade route and army.

Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan conquered almost all of Asia and establishes trade routes with Europe and other countries of Asia and Europe.

During the medieval times it was definitly the pope because everybody in Europe believed in Christianity

Napoleon was also very powerful, under his lead, the French empire expanded all the way to Russia and practically unified Europe under one rule.

During the age of exploration the monarchs of Great Britain, Spain and France

In the 20th century it would probably be Hitler at the hight of the war, and Stalin and Khrushchev in the Soviet Union and the US Presidents from Truman on.

Answer 2

It is difficult to answer this definitively. It depends on the period, context and how you would define power.

In terms of pure empire size then Queen Victoria would be the most powerful, yet the actual powers wielded were minimal, as Britain had long ceded power away from the monarchy into Parliament.

Slightly smaller an empire, but with a great deal more monarchical power was the 13th century Mongolian empire. This was the largest contiguous empire of all time. The first Khagan (emperor) was Ghenghis Khan who would certainly have a claim to be the most powerful king of all time. While the Mongol empire was to grow, with the addition of the richest country in the world at that point (China) and Khublai Khan to rule over a larger empire than his grandfather, Khublai did not command the total loyalty of the Mongols as Ghengis did. Thus it becomes difficult to say who was the more powerful, as Ghengis's incomparable military strength was only limited by his own mortality.

If power is defined by who has the ability to kill the most, then none of these historical figures come close to those who contol nuclear strikes, all of whom could lead to total global annihilation.

In terms of power within ones state, Qin Shi Huang - China's first emperor, would not be a bad guess. Considering he reigned over 2200 years ago, the scale of his works is astonishing. The enormous Mausoleum, complete with thousands of life size terracotta warriors, as well as one of the first and most complete Great Walls, is a testament to his dreadful power.