5 min read

Ever wondered how our modern day leaders compare to those of the past? 

Is our justice system fair?  

Can we live our lives with a degree of comfort knowing our house isn’t going to be burnt to the ground for the crimes of our neighbour? 

These might not be questions at the forefront of your mind as you juggle the struggles and stresses of everyday life. 

And reasonably so. 

This is where my latest read comes in. A Short History of The World in 50 Tyrants is a non-fictional story of, well, exactly what the title says. 

Ranging from ancient history all the way to the modern day, 50 tyrants of the past are each given approximately 5 pages each to have their stories explained. From Gaius Julius Caesar’s familial lineage being traced back to the founder of Rome, to the rise of Josef Stalin through the communist ranks in the USSR, this is one of the most easily digestible foundational texts of an introduction to history as you could hope to find. 

I say this as someone with a keen interest in the psychological underpinnings of the atrocities committed in Europe by fascist and communist governments in the 20th century, and an embarrassingly ignorant lack of knowledge of much real history elsewhere in the world, or before this time. 

Luckily, this book has helped me on my way to expanding my knowledge. 

Stories from Ancient Greece, Rome and China dominate the earliest section of this book. I must say, the tyrants (or dictator, emperor, supreme leader, king or whatever self-selected title the ruler of the day chose) were particularly ruthless in their dedication to rise to power. Family members murdered in horrific ways, tactical starvation against the people they hoped to rule over, and many other methods were tried and tested by the ancient tyrants. 

Unfortunately, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, it doesn’t really get much better as we progress into early modern history. If anything, the tyrants in that era had inspirational tales of their predecessors from which they could learn and develop more brutal tactics in warfare, against enemies, their colleagues in whatever form of ‘government’ they had, and of course, against the common people. (See Genghis Khan, as perhaps the most barbarous tyrant in history given the limited resources he begin with compared to how that ended).  

My favourite part about this book is how there are tyrants from all over the world. Of course, that isn’t to say that I’m glad they ruled in the manner they did, or that I’m pleased that suffering has been forced upon people no matter their place of birth. I instead mean to say that, as someone who has a very eurocentric knowledge and therefore perspective of history, I find it particularly interesting when I stumble upon the opportunity to expand my horizons and learn about the history of different cultures. From Pol Pot in Cambodia to Francisco Solano Lopez in Paraguay, this historical text details atrocities and stories from across the globe.

Whilst I was reading this book, a troubling thought was in my brain throughout: we as a species simply don’t seem capable or particularly willing to learn from the past. The same patterns in the 6th century BC were still present in the time of Catherine the Great, all the way through to Dr Hastings Banda in 20th century Malawi. 

These patterns, both behavioural and therefore psychological, are included but not limited to the following. Firstly, the power grab. Tyrants have an intuition for when is the most opportune time to strike. Whether this includes leading an army to conquer, devious political means by earning limited favour with the populace and then eliminating the chance for opposition, or even murdering members of their own family. Basically, if somebody wants power, then they have to fight to the death to prevail. No wonder the victors are always ruthless. Power historically hasn’t been earned through merit or good character, but through violent means. Therefore, almost by inevitable default, the leader is the most cutthroat, cunning, cold-blooded individual contending the position of leader. This explains why what follows is more often than not a reign of terror. 

The second phase of tyranny is what I am going to call maintenance. Power has been established, now the focus switches to keeping it for as long as possible. Of course, there are many methods exerted on the leader’s subjects to ensure there are no threats. Arrests are made on political dissidents, influential families from the nobility class were wiped out in the ancient world, propaganda is weaponized against any would-be opposition. Disappearances, torture and mass murder have been significantly more commonplace throughout history than bares thinking about. Hundreds of millions of people, gone. In brutal circumstances. So as to not spoil the book for you I won’t reveal specific details about individual tyrants, but there are many in there (in fact, all of them) who have used a combination of these methods in their own twisted ways to ensure they get to live a life of luxury while the poor remained poor, usually to the point of starvation. 

It’s easy to forget when we think of historical figures that they too were people. Often revered or spoken about as something ‘other’, they were in fact just people just like you or I. They had childhoods and friends, ambitions which often didn’t match up with their eventual role. Yet, unless you have had the misfortune of living under the rule of one of these tyrants, or even seen them in the flesh, such barbarism that they commit is almost beyond our comprehension. This is where the final stage of tyranny begins. The downfall of many of these tyrants is violent and humiliating. The people subjected to their cruelty often become so exhausted by the constant war and oppression that they begin to rebel. Many tyrants have fought off numerous rebellions to retain their power. However, they only need to lose once to surrender their power, and typically their life along with it. Very few have been exiled or imprisoned indefinitely. Death is typically the only suitable punishment according to the rebels in most cases. 

When a replacement is selected, often there is a continuation of oppression just with a different face. 

The world has always been dangerous. There will always be those groups and individuals who seek power for themselves at the expense of everyone else. This is how many tyrants come to power. Some, to their credit, start off with good intentions. However, the wealth, militaries and status that comes with being a dictator often makes them go power-mad. 

A Short History of The World in 50 Tyrants perfectly illustrates the tendency for people to fight for position and resources. With the tyrants coming from all over the world, it feels safe to conclude that this is a fairly universal instinct. Tyrants always have supporters and opposition. No matter which side they fall on, they want their worldview to direct the trajectory of the lands they inhabit. 

This is an informative, easily digestible historical book which I would highly recommend to anyone with even a remote interest in expanding their history knowledge or knowledge of other cultures.