Skip to product information
1 of 1

A Short History of the World in 50 Tyrants

Regular price $19.99
Regular price $0.00 Sale price $19.99
Sold out
Explore the tyrants who have shaped the course of history. All power corrupts, but absolute power can turn people into absolute monsters. The true stories behind the men and women who led tyrannies...
Read More
  • 14 July 2026
View Product Details

Explore the tyrants who have shaped the course of history. All power corrupts, but absolute power can turn people into absolute monsters. The true stories behind the men and women who led tyrannies around the world. This is history... but not as you know it. 

Leading readers through all of world history, Ben Gazur looks at how tyrants and their regimes have shaped the course of humanity from the earliest times right up until the modern day. From the first Ancient Greek tyrants to those who still dominate nations today, dictators have always been pulling the strings. 

In 50 bite-sized chapters spanning thousands of years, A Short History of the World in 50 Tyrants examines their rise to power, how they stayed there, and how they were overthrown, investigating their lives and crimes. Readers will learn how: 

  • Catherine the Great seized the throne from her own husband 
  • Adolf Hitler created a cult of personality to assume complete control 
  • Julius Caesar met his end under a rain of stabs on the senate floor. 

Follow the whims, eccentricities, and evil acts of dictators across the millennia, such as the deadly search for immortality by the first Chinese Emperor, the wily machinations of the Emperor Augustus, and the crushing brutality of Pol Pot’s rule.

files/i.png Icon
Price: $19.99
Pages: 288
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books Ltd
Imprint: Michael O'Mara Books US
Publication Date: 14 July 2026
Trim Size: 7.00 X 5.10 in
ISBN: 9781789298956
Format: Hardcover
BISACs: HISTORY / World, Far-right political ideologies and movements, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Presidents & Heads of State, TRUE CRIME / Historical, Far-left political ideologies and movements
REVIEWS Icon
“An engaging history, designed for readers hoping to learn from the past to create a better future. Well researched and informative” - Library Journal
Ben Gazur is a freelance writer and author specializing in history, folklore, and science. He has written for outlets including The Guardian, the BBC, All About History, and Fortean Times. His books cover everything from Epicurus to history’s strangest deaths and British food folklore.

Introduction

Part I: Ancient History

  • Gyges of Lydia
  • Phalaris of Akragas
  • Polycrates of Samos
  • Amasis II
  • Hippias and Hipparchus
  • Cincinnatus
  • The Thirty Tyrants
  • Qin Shi Huang
  • Sulla
  • Julius Caesar
  • Augustus
  • Emperor Wenxuan

Part II: Medieval History

  • Wu Zetian
  • Irene of Athens
  • Andronikos I Komnenos
  • Genghis Khan
  • Narathihapate
  • Richard III
  • Yeonsangun of Joseon

Part III: Early Modern History

  • Ludovico Sforza
  • Ivan the Terrible
  • Aurangzeb
  • Catherine the Great
  • Maximilien Robespierre
  • Napoleon
  • Ranavalona I
  • William Walker
  • Francisco Solano López

Part IV: Modern History

  • Empress Dowager Cixi
  • Leopold II of the Belgians
  • Josef Stalin
  • Benito Mussolini
  • Adolf Hitler
  • Francisco Franco
  • Rafael Trujillo
  • Mao Zedong
  • Nicolae Ceaușescu
  • Fidel Castro
  • François Duvalier
  • Pol Pot
  • Idi Amin
  • Francisco Macías Nguema
  • Bokassa I
  • Enver Hoxha
  • Hastings Banda
  • Ferdinand Marcos
  • Kim Jong II
  • Saddam Hussein
  • Muammar Gaddafi
  • Saparmurat Niyazov

Afterword

Select Bibliography

Index