King Khan
Mongolia's favorite son shakes his bad rap.
No list of history's bad boys would be complete without the great Genghis Khan (1162-1227), whose Mongol Horde purportedly slaughtered some 40 million people across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The son of a tribal chief, the future Khan was given the name Temüjin at birth, after one of his father's defeated enemies. Lore has it that he emerged from the womb clutching a blood clot, considered a sign that he would grow up to be a great warrior. Sure enough, the young Temüjin quickly demonstrated an uncanny knack for military strategy and statesmanship (not to mention a pretty fearsome temper). He mounted a bloody campaign to unify the nomadic tribes of Mongolia (earning him the title Genghis Khan, meaning universal ruler). The empire he founded would at its peak span more than 12 million square miles and encompass half the population of the known world.
These days, the formerly reviled medieval conqueror is in the midst of a major image makeover. To Mongolians, Khan is considered the ultimate icon of the country's former glory. Chocolate bars, cigarettes, and beer and vodka brands borrow his name; his life has inspired rap songs, movies, and a rock opera; and his tight-lipped portrait adorns everything from paper currency to postage stamps. Mongolians are quick to downplay Khan's legendary mean streak and tout his positive influences on the modern world (he was a proponent of religious freedom and women's rights, for instance, and created the world's first true meritocracy, granting power to those who were competent, not merely connected). Said the country's former prime minister Elbegdorj Tsakhia: "Genghis Khan wasn't really a bad guy. He just had bad press."