Please, feel free to disagree with this list. As expected we all have different opinions about what makes a great ruler. Note that there is not a single African on this list! Like I said before, please, feel free to disagree.

Hitler

The creator of the Nazi party, the man responsible for the holocaust was indeed a great ruler. When Hitler rose to power, Germany was in bad times, they needed a charismatic leader. This one man managed to convince the entire country that all their problems could be blamed on the Jews.  Even if it was a terrible thing to do, it was no simple feat and required the skills and prowess of a great leader. He also conquered much of Europe and northern Africa during WW2, he remembered most for the holocaust.

Odysseus

Odysseus was the Greek king of Ithaca with achievements so great he was immortalized in Homer’s epic The Odyssey. Odysseus’s renowned intelligence and cunning supplements his strong combative skills. Odysseus was the man behind the Trojan horse trick. Odysseus also managed to take back his kingdom of Ithaca after it was overrun with tyrants and single-handedly saved his kingdom.

Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, became the first emperor of the Roman Empire and ruled from 27 BC until his assassination in 14 AD. His rule established an era of unfamiliar peace and quiet, known as the Pax Romana, a feat that had never before been accomplished. Since he had control over most military legions, he had power over the Senate by means of an armed threat, and so managed to acquire total power without false promises and lies.

Alexander the Great

Known for his brutal and legendary military tactics, Alexander was probably one of the best if not the best military commanders of all time. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by the philosopher Aristotle. He was undefeated in battle and he conquered much of the world, sometimes making entire cities surrender to him without killing a single person.

Joseph II

Joseph II was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790. Joseph is probably history’s most unselfish ruler. If anyone doesn’t apply to the phrase "absolute power corrupts absolutely,” it is him. He truly wanted what was best for his people and even abolished slavery and serfdom.

Genghis Khan

Perhaps the most brutal leader the world has ever seen, he was one of the most successful. He founded the Mongol Empire, the most powerful forces in the world at that time. With his brilliant military strategies and tactics, he conquered most of Eurasia and united many nomadic tribes in Asia. Mongolians consider him the founding father of Mongolia.

Queen Elizabeth I

Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until the day she died. Known as Virgin Queen, because she never depended on a King to rule, she set the model for a female ruler at that time and is probably one of the most successful female rulers in history. Before her reign, females were considered inferior rulers. Elizabeth ruled better than most men.

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was the King of the Franks from 768 to his death.  He expanded and united the Frankish kingdoms into the single, powerful Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800.

Napoleon

Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France was a prominent military and political leader of France and he heavily influenced European politics in the early 19th century. He basically dominated continental Europe through superior military tactics and intelligence. He continued to prosper until the French invasion of Russia in 1812.His establishment of the Napoleon code laid the administrative and judicial foundations for much of Western Europe.

Qin Shi Huang

Original name Ying Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC. He ruled until his death in 210 BC at the age of 49. He became the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, and ushered in nearly two millennia of Imperial rule. After unifying China, he undertook major economic and political reforms, gigantic projects, most notably the first version of the Great Wall of China, famous city-sized mausoleum and the life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system. To ensure stability, Qin Shi Huang outlawed and burned many books, as well as buried some scholars alive. He sought ways to become immortal.

Honorary mentions; Abraham Lincoln, Mohammed.