#22 "Saracen Pirates, Genghis Khan, Ivan the Terrible"

The Saracen Pirates of Islamic Spain
They climbed carefully, avoiding the brambles that covered the slopes. A few lights still burned in the manor house as the Provençal nobleman and his family had finished their last meal of the day and were preparing to sleep. But it would not be long before the evening serenity of that coastal villa would be shattered by screams and chaos.

The Mongolian Conquest of Europe
he son of a minor chieftain born in the tempestuous Gobi desert sometime around 1162, he was called Temujin (Man of Iron), a prophetic name. Later, he would be known by the title conferred upon him: Genghis Khan, the "Rightful Ruler." He was the father of a nation and, inadvertently, the founder of the greatest empire the world has ever seen.

Ivan the Terrible
Even by the standards of the barbaric times in which he lived, Ivan the Terrible really was terrible. While it is easy for us to dismiss him as a medieval tyrant, close enquiry into his early life and upbringing reveals a child who, despite his royal status, was horribly abused from an early age, and grew to manhood surrounded by political intrigue that makes the worst modern scandal seem more like a practical joke.