History Main / TheConqueror

-->-- '''StarTrekEnterprise''', "In A Mirror, Darkly"

* Aegon the First, also called The Conqueror, in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', went from ruling a small volcanic island to ruling the better part of a continent in only a few years. Being a [[TheDragonrider dragon rider]] helped.

* Aegon the First, also called The Conqueror, in ''ASongOfIceAndFire''.

** By the GrandFinale, [[Lelouch conquers the ENTIRE PLANET by taking control of a near-indestructible flying fortress that fires super nukes, now manned by elite scientists that are mind controlled to be absolutely loyal to him. YAY]]. Then he dies [[spoiler:intentionally but gives the empire to his little sister, so that's a happy end for everyone else]].

[[AC:Western Animation]]

* Most Main/{{4X}} games, by definition, involve the player trying to be this, or at least offer it as an option.

* Most {{4X}} games, by definition, involve the player trying to be this.

* SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' gives Chin a spiritual successor in Kuvira, ArcVillain of the fourth season. Though her Sobriquet is "the Great Uniter", she's definitely a conqueror (albeit a [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-intentioned one]]), and even outdoes Chin by successfully usurping the Earth Monarchy and making herself Empress of the new Earth Empire.

* SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' gives Chin a spiritual successor in Kuvira, ArcVillain of the fourth season. Though her Sobriquet is "the Great Uniter", she's definitely a conqueror (albeit a [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-intentioned one]], and even outdoes Chin by successfully usurping the Earth Monarchy and making herself Empress of the new Earth Empire.

* QinShiHuangdi, the conqueror of "all under heaven" (i.e. China). Not only did he conquer, the empire (and the idea) of China that he founded continues to this day as a major world power more than 2,000 years later, unlike most other conquerors.

* QinShiHuangdi, the conqueror of "all under heaven" (i.e. China). Not only did he conquer, the empire that he founded continues to this day as a major world power more than 2,000 years later, unlike most other conquerors.

* QinShiHuangdi, the conqueror of "all under heaven" (i.e. China). Not only did he conquer, the empire that he founded continues to this day as a major world power.

* QinShiHuangdi, the conqueror of "all under heaven" (i.e. China) who created an empire that continues to this day.

* UsefulNotes/HernanCortes

* HernanCortez
* NapoleonBonaparte, who ''almost'' succeeded in uniting Europe under his rule, if it weren't for those pesky British and a bad winter in Russia.

* AlexanderTheGreat, who holds the record for most land personally conquered by a single individual.

* GenghisKhan, who ruled an empire that made Alexander's look like a postage stamp (but who did not personally conquer all of said land). What's said above under {{Literature}} about Artur Hawkwing's realm is actually adapted from a boast Genghis Khan made: "A virgin with a bag of gold around her neck could walk naked from one end of my realm to another without being attacked."

** Also, prior to being known as William the Conqueror, he was known as William ''the Bastard'': his father, Robert I, Duke of Normandy, had no legitimate issue. William himself was Robert's son by his mistress, the daughter of a tanner (or burgher who owned a tannery, it's not clear) and the aforementioned battling to secure his claim was on account of the somewhat irregular succession of a bastard to the duchy. No doubt he really appreciated the switch in titles.

* CyrusTheGreat ''created'' the Persian Empire by conquering pretty much every other civilization in Southwest Asia, the Near East, and the Middle East, from Anatolia to the Indus River. Furthermore, he was a savvy statesman able to give his empire a lasting stability by being generous to the conquered peoples enough to secure their loyalty. Cambyses and Darius, Cyrus's successors, added Egypt, parts of Greece and even more of India to Cyrus's empire.
* Attila the Hun carved out an empire that stretched from Germany to the Ural River and from the Danube to the Baltic Sea.
* Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon united Spain under their joint banners and drove the Muslims out of Western Europe. And then they subsidized an ocean voyage by some guy named Columbus. (Modern Spaniards like to give the credit to Ferdinand alone because Isabella was an icon of the Franco regime, but [[HistoryMarchesOn Isabella was a far more capable ruler]] and a better general to boot; while she was leading troops--often [[PregnantBadass while pregnant]]--he was off porking his various mistresses before showing up after the battle to take credit.)

* AdolfHitler
** He accomplished what Napoleon Bonaparte tried to do: he ruled a Europe united under one banner.UnSurprisingly, he was overthrown by the same factors (that is, not being able to conquer the British and, most importantly, violating Montgomery's Second Law of War: "Never march on Moscow."

* Timur-I-Lenk (aka Tamerlane), who claimed descent from Genghis Khan, and united both the Chagatai Khantate and the Il-Khanate, as well as various other Central Asian states under one banner--his own. He also earned a reputation for brutality that was pretty much unsurpassed until the modern eras of fascism and communism, building pyramids of skulls from his slain enemies, and massacring entire cities. He was once quoted as saying "As there is only one God in Heaven, there should be only one ruler on Earth."

* SequelSeris ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' gives Chin a spiritual successor in Kuvira, ArcVillain of the fourth season. Though her Sobriquet is "the Great Uniter", she's definitely a conqueror (albeit a [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-intentioned one]], and even outdoes Chin by successfully usurping the Earth Monarchy and making herself Empress of the new Earth Empire.

* CyrusTheGreat ''created'' the Persian Empire by conquering pretty much every other civilization in Southwest Asia, the Near East, and the Middle East, from Egypt to the Indus River. Furthermore, he was a savvy statesman able to give his empire a lasting stability by being generous to the conquered peoples enough to secure their loyalty. Darius, Cyrus's successor, added parts of Greece and even more of India to Cyrus's empire.

** He accomplished what Napoleon Bonaparte tried to do: he ruled a Europe united under one banner. Surprisingly, he was overthrown by the same factors (that is, not being able to conquer the British and, most importantly, violating Montgomery's Second Law of War: "Never march on Moscow."
** Actually, one of the few people surprised by these events was him. At least one of his own planners did a detailed study and concluded that Germany couldn't hope to defeat Britain (due to the difference in industrial capacity, the real power in that kind of warfare), let alone Britain, the USSR, and the US all at once.

* Timur-I-Lenk (aka Tamerlane) is probably second only to Genghis Khan in terms of sheer skill.

** The great human conqueror, [[LargeHamTitle Lord Commander Solar]] Macharius of the Imperium, who deliberately draws parallels to Alexander the Great, waged a decades-long Crusade to expand the borders of the Imperium, with the stated goal of creating the largest such campaign since the days of the Great Crusade (he succeeded, adding nearly a thousand worlds to the Imperial fold). His troops halted only because they had reached the edge of the Astronomican, which permits [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace (mostly) safe Warp travel]], although he was game to press onwards.

* Suleiman the Magnificent expanded the Ottoman Empire by basically eviscerating the Byzantines. Under his rule, the Ottoman's controlled everything from Algeria to Iran and from Ethiopia to Hungary. In a bit of a departure from some of the other Conquerors here, Suleiman was also known for the great improvements he made to the administrative system of his country. While in the West he was Suleiman the Magnificent, in the East he was known as Suleiman the Lawgiver.

** Hitler also launched Operation Barbarossa, his invasion of the USSR, on the same day Napoleon had invaded Russia. [[SarcasmMode Because we all know how well that turned out.]] It's possible that unexpected developments in the Balkans forced him to postpone the attack until the Wehrmacht had dealt with Yugoslavia and Greece.

* ''The Conqueror'' was a 1956 {{Biopic}} about the life of Genghis Khan, who by his death had taken over a whacking big chunk of Central Asia (see RealLife below). This film provides the page illustration for WTHCastingAgency due to featuring ''John Wayne'' as Khan, a part he regretted immensely and not only because the shooting location literally gave him and other members of the crew cancer.

* ''The Conqueror'' was a 1956 {{Biopic}} about the life of Genghis Khan, who by his death had taken over a whacking big chunk of Central Asia (see RealLife below). This film provides the page illustration for WTHCastingAgency due to featuring ''John Wayne'' as Khan.

* In the ''DCOneMillion'' story arc, is it revealed that Vandal Savage, an immortal, evil JuliusBeethovenDaVinci who has been alive since 50,000 B.C., has finally managed to TakeOverTheWorld. And he hates it.

* Walhart of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' unified the warring states of Valm into a mighty empire through force prior to the events of the game. He now sets his eyes on the neighboring continent of Ylisse. His unique class is even called Conqueror and his special class skill "Conquest".