History Main / YoungConqueror

In some cases, he/she may obtain or be born with some [[SuperpowerLottery special power]] to help them achieve their goal. Whether they do or not, the key difference between the Young Conqueror and TheHero is that instead of [[TheyFightCrime fighting crime]] on a case by case basis or having to face an already existing BigBad, they have a much bigger vision and will try to TakeOverTheWorld in a belief that UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. However, if these ideas are already a quick way for ''adult'' characters to go merrily JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, being a young, frustrated rebel, complete with the standard [[YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb emotional immaturity and sometimes flat-out childish fantasies]] you would expect out of someone this age only makes things worse. Consequently, they often end up as a WellIntentionedExtremist type of AntiHero, or even a(n) ([[AntiVillain Anti]])VillainProtagonist.

* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': Shinobu Sensui, [[EvilCounterpart in contrast to]] [[IdiotHero Yusuke Urameshi]]. Is a pretty brutal KnightTemplar as a Spirit Detective and wants to KillAllHumans as a villain - seeing as his idealistic [[BlackAndWhiteMorality black-and-white worldview]] did a 180 since he was on the side of good (pre- FaceHeelTurn he thought all humans were good and all demons were evil, as the BigBad he thinks [[MisanthropeSupreme the opposite]]).

** [[spoiler:Robb Stark emerges as an excellent general who wins every battle that he fights, but loses the war, due partially to a lack of political skill and partially to letting idealism and HonorBeforeReason get in the way.]]
* The trope, specifically in the example of Alexander the Great, is harshly criticized in ''Jonathan Wild'' by Henry Fielding. Wild, a historical figure who controlled London crime in the mid 17th century is presented as a great admirer of Alexander, and this admiration is because Alexander was a murderer, thief, and rapist, but since the RapePillageAndBurn was on a grand scale, people think of him as a hero. Wild hopes that in his own small way, he can become a sufficiently powerful criminal that he will be thought of as a Great Man.

** Victor Steiner-Davion succeeded his father Hanse as head of the Federated Commonwealth at the age of 22, as the Inner Sphere was in the middle of the Clan Invasion. Shortly after turning thirty, Victor had helped stop the Clans' invasion into his territory, counter-attacked the Clan Homeworlds, personally led the task-force that Annihilated Clan Smoke Jaguar, and won the Great Refusal that ended their invasion for good. His youth and inexperience made him a victim of his sister on the domestic front, however, and by the end of the Invasion, the Federated Commonwealth had essentially been split in two.
** Devlin Stone had began reconquering territory from the Word of Blake while still in his twenties, and by the time he was forty had set the foundation for the Republic of the Sphere.

* Azula in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', through a very intelligent plan, [[spoiler: managed to infiltrate Ba Sing Se, become leader of the Dai Li based only on the strength of her will and charisma, and conquer the city,]] something that the Fire Nation had never been able to achieve in 100 years. And all that at only 14 years old.

* The [[UrExample earliest inarguable example of whom we have any record]][[note]][[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargon_of_Akkad Sargon the Great of Akkad]] may have qualified, but he is so far back in history (the ''24th'' century BCE) we cannot determine with any certainty how old he was when he conquered his empire other than saying he was at least young-ish.[[/note]] is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_III Thutmose III]], [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory King of Egypt]] (reigned [[OlderThanDirt 1479 BCE-1425 BCE]]), ran the Egyptian Army during his joint reign with his stepmother/aunt Hatshepsut as soon as he was of age (some time in his mid-teens, apparently). After Hatshepsut died, the Canaanite city-state of Kadesh tried to take advantage of the transition and the new Pharaoh's youth (Thutmose was only 21) to swipe some territory they had lost to Egypt; instead, Thutmose crushed them, and then began a massive campaign of conquest that saw Egypt build an empire stretching from Syria to Nubia. During his campaigns, Thutmose proved himself a tactical and strategic genius, and modern military historians often compare him to UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. Unlike many young conquerors, however, Thutmose lived long enough to enjoy the conquest; he lived to the age of 55 (which was not remarkably old even in those days [[note]]UsefulNotes/RamsesII, Thutmose's successor a mere 150 years later, and probably the pharaoh most like Thutmose in temperament, lived to be about 90[[/note]] but was still old enough back then) and had more or less full control of the country for over thirty of them. His son and heir, Amenhotep II, was similar; if anything a ''more'' martial spirit than his father,[[note]]Thutmose gives every impression of being a bit of a GeniusBruiser[=/=]EmperorScientist who was intellectually fascinated by geography, nature, and exotic cultures, and gave serious consideration to just governance when he wasn't fighting. One of his most famous monuments is his "botanical garden", a chamber in the innermost sanctum of his addition to the temple of Karnak, decorated with detailed and remarkably true-to-life (for Egyptian art) depictions of the flora and fauna of the lands he had conquered; he is also recorded to have paid close attention to fairness and merit in appointing officials. On the other hand, Amenhotep was a straight-up jock who started his reign by rowing in the Nile and holding an archery contest, appointed his officials mostly based on their personal loyalty to him, and was mostly interested in foreign land for the the plunder he could take.[[/note]] he inherited the throne as a teenager, and though he couldn't conquer as much (his father having conquered pretty much everything Egypt realistically could), he did have some successful campaigns early in his reign (he was actually on campaign when Thutmose passed) and ruthlessly used force to maintain the empire he had inherited.

* During the Three Kingdoms Era of China, Sun Ce - founder of the Kingdom of Wu - fits this trope. He was known as the 'Little Conqueror' because of it - taking control of the prestigious Sun-family after the death of his famed father, Sun Jian, when he was barely out of his teens - and with skill and courage, seizing vast quantities of land. (Sadly, at the age of 25, he died young as well. So it goes...) His "Little Conqueror" nickname was something of a tribute to Xiang Yu (who also died young, although Xiang Yu was ''also'' famous for being a giant with great strength.)
* Cnut the Great first appears in the records accompanying his father Sweyn Forkbeard in the latter's campaign against Anglo-Saxon England. Within three years Cnut would succeed where the likes of the Great Heathen Army, Eirik Bloodaxe and even his father had failed to do, conquer the entirety of England and be crowned king, just in time for his twentieth birthday. His realm would subsequently incorporate Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden during his reign.

* ''{{Manga/Monster}}'': a story where the main villain, Johan, has all the qualifications, but rather than changing the world, wants to destroy it, just because he can. Unlike ForTheEvulz types who want to watch the world burn, he doesn't seem to get much satisfaction out of the horrible things he does: ''he'' just wants to set it on fire. And is ''very'' good at it.
* ''{{Manga/Naruto}}'' has Pain/Nagato, who learned ninjutsu in his youth with his TrueCompanions and afterwards started a group with them to create a better world and was given the Rinnegan. After being forced to kill his best friend, he commits [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge bloody vengeance]] on his betrayers and plans to create a super-weapon that will scare the other villages into stopping all war.
* ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'': Reinhard von Lohengramm is a textbook example, becoming the Emperor and uniting the known galaxy before the age of 25. Luckily he has Kircheis to watch his back, both physically and morally.
* ''{{Manga/Akumetsu}}''. He acts like a goofy IdiotHero, but he is actually ''very'' cunning and resourceful. He is also much more physical than other examples of this trope.

* Cnut the Great first appears in the records accompanying his father Sweyn Forkbeard in the latter's campaign on Anglo-Saxon England. Within three years Cnut would suceed where the likes of the Great Heathen Army, Eirik Bloodaxe and even his father had failed to do, conquer the entirety of England and be crowned king, just in time for his twentieth birthday. His realm would subsequently incorprate Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden during his reign.

* The [[UrExample earliest inarguable example of whom we have any record]][[note]][[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargon_of_Akkad Sargon the Great of Akkad]] may have qualified, but he is so far back in history (the ''24th'' century BCE) we cannot determine with any certainty how old he was when he conquered his empire other than saying he was at least young-ish.[[/note]] is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_III Thutmose III]], Pharaoh of Egypt (reigned [[OlderThanDirt 1479 BCE-1425 BCE]]), ran the Egyptian Army during his joint reign with his stepmother/aunt Hatshepsut as soon as he was of age (some time in his mid-teens, apparently). After Hatshepsut died, the Canaanite city-state of Kadesh tried to take advantage of the transition and the new Pharaoh's youth (Thutmose was only 21) to swipe some territory they had lost to Egypt; instead, Thutmose crushed them, and then began a massive campaign of conquest that saw Egypt build an empire stretching from Syria to Nubia. During his campaigns, Thutmose proved himself a tactical and strategic genius, and modern military historians often compare him to UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. Unlike many young conquerors, however, Thutmose lived long enough to enjoy the conquest; he lived to the age of 55 (which was not remarkably old even in those days [[note]]UsefulNotes/RamsesII, Thutmose's successor a mere 150 years later, and probably the pharaoh most like Thutmose in temperament, lived to be about 90[[/note]] but was still old enough back then) and had more or less full control of the country for over thirty of them. His son and heir, Amenhotep II, was similar; if anything a ''more'' martial spirit than his father,[[note]]Thutmose gives every impression of being a bit of a GeniusBruiser[=/=]EmperorScientist who was intellectually fascinated by geography, nature, and exotic cultures, and gave serious consideration to just governance when he wasn't fighting. One of his most famous monuments is his "botanical garden", a chamber in the innermost sanctum of his addition to the temple of Karnak, decorated with detailed and remarkably true-to-life (for Egyptian art) depictions of the flora and fauna of the lands he had conquered; he is also recorded to have paid close attention to fairness and merit in appointing officials. On the other hand, Amenhotep was a straight-up jock who started his reign by rowing in the Nile and holding an archery contest, appointed his officials mostly based on their personal loyalty to him, and was mostly interested in foreign land for the the plunder he could take.[[/note]] he inherited the throne as a teenager, and though he couldn't conquer as much (his father having conquered pretty much everything Egypt realistically could), he did have some successful campaigns early in his reign (he was actually on campaign when Thutmose passed) and ruthlessly used force to maintain the empire he had inherited.

* Prince Arslan of ''Anime/TheHeroicLegendOfArslan'' is literally this, raising an army to retake his kingdom's capital city at the age of 14.

* Tony Stark before becoming ''ComicBook/IronMan'' was a business version of this; he was also a drunken playboy. In ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' he gets back on the conquering horse.

* ''WebOriginal/TheInnocent'' [[PlayedForHorror plays this for horror instead of idealism]]. The children use [[spoiler: lots of DeathFromAbove, UrbanWarfare, [[TechnoWizard cyber attacks]] and even [[MadeASlave turn every adult alive into their own servants, forced to do whatever the children tell them.]]]] They can certainly be summarized into the characteristics of a CreepyChild. Hence the way the story is told, through EmergencyBroadcasts.

* The [[UrExample earliest inarguable example of whom we have any record]][[note]][[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargon_of_Akkad Sargon the Great of Akkad]] may have qualified, but he is so far back in history (the ''24th'' century BCE) we cannot determine with any certainty how old he was when he conquered his empire other than saying he was at least young-ish.[[/note]] is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_III Thutmose III]], Pharaoh of Egypt (reigned [[OlderThanDirt 1479 BCE-1425 BCE]]), ran the Egyptian Army during his joint reign with his stepmother/aunt Hatshepsut as soon as he was of age (some time in his mid-teens, apparently). After Hatshepsut died, the Canaanite city-state of Kadesh tried to take advantage of the transition and the new Pharaoh's youth (Thutmose was only 21) to swipe some territory they had lost to Egypt; instead, Thutmose crushed them, and then began a massive campaign of conquest that saw Egypt build an empire stretching from Syria to Nubia. During his campaigns, Thutmose proved himself a tactical and strategic genius, and modern military historians often compare him to UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. Unlike many young conquerors, however, Thutmose lived long enough to enjoy the conquest; he lived to the age of 55 (which was not remarkably old even in those days [[note]]UsefulNotes/RamsesII, Thutmose's successor a mere 150 years later, and probably the pharaoh most like Thutmose in temperament, lived to be about 90[[/note]] but was still old enough back then) and had more or less full control of the country for over thirty of them. His son and heir, Amenhotep II, was similar; if anything a ''more'' martial spirit than his father,[[note]]Thutmose gives every impression of being a bit of a GeniusBruiser[=/=]EmperorScientist who was intellectually fascinated by geography, nature, and exotic cultures, and gave serious consideration to just governance when he wasn't fighting. (One of his most famous monuments is his "botanical garden", a chamber in the innermost sanctum of his addition to the temple of Karnak, decorated with detailed and remarkably true-to-life (for Egyptian art) depictions of the flora and fauna of the lands he had conquered.) On the other hand, Amenhotep was a straight-up jock who started his reign by rowing in the Nile and holding an archery contest and was mostly interested in foreign land for the the plunder he could take.[[/note]] he inherited the throne as a teenager, and though he couldn't conquer as much (his father having conquered pretty much everything Egypt realistically could), he did have some successful campaigns early in his reign (he was actually on campaign when Thutmose passed) and ruthlessly used force to maintain the empire he had inherited.

* The [[UrExample earliest inarguable example of whom we have any record]][[note]][[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargon_of_Akkad Sargon the Great of Akkad]] may have qualified, but he is so far back in history (the ''24th'' century BCE) we cannot determine with any certainty how old he was when he conquered his empire other than saying he was at least young-ish.[[/note]] is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_III Thutmose III]], Pharaoh of Egypt (reigned [[OlderThanDirt 1479 BCE-1425 BCE]]), ran the Egyptian Army during his joint reign with his stepmother/aunt Hatshepsut as soon as he was of age (some time in his mid-teens, apparently). After Hatshepsut died, the Canaanite city-state of Kadesh tried to take advantage of the transition and the new Pharaoh's youth (Thutmose was only 21) to swipe some territory they had lost to Egypt; instead, Thutmose crushed them, and then began a massive campaign of conquest that saw Egypt build an empire stretching from Syria to Nubia. During his campaigns, Thutmose proved himself a tactical and strategic genius, and modern military historians often compare him to UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. Unlike many young conquerors, however, Thutmose lived long enough to enjoy the conquest; he lived to the age of 55 (which was not remarkably old even in those days [[note]]UsefulNotes/RamsesII, Thutmose's successor a mere 150 years later, and probably the pharaoh most like Thutmose in temperament, lived to be about 90[[/note]] but was still old enough back then) and had more or less full control of the country for over thirty of them. His son and heir, Amenhotep II, was similar; if anything a ''more'' martial spirit than his father,[[note]]Thutmose gives every impression of being a bit of a GeniusBruiser[=/=]EmperorScientist who was intellectually fascinated by geography, nature, and exotic cultures, and gave serious consideration to just governance when he wasn't fighting. On the other hand, Amenhotep was a straight-up jock who started his reign by rowing in the Nile and holding an archery contest and was mostly interested in foreign land for the the plunder he could take.[[/note]] he inherited the throne as a teenager, and though he couldn't conquer as much (his father having conquered pretty much everything Egypt realistically could), he did have some successful campaigns early in his reign and ruthlessly maintained the empire he had inherited.

* The [[UrExample earliest inarguable example of whom we have any record]][[note]][[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargon_of_Akkad Sargon the Great of Akkad]] may have qualified, but he is so far back in history (the ''24th'' century BCE) we cannot determine with any certainty how old he was when he conquered his empire other than saying he was at least young-ish.[[/note]] is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_III Thutmose III]], Pharaoh of Egypt (reigned [[OlderThanDirt 1479 BCE-1425 BCE]]), ran the Egyptian Army during his joint reign with his stepmother/aunt Hatshepsut as soon as he was of age (some time in his mid-teens, apparently). After Hatshepsut died, the Canaanite city-state of Kadesh tried to take advantage of the transition and the new Pharaoh's youth (Thutmose was only 21) to swipe some territory they had lost to Egypt; instead, Thutmose crushed them, and then began a massive campaign of conquest that saw Egypt build an empire stretching from Syria to Nubia. During his campaigns, Thutmose proved himself a tactical and strategic genius, and modern military historians often compare him to UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. Unlike many young conquerors, however, Thutmose lived long enough to enjoy the conquest; he lived to the age of 55 (which was not remarkably old even in those days [[note]]UsefulNotes/RamsesII, Thutmose's successor a mere 150 years later, and probably the pharaoh most like Thutmose in temperament, lived to be about 90[[/note]] but was still old enough back then) and had more or less full control of the country for over thirty of them. His son and heir, Amenhotep II, was similar; if anything a ''more'' martial spirit than his father,[[note]]Thutmose gives every impression of being a bit of a GeniusBruiser who was intellectually fascinated by geography and nature and exotic cultures when he wasn't fighting. On the other hand, Amenhotep was a straight-up jock who started his reign by rowing in the Nile and holding an archery contest and was mostly interested in foreign land for the the plunder he could take.[[/note]] he inherited the throne as a teenager, and though he couldn't conquer as much (his father having conquered pretty much everything Egypt realistically could), he did have some successful campaigns early in his reign and ruthlessly maintained the empire he had inherited.

* The [[UrExample earliest inarguable example of whom we have any record]][[note]][[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargon_of_Akkad Sargon the Great of Akkad]] may have qualified, but he is so far back in history (the ''24th'' century BCE) we cannot determine with any certainty how old he was when he conquered his empire other than saying he was at least young-ish.[[/note]] is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_III Thutmose III]], Pharaoh of Egypt (reigned [[OlderThanDirt 1479 BCE-1425 BCE]]), ran the Egyptian Army during his joint reign with his stepmother/aunt Hatshepsut as soon as he was of age (some time in his mid-teens, apparently). After Hatshepsut died, the Canaanite city-state of Kadesh tried to take advantage of the transition and the new Pharaoh's youth (Thutmose was only 21) to swipe some territory they had lost to Egypt; instead, Thutmose crushed them, and then began a massive campaign of conquest that saw Egypt build an empire stretching from Syria to Nubia. During his campaigns, Thutmose proved himself a tactical and strategic genius, and modern military historians often compare him to UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. Unlike many young conquerors, however, Thutmose lived long enough to enjoy the conquest; he lived to the age of 55 (which was not remarkably old even in those days [[note]]UsefulNotes/RamsesII, Thutmose's successor a mere 150 years later, and probably the pharaoh most like Thutmose in temperament, lived to be about 90[[/note]] but was still old enough back then) and had more or less full control of the country for over thirty of them.

->''"The only person with whom I felt any kinship with died three hundred years before the birth of Christ. Alexander of Macedonia, or Alexander the Great, as you know him. His vision of a united world... well, it was unprecedented. I wanted...'' needed ''to match his accomplishments, and so I resolved to apply antiquity's teaching to our world,'' today. ''And so began my path to conquest. Conquest not of men, but of the evils that beset them."''

* [[Manga/YuYuHakusho Shinobu Sensui]], [[EvilCounterpart in contrast to]] [[IdiotHero Yusuke Urameshi]]. Is a pretty brutal KnightTemplar as a Spirit Detective and wants to KillAllHumans as a villain- seeing as his idealistic [[BlackAndWhiteMorality black-and-white worldview]] did a 180 since he was on the side of good (pre- FaceHeelTurn he thought all humans were good and all demons were evil, as the BigBad he thinks [[MisanthropeSupreme the opposite]]).

* Katsuhiko Jinnai of ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld''. A zany LargeHam who borders on LaughingMad, but under his command the Bugrom steam-rolled the kingdoms of El-Hazard and were only stopped when the heroes got their own superweapon working and subverting the superweapon that Jinnai had acquired. His latter performances are less impressive, but by this point, the Bugrom army has been more or less reduced to a squad of seven.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'': At age 18, [[spoiler: Edelgard von Hresvelg ascends to the throne of the Adrestian Empire and launches her war against the Church of Seiros mere weeks later. In the Crimson Flower route, she successfully destroys the Church, the Leicester Alliance, and the Kingdom of Faehrgus in five years, and by the time she is 23, she is the undisputed [[SheIsTheKing Emperor]] of all Fódlan.]]

* ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'': Reinhard von Lohengramm is a textbook example. Luckily he has Kircheis to watch his back, both physically and morally.

* Xiang Yu, "Hegemon-King of Western Chu", who basically ended the [[UsefulNotes/DynastiesFromShangToQing Qin Dynasty]] and ''tried'' to set up a dynasty of his own...but he pissed off everyone and quickly found himself fighting his former friend Liu Bang, whom he had exiled to the wasteland of Han...which proved to be the perfect place for Liu Bang to organize an army against Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu did all of this by his 31st birthday--he killed himself around then because his army was obliterated by the Han forces and he had nowhere to run or call home.
* During the Three Kingdoms Era of China, Sun Ce - founder of the Kingdom of Wu - fits this trope. He was known as the 'Little Conqueror' because of it - taking control of the prestigious Sun-family after the death of his famed father, Sun Jian, when he was barely out of his teens - and with skill and courage, seizing vast quantities of land. (Sadly, at the age of 25, he died young as well. So it goes...) His "Little Conqueror" nickname was something of a tribute to Xiang Yu (who also died young, although Xiang Yu was ''also'' famous for being a giant.)

* Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II earned the title Fatih ('The Conqueror' in Turkish) at age 19 by taking the ancient Byzantine capital of Constantinople, which had resisted several previous sieges in spite constant decay of the Byzantine Empire's power over the centuries and increasing number and potency of neighbouring threats. Given that he inherited most of the Balkans and about half of Anatolia, while Constantinople was a half-abandoned LandOfOneCity at this point, this was not objectively ''[[CurbStompBattle quite]]'' as impressive as it sounds. That said, Mehmed did go on to do a bunch of conquering after that (completing the Ottoman conquest of Anatolia and taking even more of the Balkans), much of it before he turned 30, so the trope still applies.

* Azula in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', through a very intelligent plan, [[spoiler: managed to infiltrate Ba Sing Se, become leader of the Dai Li only based on the strength of his will and charisma, and conquer the city,]] something that the Fire Nation had never been able to achieve in 100 years. And all that with only 14 years.

* Katsuhiko Jinnai of ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld''. A zany LargeHam who borders on LaughingMad, but under his command the Bugrom steam-rolled the kingdoms of El-Hazard and were only stopped when the heroes got their own superweapon working and subverting the superweapon that Jinnai had acquired. His latter performances are less impressive, but by this point the Bugrom army has been more or less reduced to a squad of seven.

* In ''Fanfic/ADovahkiinSpreadsHisWings'', Jon Whitewolf was only fourteen years old when he was acknowledged as the Last Dragonborn. He then proceeded to win the CivilWar for the Empire, foiled the Apocalypse ''twice'' and is currently thinking about definitely wipe the Thalmor from existence. In a bit of a subversion, he's not interested in ruling in spite of High Queen Elisif offering to adopt him as her heir or his bloodline entitling him to the Iron Throne.
* In ''Fanfic/BlackSky'', Dorea Black took after her paternal ancestors and become the dictator to Magical Britain when she was just shy of seventeen years old. She found being a tyrant exhausting and as such completely overhauled the country's legislation to ensure it would function without her before abdicating and hightailing into Sicilia to spend time with her family.

* Not that young (he's supposed to be 30, but Creator/AlPacino was actually quite a bit older as well) but Tony Montana from ''Film/Scarface1983'' climbs to the top of the drug dealing community almost as fast. [[spoiler:He falls.]]

* In ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'', Luigi Vampa, a celebrated bandit, is analogized to one of these, because he's achieved power and celebrity and is not yet 30. Vampa may be aware of the comparison, since he likes to read Julius Caesar for fun.

** Daenerys intends to conquer Westeros, which she regards as her birthright. She struggles at first since she has no transportation, only a handful of followers and three helpless, infant dragons. After gaining the Unsullied she becomes a genuine threat and has her start by conquering Slavers Bay, sacking one slaver city, forcing another to surrender and causing the largest in the region to yield to her. A DeconstructedTrope, as she has left two cities in worse conditions than they were before she got there. Her refusal to listen to her advisers has also resulted in problems arising in Meereen. However, unlike most examples, Daenerys is willing to learn from her mistakes and take responsibility for her actions.

** Victor Steiner-Davion succeeded his father Hanse as head of the Federated Commonwealth at the age of 22, as the Inner Sphere was in the middle of the Clan Invasion. Shortly after turning thirty, Victor had helped stop the Clans' invasion into his territory, counter-attacked the Clan Homeworlds, personally led the task-force that Annihilated Clan Smoke Jaguar, and won the Great Refusal that ended their invasion for good. His youth and inexperience made him a victim of his sister on the domestic front, however, and by the end of the Invasion the Federated Commonwealth had essentially been split in two.

** The Clans, interestingly, tend to avert this. Despite a ruthless ProudWarriorRace culture that runs on AsskickingEqualsAuthority where anyone over thirty without a [[MeaningfulRename Bloodname]] is considered a wash-out, very few warriors get to Khan status before they're in their forties. This is because, in a system that runs on merit, it takes time to cultivate the neccessary status and contacts needed to be accepted as leader of a Clan.

* Darth Revan in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. Revan was a Jedi prodigy whose peerless strategy won the Mandalorian War for the Republic, and nearly won the Jedi Civil War [[FaceHeelTurn for the Sith]]. S/he built up quite the EvilEmpire before being betrayed in the traditional Sith manner, and is respected and/or feared throughout the Galaxy. All of this [[spoiler: judging by his/her unmasked appearance in the game]] before about twenty-five to thirty. The fact that Revan was [[spoiler: young enough to be accepted into the Academy post-mind-wipe]] supports that he/she is fairly young, too. While the Sith do have something like a PhilosophersStone, even his/her non-Jedi contemporaries speaking of past campaigns generally fall into the same age category.

* In general this was much more common in ancient times, when the sons of aristocracy would often receive their military training through [[ChildSoldier direct battlefield experience at ages younger than what we would consider the norm for adulthood.]] This often went hand-in-hand with AsskickingEqualsAuthority.

* Not that young (he's supposed to be 30, but Creator/AlPacino was actually quite a bit older as well) but Tony Montana from ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}'' climbs to the top of the drug dealing community almost as fast. [[spoiler:He falls.]]

* ''Franchise/CodeGeass'': Lelouch vi Britannia, insofaras wanting to take down the Holy Britannian Empire. [[spoiler:He succeeds by the way.]]

* ''Anime/StarDriver'' has the Glittering Crux as an organization led by these, though for now the only one to have shown definite proof of belonging here is Kanako, a teenager who plays the Stock Market like a fiddle (and who is an Olympic level boxer... as well as a ''[[TheTease damn hot chick]]'').

* Katsuhiko Jinnai of ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld''. A zany LargeHam who borders on LaughingMad, but under his command the Bugrom steam-rolled the kingdoms of El-Hazard and where only stopped when the heroes got their own super weapon working and subverting the super weapon that Jinnai had acquired. His latter performances are less impressive, but by this point the Bugrom army has been more or less reduced to a squad of seven.

* In ''Fanfic/ADovahkiinSpreadsHisWings'', Jon Whitewolf was only fourteen years old when he was acknowledged as the Last Dragonborn. He then procedeed to win the CivilWar for the Empire, foiled the Apocalypse ''twice'' and is currently thinking about definitely wipe the Thalmor from existence. In a bit of a subversion, he's not interested in ruling in spite of High Queen Elisif offering to adopt him as her heir or his bloodline entitling him to the Iron Throne.
* In ''Fanfic/BlackSky'', Dorea Black took after her paternal ancestors and become the dictator to Magical Britain when she was just shy of seventeen years old. She found being a tyrant exhausting and as such completely overhauled the country's legislation to ensure it would function without her before abdicationg and hightailing into Sicilia to spend time with her family.

** Robb Stark, the "Young Wolf". Neither Tywin Lannister, nor his father Eddard think he is up to the task but Varys notes to Eddard that boys like him have become conquerors before. He quickly proves himself one of the most skilled battle commanders in the series.

** Daenerys intends to conquer Westeros, which she regards as her birthright. She struggles at first, since she has no transportation, only a handful of followers and three helpless, infant dragons. After gaining the Unsullied she becomes a genuine threat and has her start by conquering Slavers Bay, sacking one slaver city, forcing another to surrender and causing the largest in the region to yield to her. A DeconstructedTrope, as she has left two cities in worse conditions than they were before she got there. Her refusal to listen to her advisers has also resulted in problems arising in Meereen. However, unlike most examples, Daenerys is willing to learn from her mistakes and take responsibility for her actions.

* The player´s character in ''VideoGame/OverlordII'' is a very dark version of this trope.
* The PlayerCharacter in ''VideoGame/FableIII'' can be played as a Young Conqueror, following in the footsteps of their same-gender parent (the PlayerCharacter of ''VideoGame/FableII'') who rose from a broke orphan raised by Gypsies to become Monarch of Albion, largely though shrewd Real Estate purchases.

* In ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'', Masamune Date tends to play this role - young, brash, respectless, immensely talented and ambitious. Interestingly, the historical Masamune Date was both closer to, and further from, this ideal.

** The Courier has the option of going this route, with the help of Yes Man. There's no 'Emperor' period after since you've free'd New Vegas from ''any'' overall ruler except for a peacekeeping robot army

* Prince Maximilian from ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'', an ambitious 29 year old imperial general.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'': At age 18, [[spoiler: Edelgard von Hresvelg ascends to the throne of the Adrestian Empire and launches her war against the Church of Seiros mere weeks later. In the Crimson Flower route, she successfully destroys the Church, the Leicester Alliance, and the Kingdom of Faergus in five years, and by the time she is 23, she is the undisputed [[SheIsTheKing Emperor]] of all Fódlan.]]
* ''{{VideoGame/Brigandine}}'': Vaynard the White Wolf of Norgard is highly known and feared as a powerful warrior and an intelligent strategist before he even became King. Once he ascendes the throne, many characters acknowledge Norgard as one of the nations who threatens to conquer Forsena (the other is [[TheEmpire Esgares Empire]].) And he will if he is chosen by the Player.

* UsefulNotes/IsmailI of Persia made his first victory in battle when he was 14 years old when he conquered Shirvan and in the very next year, he founded the Safavid Empire. He gained a fearsome reputation until he was defeated by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Chaldiran, his legacy is still felt to modern times: he reasserted Iranian identity after 800 centuries of outsider occupation since the Islamic conquest of Persia and established Shia Islam as the main religion, which most Iranians adhere to this very day.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'': At age 17, [[spoiler: Edelgard von Hresvelg ascends to the throne of the Adrestian Empire and launches her war against the Church of Seiros a mere week later. In the Crimson Flower route, she successfully destroys the Church, the Leicester Alliance, and the Kingdom of Faergus in five years, and by the time she is 23, she is the undisputed [[SheIsTheKing Emperor]] of all Fódlan.]]

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** [[spoiler:"Fifteen! I'd hardly be fifteen and rousting villages. By the time fifteen came around, I'd be King."]]

* ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'': [[MessianicArchetype Kwisatz Haderachs]] Paul Atreides and GodEmperor [[DarkMessiah Leto Atreides]]. Probably TropeCodifier.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', Voldemort, Dumbledore, and Grindelwald are hinted to have been this, for a start.
* Jorg in ''Literature/ThePrinceOfThorns'' series fits this trope well.

* Thomas Cale in the ''Literature/LeftHandOfGod'' seems to be evolving into one of these.

* The ''backstory'' of Mackenzie Calhoun from ''Literature/StarTrekNewFrontier''.

* In the ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' game, Sun Ce (see below) always plays this trope to the hilt. His personal campaign usually details how, if he had avoided his historic early death, he would have gone on to unite China himself.
** Meanwhile, in ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'', Masamune Date tends to play this role - young, brash, respectless, immensely talented and ambitious. Interestingly, the historical Masamune Date was both closer to, and further from, this ideal.

* In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', Caesar (and presumably Joshua Graham) of Caesar's Legion was once this, having founded the Legion at around 21, though he's in his fifties by the time you meet him.
** The Courier has the option of going this route, with the help of Yes Man.