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Who was the least successful ruler in history?

choleCcarknif3r

To go with the 'who was the most successful ruler in history' thread, who was the least successful?

Reply 1

BurstingBubbles

Life & Style Forum Helper

Lady Jane Grey, wasn't she only on the throne 9 days before she got executed? :tongue:

Reply 2

username1924691

Depends on how you're measuring success :lol:

Reply 3

Kallisto

Entertainment Forum Helper

Original post by BurstingBubbles

Lady Jane Grey, wasn't she only on the throne 9 days before she got executed? :tongue:

That was very short indeed. *

Original post by Christie_xx

Depends on how you're measuring success :lol:

That is a good remark.

Measuring by the popularity and by doings, Nero is the first name which comes into my mind: No interest in politics, was hated by the citizens and even the soldiers, has even had the consuls against him. And he did nothing in the past to stick in good memory, but being a self-appointed actor and a poet.*

Corbyn

Entertainment Forum Helper

Original post by caravaggio2

Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn? yeah, it seems so. I can't remember me to have ever heard of him. That is a sure sign for being not successful.

Reply 6

shadowdweller

Volunteer Section Leader

I agree with the above poster, that it depends on how you measure success - a ruler could be very successful economically, but be responsible for the deaths of a large number of their people. How should they be classed in that instance, as they're clearly not a moral success!

Reply 7

Nirvana1989-1994

Like others have said; Jezza Corbyn. :h:

Reply 8

Pizzabomb

The shatter resistant one I broke over a table in a Year 10 maths lesson

Reply 9

Good bloke

Original post by BurstingBubbles

Lady Jane Grey, wasn't she only on the throne 9 days before she got executed? :tongue:

She isn't generally accepted as having been a queen. She was a puppet whose family and supporters used her in an attempt to seize power in the absence of Mary. It took a few days to get Mary, who was out of the capital, ensconced and accepted (and Jane's puppeteer, Northumberland, made a big mistake in leaving London to rally support) but there was really little doubt that she would win as she had all the popular support.

Reply 10

nulli tertius

I will offer Sheikh Khalid, Sultan of Zanzibar.

He reigned for two days in 1896 and was then deposed by the British following the world's shortest war, that lasted 38 minutes. He then sought political asylum in Tanganyika where he was again captured by the British in 1916. After exile to the Seychelles and St Helena (I wonder where the British got that idea from), he was finally allowed to live out his days in Kenya.

Hitler

Mao, he went through all that work and violence and brainwashing to preserve communism, only for China to go capitalist anyway

Reply 13

Reality Check

If a PM counts as a ruler, I'd go for Anthony Eden.

Reply 14

Underscore__

Whichever b*****d is responsible for losing us the greatest share of our empire

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Reply 15

Jjj90

Original post by Onde

Probably a pointless question to attempt to answer, because the qualities that make a leader are associated with success, and those people who were least successful were thus not leaders.

In a meritocracy perhaps, and meritocracies are relatively rare in history.

Reply 16

shadowdweller

Volunteer Section Leader

Original post by Onde

Probably a pointless question to attempt to answer, because the qualities that make a leader are associated with success, and those people who were least successful were thus not leaders.