[b]Cyrus the Great[/b]: Ancient Emperor of Persia (Achaemenid Dynasty) who unified the entire middle east and set the precedent for religious and social tolerance under imperial control. (which the Romans mimiced)The West isn't as directly familiar with him, though he was a main inspiration for Thomas Jefferson. He was known as the [b]King of the Four Corners of the World.[/b] [b]Timurlane[/b] (or Timur): A runner-up to Genghis Khan, Timur terrorized the asian steppes, northern Persia, and proto-Russia during the 14th century. He was famous for executing the population of every city he conquered and stacking their skulls in pyramids that sometimes rose 40-60 feet in height. [b]Zheng He[/b]: A chinese muslim eunuch in service to Ming Dynasty. Under the orders of Emperor Yongle (heh) he led a series of "treasure voyages" from 1405-1433 around the Indian Ocean to explore, document, and establish trade if countries had anything China wanted. The IMPRESSIVE thing about him is the size of the fleet he commanded: the first expedition had a whopping 317 ships (many of which were 3 or 4 stories tall) each crewed by 500-600 men. The fleet had a population of (estimated) around 27,000 men, which was larger than the population of most of the ports they stopped in at the time. Zheng He commanded the greatest naval fleet of early modern history. [b]Mansa Musa[/b]: A legendary king of Mali (African Kingdom) who was so rich he went on tour to show everyone and ended up ruining the economy of Egypt and the surrounding states. [b]Chandragupta Maurya[/b]: Emperor of the Mauryan Empire of India. According to legend, he was a devout Jainist and after uniting the Empire he gave up his position and wealth and become a monk. Regardless, his empire stretched the entirety of the Indian continent, with the exception of a few small principalities in the south. Considering the greatest empire of ancient Indian history. :D If you couldn't tell, I like history.