Founding monarchs in Asia

Genghis Khan, also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongol tribes, he launched a series of military campaigns, conquering large parts of China and Central Asia.

Timur (1320s17/18 February 1405), also known as Tamerlane, was a Turco-Mongol conqueror, first ruler of the Timurid dynasty, and the founder of the Timurid Empire, which ruled over modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. He was undefeated in battle and is widely regarded as one of the greatest military leaders and tacticians in history, as well as one of the most brutal and deadly. Timur is also considered a great patron of the arts, for he interacted with scholars and poets such as ibn Khaldun, Hafez, and Hafiz-i Abru. His reign led to the Timurid Renaissance.

founder of the Achaemenid Empire (559–529 BC)

Babur (, ; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also given the posthumous name of Firdaws Makani ('Dwelling in Paradise').

founder of the Ottoman Empire (died 1323/4)

founder and first king of Saudi Arabia (r. 1932–1953)

founder of the Maurya Empire (350–295 BCE)

Western Asian Mongol ruler (c. 1217–1265)

founder of Akkadian Empire

Khan of the Golden Horde

thumb|The Kingdom of Saul, according to the biblical account thumb|300px|David and Saul, by Julius Kronberg, 1885 thumb|upright=1.13|David Plays the Harp for Saul, by Rembrandt|Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1650 thumb|upright=1.3|Saul threatening David, by José Leonardo, c. 1640s Saul (; , ; ; , ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh century BC, marked the transition of the Israelites from a scattered tribal society r

general of Alexander and founder of the Seleucid dynasty

Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji inherited a jagir from his father who served as a retainer for the Sultanate of Bijapur, which later formed the genesis of the Maratha Kingdom. In 1674, he was formally crowned the Chhatrapati of his realm at Raigad Fort.

king of Iberia and Colchis

second son of Genghis Khan and Börte (1183–1242)

Legendary Chinese ruler, one of the Five Emperors, later worshipped as a god

Chinese military and government official (1859–1916)

legendary first emperor of Japan

King of Siam (1737–1809)

Founder of the Seljuk Empire (1037–1063)

the first king of Joseon Dynasty in Korean history

Taksin the Great or the King of Thonburi (17 April 1734 – 7 April 1782) was a Thai Chinese general who became the only King of Thonburi that ruled Siam from 1767 to 1782.

Zheng Chenggong (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), born Zheng Sen () and better known internationally by his honorific title Koxinga (), was a Southern Ming general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century and expelled the Dutch from Taiwan, founding the Kingdom of Tungning.

Xia Dynasty king and founder

founded of the Mamluk Dynasty (1150-1210)

Tibetan emperor (604-650)

'''Tan'gun (), also known as Tan'gun Wanggŏm''' (), was the legendary founder and first king of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom. He founded the first kingdom around the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. He is said to be the "grandson of heaven", "son of a bear", and to have founded the first kingdom in 2333 BC.

Chinese revolutionary and leader of Taiping Rebellion (1814–1864)

founder of China's Zhou dynasty

founder of the Goryeo Dynasty (877-943)

Founder of the Goguryeo Empire (37–19 BC)

founder and 1st emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam (r. 1802-04)

King of Nepal

Great Khan of Outer Mongolia (1869–1924)

second son of Mattathias, the first prince (r. 141–135 BCE) of the Hasmonean dynasty of the Kingdom of Judea

Sultan of Rum

Khan of the Uzbek Khanate (1412-1468)

Legendary first king of the Shang dynasty in ancient China

ruler of the Shunga Empire from c.185 to c. 149 BCE

'''Abu Mansur Nasir ad-Din wa'd-Dawla Sabuktigin''' (; 940s – August-September 997) was the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, and amir of Ghazna from 977 to 997. Sabuktigin was a Turkic slave who was bought by Alp-Tegin, the commander of the royal guard of the Samanid dynasty. Alp-Tegin established himself as the governor of Ghazna in 962, and died a year later in 963. Afterwards, Sabuktigin built his prestige among other slave soldiers in Ghazna until he was elected by them as their ruler in 977.

founder of the Turkic Khaganate

12th Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate and 1st from the Khalji dynasty

Founding Emperor of the Later Lê dynasty

Armenian king

Alaungpaya (, ; also spelled Alaunghpaya or Alaung-Phra; 11 May 1760) was the founder and first emperor of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma. By the time of his death from illness during his campaign in Siam, this former chief of a small village in Upper Burma had unified Burma, subdued Manipur, conquered Lan Na and launched successful attacks against the French and British East India companies who had given help to the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom. He added settlements around Dagon, and called the enlarged town Yangon.

King of Kashgaria (1820–1877)

King U-thong (; ) or King Ramathibodi I (; ; , 1314–1369) was the first King of Ayutthaya, reigning from 1351 to 1369.

Touman (), from Old Chinese (220 BCE): *do-mɑnᴬ, is the earliest named chanyu (leader) of the Xiongnu tribal confederation, reigning from , directly preceding the formation of the Xiongnu empire.

emperor of Nanyue (Nam Việt)

1st-century BC founding monarch of the Korean kingdom of Silla

3rd century CE founder of Gupta dynasty of northern India

Turkic military general of Qutb al-Din Aibak

emperor of Vietnam (r. 968–979)

Ruler of Sukhothai

Khan of the Khamag Mongol

First king of the Chinese Eastern Zhou dynasty (died 720 BC)

military strategist of King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou

Vietnamese emperor

Muslim crusader

4th century BCE emperor of the Indian Nanda Empire