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A warlord is a powerful military leader who answers only to themself, rather than being dictated by a central authority or government. They've usually gained their influence by force, sometimes through misuse of a previous military position. A warlord's forces are loyal only to their commander, whose sheer strength lets them exercise more power than their rank or title legitimately allows.

A warlord is usually a mean son of a bitch, characterized by their brutality, domineering personality, and a severe Lack of Empathy. Warlords often have greedy, self-serving mindsets, caring only about getting wealth and territory for themselves and their men. In lawless areas, the warlord might subjugate local civilians like a mafia boss, demanding they either pay up or face the consequences. Warlords thrive in Failed States, where they provide a client-patron system to anyone under their command, and often emerge as the main form of authority after apocalyptic events or the collapse of major civilizations. They are also common in frontier areas, barbarian cultures, and other settings where centralized authority is weak or nonexistent, allowing powerful clan chiefs, bandit lords, or raiders to enforce their rule over large tracts of land through force of arms. Warlords also tend to have an interest in prolonging, or even creating wars, since they directly benefit from conflict. As such, they'll be pitted against protagonists who want to stop the violence.

Even in more "stable" settings, warlords can still have de facto political and civil authority over certain regions. Sometimes, the government doesn't want to piss off the dude whose military might rival their own. Other times, the government will hire the warlord to further their own goals.

Warlords are the most common form of authority figure found leading The Horde. More aggressive Barbarian Tribes also like to answer to domineering war-chiefs, although some work under more egalitarian structures or are led by councils of elders.

This isn't the same as an Evil Overlord or The Generalissimo, who both take control over a country or territory and create their own government (though some warlords may have that in mind as their ultimate endgame). Most often, the warlord does not care about authority other than their own, and though they might project power over their territory, they aren't interested in setting up a permanent bureaucracy. Even if they end up with large amount of land and control, they might not care about what happens to it after they're no longer around to keep things running.

Super-Trope to Wasteland Warlord, which is an apocalypse-specific version of this trope. Compare and contrast with General Ripper, a domineering warmonger who answers to a higher authority. Not to be confused with a Blood Knight, which is a character who is simply craving a good fight, although the Warlord may overlap with that trope if they're actively seeking the thrill of war as part of their motivation for conquest. Often overlaps with Proud Warrior Race Guy. Also compare with other types of military-related criminals, including Arms Dealers, Dangerous Deserters, Private Military Contractors, and Rogue Soldiers. If the warlord manages to create a stable situation their descendants might become a Feudal Overlord.


Examples:

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    Anime and Manga 
  • Azumi: Many of the enemies faced by Azumi throughout the series are bands of rogue samurai who became bandits after the end of the Warring States period, and have set themselves up as petty warlords terrorizing villages.
  • Dragon Ball: Frieza is the leader of the Planet Trade Organization, better known as the Frieza Force — a massive army that has conquered much of the known universe and operates by wiping out all life on planets of interest and selling them to the highest bidder. Frieza himself doesn't seem to have much of a bureaucracy beyond ruling his conquered territories through fear, and revels in conquest and genocide — even blowing up loyal planets to amuse himself.
  • Naruto: During the Warring States period, Madara Uchiha — the head of the Uchiha Clan — was feared as a legendary warlord only capable of being opposed by Hashirama of the Senju Clan, and would often hire his clan out to act as mercenaries for the feudal lords — with long-abandoned Uchiha Clan fortresses still dotting the Land of Fire decades after the war's end. The truce between Madara and Hashirama brought an end to the Warring States period and ushered in the establishment of the Five Great Shinobi Nations and the Hidden Villages.
  • Played with with the Seven Warlords in One Piece. They're more like Privateers who are employed by the World Government to capture pirates for them. Like typical warlords, they often exercise some kind of authority over an island, if not more, with proportional amount of force per island, and the World Government would pay a blind eye to their "side-activities" so long as they do their job. Played straighter with the Four Emperors, 4 strong pirates who (with the possible exception of Shanks) rule more islands than the Warlords do combined, and they're big thorns on the World Government's side.
  • Samurai 7, the Amenushi was a major player in the chaotic mess of the Great War. He eventually won out and declared himself Emperor.

    Comic Books 
  • One Hellblazer comic introduces an ex-African warlord, who's now employed as a janitor in England. He actually prefers his current situation to his former life, thanks to the lack of hostilities, better healthcare, and attractive white women.
  • Transformers:
    • Transformers: Wings of Honor: Set during the early days of the Great War (in a universe that's roughly analogous to The Transformers), it's revealed that the Decepticons are led by a number of warlords, with Megatron being noted as one of the more powerful members thanks to absorbing the Photons (led by Reflector) and the Constructicons (led by Hook) into his forces. By the end of the series, only Megatron and Deathsaurus are left standing, and shortly after Deathsaurus assassinates the other warlords he is in turn defeated by Megatron and goes into exile, leaving Megatron undisputed leader of the Decepticons.
    • Transformers '84: Set in the past of The Transformers (Marvel), in the Secrets And Lies series it's shown that with the disappearance of Megatron the Decepticons have fractured into forces led by Straxus, Thunderwing, and Scorponok. While they claim to be simply continuing the extermination of the Autobots while waiting for Megatron's return, tensions between them over territory suggest that should Megatron fail to return and reestablish his command, they'll be quite happy to turn on each other and fight for domination. As this is a prequel to the Marvel series, Straxus will be on top.
    • Transformers: Shattered Glass (2021): The ruined planet of Cybertron is controlled by the three Autobot warlords: Optimus Prime, Goldbug and Prowl. While Optimus controls the most territory, Goldbug's capital of Gold City is protected by natural barriers that make attacking difficult and Prowl's fearsome reputation causes even Optimus to hesitate to attack until he's sure he won't be attacked from behind by Goldbug.
  • Venom: Knull, an ancient god of darkness and destruction, first sought to destroy the nascent universe, but after discovering he could give life to the primordial void he decided to corrupt and conquer it instead — creating an army of enslaved gods and smothering whole worlds in his living abyss.

    Film — Animated 

    Film — Live-Action 
  • The objective of the Army Rangers in Black Hawk Down is to capture the generals and lieutenants of Somali warlord Adid, to weaken Adid's power and possibly reveal Adid's hideouts. Adid's goons make a habit of butchering the locals and seizing humanitarian aid supplies for themselves. Of course, this mission goes horribly wrong, kicking off the events of the film.
  • Galaxy Quest: Sariss is identified as a general, but he gives no indication of belonging to an actual army or serving any kind of ruler or government. Mention is made early in the film of the "Sariss Dominion", but its nature is never revealed. In the film, Sariss answers to no authority but his own and appears to simply do as he wishes, with his Mooks there to enforce his will.
  • The Warlord, a Shaw Brothers film, depicts the rise and fall of one such character, the warlord Marshall Chin who rules over rural Shantung in the early 19th Century and is content with governing a single district. But he has to contend with a forbidden love affair, a political rival trying to challenge his authority, and an impending three-month drought in Shantung that causes riots.

    Literature 
  • Foundation Series: After the fall of The Empire, the galaxy splits into fiefdoms controlled by various warlords. Within a century most of the warlord states have settled down and their "kings" have established proper dynasties, which the Foundation manipulates into forming the nucleus of a new Empire using a Scam Religion.
  • Mercy Thompson: A Vietnamese Werewolf warlord was responsible for turning Adam Hauptman, the Alpha of Basin Columbia Pack, into a werewolf. During the Vietnam War, the Warlord took advantage of the chaos, using his powers to carve out a fiefdom which he ruled as a vicious tyrant. Not knowing what he was, Adam (a sergeant within the US's Long Recon) sent his squad in to eliminate the warlord. All of them were slaughtered, save Adam and David Christiansen, who the warlord turned with the expectation that they'd serve him. However, Adam proved strong-willed enough to resist his control, instead using his new powers to kill the warlord and avenge his murdered comrades.
  • Many Redwall villains are animal warlords, including Cluny the Scourge (a rat pirate), Badrang the Tyrant (a treacherous stoat), Swartt Sixclaw (a merciless ferret), and Urgan Nagru (a brutal fox), who lead roving hordes of bandits and barbarians by brute force and cunning or set themselves up as the unquestioned tyrants of petty kingdoms. Many of them command vast hordes of other animals, although on occasion they find the time to train an Elite Army.
  • A Song of Ice and Fire:
    • The Free Folk of the far north refuse to answer to anything resembling organized government, and scornfully refer to those who do as "kneelers"; to them, the only men worth following are those who prove their worth through individual accomplishment, which to a tribal Iron Age culture means primarily warchiefs who can secure or promise glory and plunder to their followers. As a result, the most common form of organization above the individual tribe and village level consists of famous warchiefs who have managed to secure the loyalty of large numbers of tribes and raiders through a combination of fame, force of personality, and absorbing defeated enemy groups, which they then use to feud with one another and pursue personal aims. Six times in history, some of these chiefs managed to assemble the majority or entirety of the northern tribes into a single, more or less united fighting force, thus claiming the title of King-Beyond-the-Wall.
    • The Dothraki are a nomadic warrior culture who, similarly to the Free Folk, respect little outside of martial strength. They live in large hordes ruled by khals, whose continued rule hinges on their ability to defend their position against both rival hordes and their own followers — a khal who cannot ride or fight ceases to be a khal. In the normal course of things, a khalasar roams across the grasslands where the Dothraki live, growing its strength by fighting and absorbing other hordes and periodically ranging out to strike against neighboring peoples. Since all authority and leadership rests on the khal's person, his death usually leads to chaos as his sons and lieutenants compete for his position. Sometimes, one emerges as the clear victor and takes command of the whole group. More often, the horde fragments as each claimant gathers the men most loyal to him and heads out into the plains.
  • Star Wars Legends: Following the fall of the Empire, Imperial forces splintered with various moffs and admirals taking whatever forces were loyal to them and retreating into their own territories, enduring mostly in remote frontiers such as the Deep Core and the edge of the Unknown Regions. One of the most notable of these was Warlord Zsinj, who was a thorn in the New Republic's side for a number of years. Eventually the Imperial Remnant began to coalesce into a centralized government again.

    Live-Action TV 
  • Into the Badlands: The Barons are warlords who have divided control over the Badlands between themselves, with each having a monopoly over a vital resource from their region. They are highly skilled fighters and usually gained their position through Klingon Promotion. Each of them maintains a large army of "clippers" who are recruited as Child Soldiers and constantly train for war. Peace between the Barons is dependent on Balance of Power, and if one Baron is seen as trying to obtain too much power, the others will declare war on him/her.
  • Merlin (2008): Hengist from "Lancelot And Guinevere" is little more than a vicious and sadistic thug, barely a step above the bandits and raiders. Nevertheless, he controls his own castle and has enough loyal men that he's feared throughout the region (with even King Uther noting how dangerous he is), with it being acknowledged it would require an entire army to successfully defeat in his stronghold. He also has his own captive Wilddeoren which he delights in feeding people to.
  • Discussed in a Saturday Night Live sketch from late 1992, where president-elect Bill Clinton (played by Phil Hartman) is seen jogging into a McDonalds note  and the patrons dining there get him to do an impromptu press conference. He uses other people's food as props to make his point about warlords stealing the aid that other countries send to Somalia, his mouth being the warlord in question.
  • The Shannara Chronicles: General Riga, half of the Big Bad Ensemble of the second season, was formerly one of King Eventine's greatest generals. Following the devastation caused by the Dagda Mor and his army of demons, Riga went rogue, taking advantage of the chaos to set himself up as an independent warlord. He used his new power to found the Crimson, blaming magic for the devastation the elves had suffered and vowing to wipe it out. Thus, he led his forces to exterminate all practitioners they could find, as well as all those who he viewed as traitors for sheltering them. In his efforts, he would eventually end up conquering the Kingdom of Leah and murdering his former master's son King Ander.
  • Stargate SG-1: The Goau'ld style themselves as gods, but are really just interstellar warlords who are constantly fighting each other and vying for territory. If one falls, a new one can move right in and take over everything completely, from resources to the devotion of the Jaffa.
  • Star Trek: The Original Series The planet Sigma Iotia III, after contact with the USS Horizon, adopted a society based on early 20th-century Chicago gangs. There is no central authority, only mobster bosses who control their various territories, and who constantly make hits on each other, often getting bystanders killed in the crossfire.
  • S.W.A.T. (2017): "Monster" features Aden Syed, the Saw Man, a particularly infamous Somali Warlord during the '90s, who made heavy use of Child Soldiers (getting his nickname due to scaring each one of them on the arm with a saw to mark his ownership) using forcing them into service after massacring their villages and giving them the choice between joining or death. Hondo, who served with the Marines in Somalia, was scarred from witnessing the aftermath of his brutality. Following the end of the conflict, Syed managed to escape to LA by posing as a refugee, where he married and had a son, living a peaceful life where he seemingly overcame his former brutality. Until his family is captured by several of his former victims, and Syed reveals himself to still be the same self-righteous, spiteful monster he always was.
  • The Transporter: "Beacon of Hope" features Basem Al-Harazi, a former soldier turned ruthless Warlord, who rules over a section of an unnamed African country he's conquered with an iron fist. Allowing aid workers to set up a refuge in his domain solely so he can steal the supplies and food sent in to help the starving orphans. Upon the air worker Zac Preston attempting to take back a small portion of the food to give to the children, Al-Harazi goes ballistic, murdering Preston's partner and attempting to wipe out all the children out of pure spite.
  • Waking the Dead: One of these turns out to be the crux behind all the murders in "Duty and Honour." Mushrat Badawi was formerly a torturer for the Hussein regime. Taking advantage of the chaos that befell Iraq following the invasion, he cut a deal with corrupt British Lieutenant Colonel Garrett, promising to help him pacify the area. He did so by having his men massacre the families of anyone he even suspected of being an insurgent, all whilst Garrett forced his soldiers to turn a blind eye. Garrett's support led to Badawi becoming the ruling warlord of his fiefdom to the point where the NATO forces that previously dubbed him a war criminal were now forced to negotiate with him. The resulting murders were Garrett's attempts to silence anyone who knows about his role in Badawi's rise.
  • The Wild Wild West:
    • Becoming a warlord turns out to be the brilliant but treacherous Major General Ball's real plan in "The Night Of The Double-Edged Knife". Extorting a fortune from the government by having his men slaughter five railroad workers near the border a day until he's paid, framing the attacks on the local natives, he reveals to Jim he intends to use the money to build an army with seasoned mercenaries from Mexico. Then launch a surprise invasion of America, conquer a state for him to rule over, and "see where we go from there".
    • General Grimm from "The Night Of The Red-Eyed Madmen" is a vicious fascist who has taken over a small area in the desert, where he has set up a secret training camp and is building up an army of fanatics through brutal training regimes, including forcing new recruits to prove themselves in the arena and subjecting them to cooking alive in the sweat box for the slightest infringement. Convincing his followers that their exceptional fighting skills will allow them to overcome larger numbers of conventional troops, General Grim plans to launch a surprise attack to conquer the entire Southwest, and put it under his strict military rule, creating a glorious regime that will "last a thousand years".

    Tabletop Games 
  • In Apocalypse World, these are known as "hardholders". One of the players can even be one, receiving all the perks of having a small community and a personal enforcer gang under them, as well as all the risks that come with a position of power.
  • BattleTech:
    • Out in the Periphery, there are numerous "pirate kingdoms" and bands composed of deserters, former mercenaries, and mechwarriors who have set themselves up as the warlord of their little corner of space. The Clans have problems from the bandit "Dark Caste", Clanners who were cast out of Clan society and who raid Clan worlds. Many are run by warlords who were former Clan warriors themselves.
    • Played with by the Draconis Combine. Their military has the rank of Warlord. A Warlord (or Tai-shu) has absolute say over what happens in their district of the Combine, only the Coordinator has more power. But in times of peace they let the district governors or Shogun make most of the decisions. However, one Warlord Greig Samsonov ticked off almost every part of this trope. His vendetta against Wolf's Dragoons caused him to abuse his position and cost him his life.
  • Warhammer 40,000:
    • Any formal hierarchies that the Traitor Legions had collapsed when they lost their rebellion and had to flee into the Eye of Terror. Modern Chaos Marine society, such as it is, largely consists of warbands led by the most infamous, accomplished or domineering of their veterans and sorcerers, who use a combination of force of arms and force of personality to impose their will on other Marines and either carve out petty empires or become roving pirates and raiders.
    • Orks typically spend most of their time infighting unless united under a Waaagh, which occurs when one of their number manages to force them into a more or less unified horde through strength, intimidation, and force of personality, thereafter being referred to as the Warboss.
  • Warhammer Fantasy:
    • Orcish society typically consists of disunited, squabbling tribes and bands until a tribal leader or accomplished warrior manages to crack enough heads together to force them to recognize him as the new Warboss and lash together a large horde to lead off on a merry rampage.
    • Chaos Warriors spend the majority of their time fighting against each other for the attention of their gods, uniting only when a Chaos Champion manages to force together enough tribes, warbands and marauders to lead a dark crusade against civilization and earn the title of Chaos Lord.
    • The leaders of Beastman society are the Beastlords, the most savage and accomplished of their warriors, who are able to force and goad great warherds into following them through threat of force and promises of slaughter and plunder.

    Video Games 
  • Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu: The titular Sin Tzu is an infamous Asian Warlord who was captured by a Special Ops team and transported to Gotham for study. Breaking free thanks to his mastery of Meta-Sua, he takes control of numerous criminals and also brainwashes Scarecrow, Clayface, and Bane, setting into motion his plan to conquer Gotham. The Novelisation reveals he was a former orphan who became a cult's assassin, a position he relished, before betraying them all and using their secrets to become a warlord. Likewise, despite his talents as a conqueror allowing him to enslave entire countries, he never stopped to actually build anything only being interested in preparing future conquests and abandoning his lands when holding them was no longer a challenge to him.
  • Command & Conquer:
    • Command & Conquer: Generals: Although mention is made of a GLA high command, in practice the GLA forces are a highly decentralized body that seems to be run by those with the largest militias, such as Prince Kassad, Dr. Thrax, and Rodall Juhziz. While a strong leader can band them together for a common cause, in the absence of such a figure they are just as likely to be fighting each other as the Americans or Chinese.
    • Command & Conquer: Tiberium: In the times that the Brotherhood of Nod is left without the leadership of Kane, it tends to break down into infighting with various generals each striving to claim leadership and taking their various factions off on their own if they can't. Kane has been known to use such individuals, such as Brother Marcion, as figureheads when he wants to rule behind the scenes.
  • Player characters in Conqueror's Blade are called warlords.
  • Fate/Grand Order:
    • Numerous historical warlords appear as summonable Servants throughout the game, including Alexander the Great and Atilla the Hun. The game pays a large amount of focus on Sengoku Period such as Nagao Kagetora and Oda Nobunaga, who sought to bring all of Japan under their control when they were alive, during the GUDAGUDA Events.
    • During the "GUDAGUDA Final Honnouji" event, the protagonist takes the role of a warlord who unites all of Japan under their rule in order to resolve a Singularity. Despite this, they retain their usual Nice Guy and All-Loving Hero attitude in how they treat their subjects and go about their conquest. They become wildly successful in this endeavor despite lacking the ruthlessness and ambition usually required for this trope, something that Nobbu is in disbelief over.
  • Final Fantasy XIV: The "Coeurlclaw King" is the leader of a band of Miqo'te poachers known as the Coeurlclaws who have constructed an entrenched fortress deep within the South Shroud. Following the Calamity, he built his power base by taking those cast out by Gridanian society under his wing, promising them safety and a better life. He then uses the loyalty he cultivates to war with the Wood Wailers and the Gods' Quiver over control of the Black Shroud, murdering all who oppose him with vicious zeal.
  • For Honor: The main antagonist of the game's campaign is Apollyon, the warlord of the Blackstone Legion. Under her leadership, the Blackstones were able to conquer Ashfield. While she admires the warriors of the other three factions, Apollyon is disgusted that they have chosen to stop fighting one another in favor of peace. She plans to start a new age of war by turning the three factions against each other once more and ushering in what she calls "the age of wolves", viewing those who are willing to fight as "wolves" who will fight for their survival and those who advocate for peace as "sheep" waiting to be slaughtered.
  • Mass Effect:
    • This seems to be how Krogan society operates: its leaders are those who are the best fighters and have the biggest forces. As one Krogan put it, on Tuchanka, one's territory is determined by the range of their guns. Before the genophage, a warlord could command millions of followers. Now they're lucky if they can get a thousand.
    • Aria operates as one on Omega. She came to power by ousting the previous boss and taking everything for herself. While ruthless as hell, she's fairly reasonable and willing to lend assistance, provided it has some benefit for her. Just don't try to screw her over.
  • The New Order: Last Days of Europe: Following the Nazi victory in WWII, Russia (save for the parts annexed into Germany) had become balkanized into a whole slew of petty warlords. Some of these warlords are ideologically driven — be it by fascism (e.g., Amur, Perm), communism (e.g., Buryatia, Tyumen), monarchy (e.g., Vyatka), liberalism (e.g., Komi, Tomsk), or what have you. Other warlord states (e.g., Zlatoust, Yurga, the Dirlewanger Brigade) are just brigands and criminals looking to take advantage of the chaos.
  • Nintendo Wars: The Beast, a former Rubinelle soldier, gains control of a substantial military force following the complete destruction of central governments by the meteors in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. He uses this force to raid the surviving settlements and is shown to be both mentally unstable and uncaring of civilian casualties.
  • Soul Series: Nightmare is the self-proclaimed king of the Malfested, people infected and corrupted by Soul Edge's energy, and for much of the series, he and his minions rampage across Eurasia while using Ostrheinsburg Castle as their base of operations.
  • Unreal: The Skaarj Warlord, which is just one position below their Queen, is very much implied to be one of these. Even the Queen somewhat fits the description, since Skaarj are a Proud Warrior Race and don't seem to have any sort of civil law.
  • Warcraft/World of Warcraft: In the absence of a strong warchief, such as in the aftermath of the Horde's defeat in Warcraft II, orcs tend to break down into bands or clans lead by various warlords. Even after Thrall reconstitutes the orcs into the new Horde, there are still outliers, most notably the Blackrock Clan and their leader Rend Blackhand, who believes himself to be the true warchief (though by the time of his defeat, he has been reduced to a pawn of the black dragon Nefarian).
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: Phillip Strenger, also known as "The Bloody Baron", was a former Temeranian soldier who deserted after surviving multiple traumatic battles. He formed an army out of his fellow deserters and used his military prowess to take over the region of Velen, dubbing himself the region's baron. He sells out to Nilfgaard, hoping for the Emperor to legitimize his claim and recognize him as a vassal (as it is impossible for the region to feasibly hold off the approaching armies).

    Web Original 
  • The Last Trumpet:
    • Several factionsnote  have their origins in the US military, being led by military officers and often flying flags inspired by their respective units. Some are more benevolent than others.
    • The Boston Clique, the Colorado Security Initiative, and the Maricopa Republic are police warlords, having their origins in police coups against local governments.

    Webcomics 
  • Girl Genius: Strong Sparks of common birth have a tendency to become these if they don't get killed by adventurers or their own creations. They're looked down upon by the Fifty Families who don't like to be reminded that their ancestors attained their titles the same way, it sounds too much like work. In particular Baron Wulfenbach, despite being born to a (very minor) noble family, is considered an illegitimate tyrant by most of the Families after conquering most of Europa.

    Western Animation 
  • The Legend of Korra: In the fourth season, Kuvira starts out as a military commander tasked with establishing order over the territory of the Earth Kingdom, who then decides that she'd just rather take all this military might at her disposal for herself from then on. There's a deviation from the implied standard in that she's a Visionary Villain rather than simply out for her own personal gain.
  • Redwall: Three of the series' villains — Cluny the Scourge, General Ironbeak, and Badrang the Tyrant — command armies that they lead to ravage and terrorize the lands they travel across while holding ambitions of conquest.
  • She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Hordak is assumed to be this by the inhabitants of Etheria, being the leader of a technologically-advanced army called the Horde, ruling over a wasteland called the Fright Zone, and seeking to conquer the rest of the planet by force. It's eventually revealed that Hordak is a defective clone of an even worse warlord called Horde Prime, to whom he still swears allegiance. When they reunite, Horde Prime — who has conquered most of the known universe by this point — accuses Hordak of trying to conquer Etheria for himself rather than in his progenitor's name and tries to mind-wipe him into being a loyal slave.
  • Spider-Man: The Animated Series: In the series' version of the Secret Wars, several heroes and villains are transported to another world by the Beyonder. He deliberately gives the villains a year to prepare, and when the heroes arrive they've essentially become warlords ruling over whatever territory they could seize. Doctor Octopus is forced to ally with Red Skull and Alistair Smythe when Doctor Doom manages to defeat him and take over his holdings.
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Hondo Ohnaka is a Space Pirate living on planet Florrum, whose gang has no allegiance toward either the Republic or the Separatists. On different occasions, he either captured or helped both the Jedi and the Sith, depending on what could bring him the most profit. At the end of the show (and continuing on Rebels where he is no longer a warlord) he proves to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
  • Voltron: Legendary Defender: After Zarkon's death, the Galra Empire begins to break apart into factions led by rival warlords as the various commanders who reject Lotor's leadership vie to fill the power vacuum. Sendak proves to be the longest-lasting and most dangerous of them, attempting to conquer Earth in revenge for the Paladins' having defeated him previously.

    Real Life 
  • China:
    • This was a problem for a long period after the end of the Dynasties and the fall of the Emperors; it was even called the Warlord Era, where the central government fought repeatedly with warlords who wouldn't pay their fees.
    • Three Kingdoms – Shu, Wei, Wu:
      • During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Han Empire was forced to empower various governors to raise military forces to put down the Yellow Turbans (where previously it was very careful not to permit such actions). In the aftermath of the rebellion, the Han central government was so weakened that it wasn't able to reestablish control over the more distant governors, effectively turning them into warlords who still claimed loyalty to the Han but otherwise did as they pleased.
      • When Dong Zhuo seized power in the imperial capital of Luoyang, several governors gathered military forces in an attempt to remove him. However, several of these governors were self-declared, as by that point the central government's power is so shaky that it wasn't able to properly appoint people to those positions. The self-declared governors' authority rested solely on the size of their armies.
      • After Dong Zhuo's assassination, the resulting Evil Power Vacuum resulted in various regional lords declaring themselves governors and the like, based on how many men they were able to gather for their cause. In the north, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao eventually became the last men standing and engaged in a decades-long conflict for control, while in the south Yuan Shu managed to carve out sizeable territory thanks to his young subordinate Sun Ce defeating several smaller warlords and taking over their land.
      • When Cao Cao took Emperor Xian into his care, he theoretically became The Dragon to the Emperor (taking the role of Prime Minister). However, he is still considered a warlord as by that point the Han Empire's authority was virtually non-existent and only backed by the forces at Cao's personal command.
      • The warlord era is considered ended when Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate, allowing him to declare himself the emperor of the state of Wei, followed by rival warlords Liu Bei declaring himself emperor of Han due to claiming descent from the imperial family note , and Sun Quan declaring himself emperor of Wu note .
    • The second notorious "Warlord Era" in China was during the post-Imperial Republic of China from 1916 to 1927, from the collapse of the regime of the unpopular Yuan Shikai until the "Northern Expedition" of 1927 when the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-Shek reunified the country through force of arms. Due to the weakness of the central government large parts of the country were under personal rule by military warlords of varying levels of competence and corruption. China effectively ceased to exist as a unified state during this time period.
  • Japan: While the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (i.e. the time when the likes of Oda Nobunaga were active) is the most famous, the Sengoku Period in general had numerous warlords fighting for territory with the central government being almost completely unable to prevent it. The reason Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu are known as the Unifiers is that it's under them that the various warlords were stamped out and the country finally reunited under one government again.
  • The collapse of the Western Roman Empire has traditionally been depicted as a time of warlord rule.
    • Alaric I led the Visigoths, a sub-group of the Goths who had been allowed to settle in the Empire in exchange for military service, to rebel against the Roman Empire and lay siege to Rome itself in 408 and again in 409.
    • Odoacer was a Roman general who deposed the last Western Emperor Romulus Augustulus and declared himself King of Italy in 476, only to be killed by the Ostrogothic chief Theodoric in 493.
    • Theodoric the Ostrogoth menaced the Eastern Roman Empire for decades before emperor Zeno struck a deal with him to go to Italy and depose the rebel king Odoacer. After conquering Italy he also seized the Visigothic kingdom in modern-day Spain, creating a short-lived empire that stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Atlantic.

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