Attila the Hun

Attila, ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453, showed off his machismo in the only way many men know. He fought. And fought.

If he won, he fought somebody else. If he lost, he regrouped and tried again. His reign consisted of nearly two decades of almost unbroken campaigning, attacking the eastern and western Roman empires, the Balkans, the city of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), France and Italy itself. He sacked numerous cities and killed many thousands of men, and was hugely feared wherever he roamed.

And then legend has it that he died in the least macho way possible, from a nosebleed.

So there are 10 macho leaders, men whose penchant for sex, violence or - like Putin - simple manly posturing mark them out from the crowd.