the.com/warlord
A man who turned a power vacuum into a personal real estate empire.
means A military strongman who rules territory by force rather than law, usually amid a collapsed or absent central government.
from English compound born in the 1850s, but Thomas Carlyle popularized it; later pinned hard onto China's fractured 1916-1928 generals.
China's eraPost-1916 China splintered among hundreds of rival generals.
Power sourceLoyal private army, not any legitimate office.
Modern usageCommon shorthand in failed-state conflict reporting today.