warlord

because of the sex-linked "lord," consider using military commander/leader, supreme military leader, militarist, warmonger, jingoist. Another caution is using the term fairly; Joan Steinau Lester (The Future of White Men and Other Diversity Dilemmas), says "Warlords? This is a term reserved exclusively for Asians and Africans abroad, and African-American or Latino gang leaders at home. Europeans in a similar feudal spot were 'lords of the manor'—or, if they were especially warlike, 'knights.'"