despot vs ruler

despot

noun
  • A ruler with absolute power; a tyrant. 

  • A title awarded to senior members of the imperial family in the late Byzantine Empire, and claimed by various independent or semi-autonomous rulers in the Balkans (12th to 15th centuries) 

ruler

noun
  • A person who rules or governs; someone or something that exercises dominion or controlling power over others. 

  • A (usually rigid), flat, rectangular measuring or drawing device with graduations in units of measurement; a straightedge with markings. 

verb
  • To beat with a ruler (as a traditional school punishment). 

How often have the words despot and ruler occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )