Top 10 Ancient Leaders Of All Time
Alexander The GreatAlexander the Great, King of Macedon from 336 - 323 B.C., may claim the title of the greatest military leader the world has ever known. His empire spread from Gibraltar to the Punjab, and he made Greek the lingua franca of his world.
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Alaric The VisigothThe Visigoth king Alaric was told he would conquer Rome, but his troops treated the imperial capital with notable tenderness—they spared Christian churches, thousands of souls who sought refuge therein, and burned relatively few buildings. His demands of the Senate included freedom for 40,000 Gothic slaves.
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Julius CaesarJulius Caesar not only led the army and won many battles, but he wrote about his military adventures. It's from his description of the wars of the Romans against the Gauls (in modern France) that we get the familiar line "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres": "All Gaul is divided into three parts," which Caesar proceeded to conquer.
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Scipio AfricanusScipio Africanus was the Roman commander who defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in the Second Punic War via tactics he'd learned from the enemy. Since Scipio's victory was in Africa, following his triumph he was allowed to take the agnomenAfricanus. He later received the name Asiaticus when serving under his brother Lucius Cornelius Scipio against Antiochus III of Syria in the Seleucid War.
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Sun TzuSun Tzu's guide to military strategy, philosophy and martial arts, The Art of War, has been popular ever since its writing in the 5th century B.C., in ancient China. Famed for transforming a company of the king's concubines into a fighting force, Sun Tzu's leadership skills are the envy of generals and executives alike.
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MariusMarius needed more troops, so he instituted policies that changed the complexion of the Roman army, and most armies thereafter. Instead of requiring a minimum property qualification of his soldiers, Marius recruited poor soldiers with promises of pay and land. To serve as military leader against Rome's enemies, Marius was elected consul a record-breaking seven times.
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TrajanThe Roman Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan. A solidier who became emperor, Trajan spent most of his life involved in campaigns. Trajan's major wars as emperor were against the Dacians, in 106, which vastly increased the Roman imperial coffers, and against the Parthians, beginning in 113.
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