10. Suleiman the Magnificent
Born: April 27, 1494
Died: September 5/6, 1566
Position: Tenth and Longest Reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Nationality: Turkish
Bio: Suleiman is not very well known to us Americans because at the time of Suleiman's rule, America was being discovered. Under the rule of Suleiman, the Ottoman Empire expanded to twice its former size, taking much of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. At its height, the Ottoman Empire was thought unstoppable. They had massive Great Bombards, which had taken the City of Constantinople, and brought the Byzantine Empire, the remnants of the Roman Empire down with it. Unfortunately, Suleiman had expanded too fast, and was facing economic problems.
9. Owain Glyndwr
Born: 1354 (Possibly 1359)
Died: Uncertain, but was last seen in 1412
Position: Last Welsh Prince of Wales; Leader of the Welsh Revolt
Nationality: Welsh
Bio: Once again, Glyndwr is not very well known to Americans. Or at least, that's what it is at first glance. Glyndwr penetrated far into both Welsh and English culture. Shakespeare even made Glyndwr a character in his play Henry IV as Owen Glendower.
Glyndwr was a great strategist. Before his coronation, Glyndwr served in the English military, which would become very useful when he led the revolt against England in 1400. Come 1400, Glyndwr revolted against English rule, using their tactics against them. Glyndwr won every one of the battles against the English. That is, until the English adopted a new strategy.
The new strategy was economic blockade. It worked very well and turned the tables on the Welsh. Slowly, the rebellion faded. Glyndwr was last seen in 1412. Since then, the Welsh have revered him as the only man willing to stand up to foreign occupation of Wales, and say that when Wales is threatened again, he will rise from his unknown grave and lead the Welsh opposition. Glyndwr was voted 23rd in a list of the 100 greatest Britons. The Welsh are petitioning to make September 16th a national holiday, the day that Glyndwr declared revolution. Just this year, Glyndwr University was established in honor of him. Glyndwr truly was a great leader, and holds a special place in the hearts of both English and Welsh alike.
8. Constantine I
Died: May 22, 337
Position: Emperor of Rome; First Emperor of Byzantine Empire
Nationality: Roman
Bio: Unlike the last two people, Constantine is fairly well known, as both an idiot and a genius. Despite what Constantine did, his accomplishments, whether they be smart ones or not, set the stage for future conquerors.
Constantine’s first notable achievement is making Christianity an official religion of the declining Roman Empire. An excellent idea at first sight, but a painfully obvious one too. To adopt Christianity after opposing it was stupid and foolish. Ironically, Rome is now home to the Vatican City, the center of Catholic religion.
A few years later Constantine proved his stupidity. He relocated the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium, and renamed the city Constantinople. Moving the capital of the Roman Empire after centuries was the stupidest possible thing he could have done socially. Strategically, Byzantium was a great decision. Although relocating the capital sped up the steady decline of the Romans, it helped to preserve the Roman Empire for another good millennium. By relocating the capital, Constantine had created the Byzantine Empire, who would later reacquire almost everything the Romans had lost, only to be destroyed by Suleiman.
7. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Born: October 14, 1890
Died: March 28, 1969
Position: Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces
Nationality: American
Bio: Although Eisenhower is known for many accomplishments, he is announced here solely for his military career.
Eisenhower is probably most well-known for Operation Overlord, the Allied taking of northwest Europe. All in all, Eisenhower truly was a great leader, and rightly deserves to be on this list.
Born: December 18, 1878
Died: March 5, 1953
Position: General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR
Nationality: Russian
Bio: Another World War II leader, Stalin has also proved himself to be a great leader, whether it come to military, politics, or social relations. Stalin was a very powerful man, becoming dictator of the then small Soviet Union and making some of the largest and most decisive decisions in World War II.
Stalin’s rise to power was not immediate as others, for he was exiled to Siberia as an adult, returning to Russia to work his way slowly up the political tree of the Soviet Union.
Stalin, in a way, was responsible for starting the war, for the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the nonaggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, cleared the way for Hitler’s invasion of Poland, which in many ways started the war. This was an excellent strategic decision, for Stalin later claimed that war with Hitler would be inevitable, and that the pact would buy him the time needed to reinforce the Soviet military. The pact did give Stalin what he and the world needed.
Come 1940, Hitler broke the pact, seeing the Soviet troops on the Finnish border. Once again, Stalin had proved himself to be a strategic genius. By provoking Hitler into war, he had hurt the morale of the Nazis and forced Hitler into a two-fronted war. If Hitler had broken a pact with the Soviets, who was to say his people wouldn’t receive the same treatment?
Hitler, however, prolonged his invasion of Russia too long, and attacked Moscow in winter, one of the events that led to the end of World War II. From there, Stalin led the Soviets to victory against the Nazis, establishing the Soviets as one of three superpowers.
5. Napoleon Bonaparte
Born: August 15, 1769
Died: May 5, 1821
Position: Emperor of France
Nationality: French
Bio: Unlike other leaders, Napoleon did not receive his position as Emperor of France through hard work and dedication, nut through cunning and deceit.
Napoleon first signed into the military, becoming so good of a strategist, that he was a general a mere thirteen years after becoming ensign, and led the French in an invasion of Egypt shortly after forcing the Italian surrender by taking Venice. Receiving word of French defeats in the War of the Second Coalition, Napoleon fled to France, and seized control. From there, Napoleon led the French to many victories and defeats, and was eventually exiled to Saint Helena.
4. Julius Caesar
Born: July 12, 100 BC
Died: March 15, 44 BC
Position: Dictator of the Roman Republic
Nationality: Roman
Bio: Born to a patrician family who was believed to be descended from Venus, Caesar laid the foundation for the Roman Empire, and is ranked by historians as one of the best strategic leaders in history.
Perhaps what made Caesar so deadly was his ability to maneuver strategically on almost any form of land and in any weather and the invention of the Caesar Cipher. Without him, it is unlikely Rome would ever have won independence and become a great empire.
3. Alexander the Great
Born: July 20, 356 BC
Died: June 10, 323 BC
Position: General of Macedonia
Nationality: Macedonian
Bio: The oldest leader on this list, Alexander saw to the fall of many empires, most of which were his doing or his allies.
Taught by Aristotle, who had been taught by Plato, and in turn Socrates, Alexander’s past was vital to his future as a conqueror. When he realized that a horse, previously deemed to wild to be ridden, was afraid of its shadow, Alexander turned him to the sun and rode the horse effortlessly. His father, Philips II, told him “My boy, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Macedonia is too small for you.”
In later years, Alexander began to regret his father’s victories, saying that the more he inherited, the less he could take for himself. Then one year, after his father’s marriage to his fifth wife, Alexander blew his top when his new stepmother’s uncle said that the marriage would hopefully result in a worthy heir to the throne, when in fact, Alexander was the only current heir. Alexander, furious, left Macedonia
Years later, Alexander returned to Macedonia. His father, planning an assault on the Greeks, gave Alexander control of half of his army for the attack on Athens. Not long after victory, Philips was assassinated, some say with the planning on Alexander’s part. The army proclaimed Alexander king and finished the Greek campaign under his rule.
From there, Alexander went on to take the entire world known to the Greeks, never losing a single battle in the twelve years he expanded his empire. When he died, his empire fell into chaos, and the Romans rose to claim the throne.
2. Adolf Hitler
Born: April 20, 1889
Died: April 30, 1945
Position: Dictator of Germany
Nationality: Austrian
Bio: The Nazi party leader of Germany in World War II, Hitler is still remembered today as one of the greatest generals of all time.
Most of us don’t think of Hitler’s family when we referenced him. Most of us think of him as a monster, never thinking he actually cared for anything or anyone. Hitler was the fourth child of six. His father was an illegitimate child and had born his mother’s surname, Schicklgruber for 39 years. Come 1876, he took his stepfather’s name and called himself Hitler. He then fathered Hitler, who was born in Austria and lived there most of his childhood.
During World War I, Hitler served in France and Belgium in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment. During this war, he developed an admiration of the Germans, and became a German patriot. It wasn’t until 1932 that he became a German citizen.
After being inducted as a citizen, Hitler pursued the creation of the Nazi party, and landed himself in jail for it. After his jailing, Hitler continued to form the Nazi party, and eventually succeeded. Then came the Holocaust, bringing with it World War.
Hitler unwaveringly led his troops to war, winning many battles, but losing many more after his unsuccessful invasion of Russia. Seeing defeat was inevitable, Hitler committed suicide, his plan failed.
1. Temujin
Born: 1162
Died: 1227
Position: Khan of the Mongols
Nationality: Mongolian
Bio: Almost everyone has heard of the great Temujin. They are simply more familiar with the name he earned for himself: Genghis Khan.
Genghis was by far the best leader mankind has ever known. Though it took nearly forty years, Genghis united the nomadic tribes of Mongolia, and led to victory after victory for his short reign of twenty-one years.
In the year 1206, Genghis had been crowned Khan of the Mongols, and begun his military conquest, which would eventually lead to the creation of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire ever established and the second largest empire ever, second only to the British Empire. By the end of his life, Genghis had expanded Mongolian territory to hold all that is now called Mongolia, Kazakstan, Krygyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kashmir, Tajikistan, the northeast tip of Iran, the north half of Afghanistan, the north half of Pakistan, the north half of China, and finally the southeast fourth of Russia. The Mongols continued to conquer even long after Genghis was dead; at their height of power, the Mongols held Mongolia, Kazakstan, Krygyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kashmir, Tajikistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Iraq, Armenia, Baku, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, the east half of Romania and finally the south half of Russia.
As can clearly be seen, all of these leaders were astonishing, setting the stage for the future, and are still remembered today as some of the greatest warriors of all time.
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