Some of the most famous people in history are those who are considered great warriors , often (but not always) well known for a specific battle. Here are ten of the greatest and most famous warriors in chronological order.
1. Leonidas I of Sparta (c540-480 BC, reign 489-480 BC)
Also a hero-king of Sparta in ancient Greece, Leonidas I, known as Leonidas the Brave, was the seventeenth king of Sparta from the Agiad line and believed to be a direct descendant of Heracles – at least that’s how they explained his tremendous strength and bravery! He is best known for leading the combined armies of the confederation of Greek city-states of around 7,000 men against the second invasion of the Persians in 480 BC A week earlier they were betrayed by a local and defeated when the Persians outflanked them. Leonidas sent most of his army away and led the rest, some 1,500 men, to guard the rear in one of history’s great “last stands”. Leonidas and most of the remaining Greeks were killed, but they managed allow the rest of the army to escape. The following year, the Greeks counterattacked the Persians at the Battle of Plataea, ending their invasive tendencies once and for all. At least then.
2. Alexander the Great (356-323 BC, reign 336-323 BC)
Alexander III From Macedonia ruled its antiquity For thirteen years, the Greek state of Macedonia built one of the greatest, if short-lived, empires of antiquity and was one of the most successful military leaders in history, remaining undefeated in battle. He had some advantages that probably helped him get started – he was tutored by Aristotle as a child, which no doubt gave him exceptional thinking skills, and he inherited from his father an already strong kingdom with a very experienced army in place. Unfortunately, after his death, his empire was once again torn by civil wars that ended in a series of states ruled by the various surviving generals and Alexander’s heirs. However, Alexander’s legacy lives on – about 20 cities he founded bore his name, especially Alexandria in Egypt; Much of Hellenistic civilization arose from the spread of Greek culture to the east, and its tactics are still taught in military academies around the world.
3. Hannibal Barca (247-183 / 2 BC)
Widely regarded as one of the greatest militaries, the Carthaginian leader Hannibal was best known for leading an elephant-led army across the Pyrenees and Alps from Iberia to Italy at the start of the Second Punic War and during the 15 years he spent the greatest Occupying part of the country, many converted allies of Rome sided with him, demonstrating his ability to determine strengths and weaknesses on either side of a battle and aligning the battle with his own strengths and his opponents’ weaknesses. He was eventually defeated by Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama – because Scipio had studied Hannibal’s tactics and used them against him! After the war, Hannibal entered politics, but the reforms he implemented
4. Spartacus (c 109-71 BC)
Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator, was one of five slave leaders who led the rebellion in the Third Servile War against the Roman Republic. Although details of his life are sketchy and the surviving records are often contradictory, everyone agrees that he was (1) a former gladiator and (2) an exceptional military leader. Most agree that he fought as a Roman soldier, but after falling from grace (perhaps because he was abandoned) he was made a slave and sent as a gladiator, although some believe he may have been on the fought on the other side and was taken prisoner…at that time he planned an escape with some other slaves and, although the plot was betrayed, managed to escape, build an army and wage war against his former captors. His story has obviously captured the imagination of many storytellers over the years, leading to many films, books, etc., but he and his peers have been portrayed as more altruistic than they actually were! According to the records available, they committed a lot of atrocities themselves during the course of the fighting, and they never claimed to end slavery altogether…it was just their own freedom they wanted.
5. Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BC, reign 49-44 BC)
Known as Julius Caesar (both his father and grandfather were actually also named Gaius Julius Caesar), this great Roman emperor was much more than just a military dictator who had an affair with Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra. Among other things, he was a great statesman who centralized the bureaucracy of his government and instituted the Julian calendar, which was based on the Gregorian calendar we use today, and a notable author in the field of Latin prose. Unfortunately, of course, he never really resolved the political conflicts around him (he pardoned his enemies rather than getting rid of them – apparently not a good idea in hindsight) and as a result of things getting so hot under the collar ‘that he was assassinated , around 60 people attended and he was stabbed 23 times. Interestingly, most reports say he didn’t say anything when it happened. Some claim he has “You too, kid?” (In Greek) said – but neither claims anything about Brutus. It is believed that Shakespeare immortalized this phrase in his play simply because the phrase was popular when writing it!
6. Attila the Hun (? -453, reign 434-453)
Attila the Hun ruled the Huns from 434 until his death in 453 and was one of the most feared enemies of both the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. In Attila’s time, his Hunnic empire stretched from the Rhine to the Urals and from the Danube to the Baltic Sea. A bane on the existence of the Roman Empire, he twice crossed the Danube to plunder the Balkans, crossed the Rhine to invade Gaul (modern-day France) and ravaged the northern provinces of Italy. with the first he was defeated in Constantinople, the second in Aurelianum (now Orléans) and the third in Rome. The Romans were probably quite relieved that he died before he could retry any of the other campaigns he had planned!
7. Saladin (1137/8-1193, reign 1174-1193)
Salah ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb, known as Saladin, was the founder of his Ayyubid dynasty and the first Sultan of Syria and Egypt. A Kurdish Muslim who led the Muslim armies victoriously against the European crusaders, his empire at its height encompassed much of North Africa and part of the Middle East. Born commoner, he worked his way up the government through military successes (aided by knowledge of Caliph al-Adid). He became vizier and took over the government after the caliph’s death in 1171. At the same time, he personally directed major military campaigns that led to his being declared “Sultan of Egypt and Syria” in 1175. His chivalrous and noble demeanor earned the respect even of the Christian Crusaders, to whom he was hostile,
8. Richard the Lionheart (1157-1199, reign 1189-1199)
For ten years King of England, Richard I, known as the Lionheart, they also ruled the Normans, Aquitaine, Gascony, Cyprus, Anjou, Maine, Nantes and Brittany at different times. From the age of sixteen he led his own army, crushing rebellions for his father and becoming the main Christian leader of the Third Crusade (against Saladin, see above). He was a pious hero who lived mainly in his duchy in Aquitaine, France, using his kingdom only as a source of money for his armies. He is one of the few English kings to be remembered for a nickname rather than his number!
9. Genghis Khan (~ 1162-127, reign 1206-1227)
Genghis Khan was actually his title, not his name – he was born in Temujin – and founded the Mongol Empire, later to become the largest empire ever known. He began by uniting many nomadic tribes in Northeast Asia and then conquered most of Eurasia, often aided by his habit of massacring the wholesale trade of the local population. His sons and other descendants continued what he had started, often including massacres, giving his empire a savage reputation. It is believed that due to the size of his harem (about 2,000 to 3,000 wives) and the fact that his sons had harems similar to those of the rulers of their own kingdom,
10. William Wallace (1270-1305)
Sir William Wallace was a landowner in Scotland who became the Guardian of Scotland and a great leader in the Scottish Wars of Independence. He and Andrew Moray defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 and continued to lead Scottish armies against the English until he was captured at Robroyston (near Glasgow) in 1305 and hanged, drawn and hung by King Edward I in England ‘High Treason’ was quartered. He has since become an icon, starring in an epic poem (‘The Wallace’ by Blind Harry, 15th Century), two works of literature (by Sir Walter Scott and Jane Porter) and the Oscar-winning 1995 film Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson contains – in a painted blue face!
Interesting – all ten famous warriors above are from before the fourteenth century! That wasn’t really intentional, but maybe it says something about how life was in the Middle Ages and earlier compared to modern times…