I love history, been a buff since I was 13 and never looked back. I was wondering if there are any other history fans here and what are y'all's favorite historical figures?
Edward l, King of England:
“We shall defeat them all in one go!”
Ed l was a conqueror through and through. He honed his skills in the second barons war and fought in the 8th crusade (wasn't a successful crusade but still). The hammer of the scots conquered wales and set his sights on Scotland, even once managing to make himself lord paramount over the scottish throne and its king, John Balliol. He treated King John and Scotland less than well, taking resources and demanding troops as he saw fit. After John Balliol finally revolted he was quickly crushed by Edward and forced to abdicate the throne, putting Scotland under English rule. From that sprung multiple rebellions, most famous and successful being William Wallace's. He died of dysentery having failed to keep the Scots under English rule and see the current king of Scots, Robert the Bruce, dead.
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Peter the Great, Tsar/emperor of Russia:
“Soldiers' bellies are not satisfied with empty promises and hopes.”
An Anti-traditionalist ruling over a land steeped in a love and respect of the old ways. It is unknown exactly why Peter hated Russian Traditionalism, we can however guess that an incident that took place when he was ten was a big part of his reasoning. The Streltsy (An elite force of guardsmen that protected the Tsar) revolted when the ten year-old Peter was named Tsar instead of his half-brother (Ivan V) who stood next in line as he was older and the last son of Tsar Alexis l and Alexis’ first wife (Maria). Ivan was sickly and had mental disabilities so Peter was pushed forward. The Streltsy were convinced that the nobles had murdered Ivan so they stormed Kremlin and demanded to see that Ivan was safe. The brothers were then brought before the guardsmen, showing them that both boys were fine and safe. With that, Ivan and Peter were declared Co-Tsars with Peter’s mother as regent. Something however snapped in the Streltsy and they went on a killing spree, tossing nobles and servants off of the castle walls and the guards below literally catching them on their spears as they fell.
Peter grew a fascination with western warfare, a fascination that eventually turned into an obsession with the west in general. He brought teachers from the west to teach him in matters of war and state, Peter even played war games as a child with a group of noble children and servants that later turned into his personal army. When Peter was a teenager he managed to displace his mother as regent, rising fully to the position of Tsar. While Ivan remained Co-Tsar in title, he otherwise had no power. Peter quickly worked westernize both the military and later worked to turn Russian culture as a whole more western.
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Julius Caesar - General - Consul - Dictator:
“Many of you wished me dead. Many of you perhaps still do. But I hold no grudges and seek no revenge. I demand only this...that you join with me in building a new Rome, a Rome that offers justice, peace and land to all its citizens, not just the privileged few. Support me in this task, and old divisions will be forgotten. Oppose me, and Rome will not forgive you a second time. Senators, the war is over.”
“Without training, they lacked knowledge. Without knowledge, they lacked confidence. Without confidence, they lacked victory.”
I think we can all accept that Caesar was the roman god of quotes.
When making a list of one’s favorite historical figures, it is almost impossible to not put at least one Roman at the table. Julius Caesar is a popular choice, but that is entirely for good reason. One of if not the most famous men in history; Julius had it all. He was good looking, quick witted, cunning, and a man that earned the full support of not only the swords that served under him, but the entirety of italia. For he didn’t just wear the boot of italy, he was that boot; a boot that crushed anyone that was foolish enough to rise against him. Even from a young age he was very intelligent, famously when he was 25 he was captured by pirates. He felt insulted at the “low” ransome and demanded the pirates raise it, after he was freed he lead an attack against them, taking his coin back and crucifying those he captured… he was however nice enough to have their throats slit before having them nailed to some sticks. He greatly expanded the roman republic, his biggest accomplishments being Gaul and large parts of egypt.
The main force that lead to the republic’s fall and turning rome into a empire, Caesar is a man to never be forgotten.
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Ulysses S. Grant - General - President of the United States: Ulysses was a good man and a great general… but he was easily one of the worst presidents in U.S. History. While his intentions were good as he genuinely believed in equality between whites and blacks, he simply lacked the skill to do really any good, things actually turning out worse for african americans after his terms. He was very much against imperialism and the idea of manifest destiny, seeing for example the mexican-american war as disgusting and deeply regretted his involvement in it.
Topic: Favorite Historical figures (Read 1190 times)