Some men did not just win battles, they bent the course of history. This is a guide to the most influential military leaders and rulers ever to live, conquerors and empire-builders whose decisions still shape the world, each with the achievement that made their name and a link to their full story.
Cyrus the Great. Founder of the Persian Empire, the first great world empire, remembered for building a vast and relatively tolerant realm.
Alexander the Great. Conquered from Greece to India before he was thirty-three1, never lost a major battle, and spread Greek culture across the known world.
Hannibal. The Carthaginian genius who crossed the Alps and nearly destroyed Rome from within Italy; his Cannae is still studied today.
Scipio Africanus. The Roman who finally beat Hannibal at Zama in 202 BC, winning the Second Punic War2 and Rome's place as a superpower.
Julius Caesar. Conquered Gaul, crossed the Rubicon and made himself master of Rome3; his very name became a title for rulers.
Augustus. Rome's first emperor, who turned a shattered republic into an empire and began two centuries of Roman peace.
Belisarius. Justinian's great general, who won back North Africa and much of Italy3 and is remembered as the last of the Romans.
Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer. The soldier-emperor who broke Bulgaria and led the Byzantine Empire to its greatest medieval extent.
Saladin. United the Muslim Near East and retook Jerusalem from the Crusaders, admired even by his enemies.
Genghis Khan. Forged the largest contiguous land empire in history4 out of the steppe, from China to the gates of Europe.
Mehmed II the Conqueror. Took Constantinople in 1453 at twenty-one5, ending the Byzantine Empire and making the Ottomans a world power6.
Suleiman the Magnificent. Carried the Ottoman Empire to its golden age, from Mohacs to the walls of Vienna, and reformed its law.
George Washington. Led the American Revolution to victory and became the first president of the United States.
Napoleon Bonaparte. Rose from the Revolution to dominate Europe and reshape war, law and the state before his fall at Waterloo.
The Duke of Wellington. Won the Peninsular War in Spain and Portugal and finally beat Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815.
Conquerors and rulers who changed the world
Influence is not the same as tactical genius. Cyrus and Genghis Khan built empires that reshaped whole continents; Caesar and Augustus remade Rome; Napoleon and Washington left behind states and ideas that outlived them. Compare their battlefield skill in the greatest military commanders, or settle a debate in Napoleon vs Alexander.
Sources
Each leader above has a full biography on this site, with its own sources. Judgements of influence are ours and openly a matter of debate; the facts and dates follow established histories. See our editorial approach.