Top 5 Greatest Statesmen/Emperor/King/Queen/President in History

[vogtmurr]

The return to court and the audience with Tzimiskes, obviously.

It is worth noting too that such a story would necessarily have few corroborative witnesses, and wasn't exactly flattering to Tzimiskes. So the mere existence of it is pretty interesting

 

[Dodge_272]

Elizabeth (because she has Redcoats)

In Civ, yes, but in reality there were no "redcoats" until the new model army in 1645.

 

[Darf Spud]

5. Abraham Lincoln
4. Clement Atlee
3. Otto von Bismark
2. Theodore Roosevelt
1. Genghis Khan

 

[LightSpectra]

In terms of pure diplomatic and administrative skill, my picks would be Otto von Bismarck, Joseph Stalin, Octavian, the 1st Earl of Chatham and Duc de Richelieu in that order.

I've already discussed my criteria for "greatness" earlier in the thread.

 

[Civciv5]

I will try to revive this thread.
Men
1.Genghis Khan
2.Taizong of Tang
3.Alexander the Great
4.Augustus Caesar
5.Ashoka
Women
1.Catherine II
2.Wu Zetian
3.Tamar Bagrationi
4.Elizabeth I
5.Hatshepsut
If both are in one category than it would be the same as the men category.

 

[schlaufuchs]

I will try to revive this thread.
Men
1.Genghis Khan
2.Taizong of Tang
3.Alexander the Great
4.Augustus Caesar
5.Ashoka
Women
1.Catherine II
2.Wu Zetian
3.Tamar Bagrationi
4.Elizabeth I
5.Hatshepsut
If both are in one category than it would be the same as the men category.

lol Elizabeth I was a good queen. Good one.

 

[Civciv5]

lol Elizabeth I was a good queen. Good one.

It's not a joke.
I personally think that she was a good leader and she is described to be a good queen on many sites.

 

[LightSpectra]

I don't know what I'm more embarrassed by, my posts from 2010 or the fact that anybody could possibly think Wu Zetian was even a good leader (much less one of the best in her superlative).

EDIT: Oh hey, there's a post I still stand by:

Elizabeth almost ran her country into becoming a Spanish colony. The only thing that stopped it was impossibly catastrophic luck on Medina's part. She may have been a woman, but she was really a terrible monarch that left her kingdom in far worse shape than she found it.

I don't understand the obsession with Elizabeth. I guess it's because people just want to be gender inclusive on their lists, but why not Golda Meir? Maria Theresia? Hatshepsut? Isabella I of Castille? St. Jadwiga of Poland? Margaret Thatcher? Regent Blanche of France? Wilhelmina of the Netherlands?

 

[Huayna Capac357]

I don't know what I'm more embarrassed by, my posts from 2010 or the fact that anybody could possibly think Wu Zetian was even a good leader (much less one of the best in her superlative).

This. This is one of those threads that makes me wish I could delete all my posts before a certain date.

 

[Lord Baal]

Cue Dachs entering to talk about Eirene in 3,2,1....

EDIT: I didn't even look at my old posts in this thread. Now I'm worried about embarrassment.

 

[Ajidica]

Cue Dachs entering to talk about Eirene in 3,2,1....

EDIT: I didn't even look at my old posts in this thread. Now I'm worried about embarrassment.

As soon as I saw the list, the first thought that jumped into my head is "Where is Irene?".

Of course, my list would have to include the Empress Zoe. Norwich was rather entertaining when talking about her.

 

[TheLastOne36]

I'll give this a shot.

1. Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottomans
2. Jala-ud-din Akbar, Emperor of the Mughals
3. Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France
4. Aleksander Nevsky, Knyaz of Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal
5. Oda Nobunaga, Udaijin of Japan

5 is too little of a number. Honorable mentions goes to Babur, Emperor of the Mughals, Bela IV, King and second founder of Hungary, Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia.

That said, I think my top 5 is solid. I do regret however that I know next to nothing about Chinese history.

 

[Lord Baal]

Napoleon was truly a great Emperor. It takes a great deal of skill to be exiled and die in disgrace after bankrupting your nation and leading to its military occupation by foreign powers.

 

[Dachs]

Cue Dachs entering to talk about Eirene in 3,2,1....

EDIT: I didn't even look at my old posts in this thread. Now I'm worried about embarrassment.

As soon as I saw the list, the first thought that jumped into my head is "Where is Irene?".

Here, here, and here. Still stand by it, except for the reference to her as an "Emperor".

I didn't make a standard list because that stuff's kinda stupid.

Of course, my list would have to include the Empress Zoe. Norwich was rather entertaining when talking about her.

you might as well read Gibbon, who has roughly the same relation to modern historical consensus as Norwich but provides much much more information

 

[Louis XXIV]

Well, my post in this thread was vacuous (Charlemagne good, Alexander not so good). I guess I kinda stand by it, though.

 

[schlaufuchs]

It's not a joke.
I personally think that she was a good leader and she is described to be a good queen on many sites.

Well I won't go into it at the moment because...inebriation, but she was a pretty terrible queen, arguably the worst of the Tudors (although let's be honest, lolHenryVIII). I'll explain more tomorrow maybe when I'm not working.

 

[Ajidica]

you might as well read Gibbon, who has roughly the same relation to modern historical consensus as Norwich but provides much much more information

Eh, Gibbon didn't seem as colorful as Norwhich. Besides, I've moved past my Byzantine phase and onto the Soviets.

 

[Yui108]

Napoleon was truly a great Emperor. It takes a great deal of Achilles-like hubris and insatiable glory-lust sufficient to overcome one's incredible talents to be exiled and die in disgrace after bankrupting your nation and leading to its military occupation by foreign powers.

bolded italics mine

 

[Dachs]

Eh, Gibbon didn't seem as colorful as Norwhich. Besides, I've moved past my Byzantine phase and onto the Soviets.

point was that you might want to find a historian who actually understands the concept of secondary literature

 

[Civciv5]

I don't know what I'm more embarrassed by, my posts from 2010 or the fact that anybody could possibly think Wu Zetian was even a good leader (much less one of the best in her superlative).

This is the typical reaction from someone who is bad informed or doesn't know Wu Zetian very good.
Wu Zetian is one of the most remarkable persons in history and a great woman.
Her first achievement is becoming Empress regnant of China,which was completely not permitted by the constitution.
And she reigned de facto for a long time.
Other achievements of Wu Zetian

Spoiler Achievements of Wu Zetian :

She reconquered some territories that Taizong conquered and were lost.
She provided better equality
She was great at administration,she appointed people by looking at their talents and not by social status.
She built many temples and pagodas.
She was fair to the lower classes and lowered taxes.
She reduced the size of the army,which saved lots of money.
She did a lot of great things,but she was cruel,yes,but those who want to achieve greatness must sometimes do cruel things.
She was incorrupt,intelligent,ambitious and prescient
She improved agriculture and placed a lot of importance it.
The empire prospered and there was peace.
She managed to hold the empire unified and stop rebellions(if there were any),while much emperors destroyed themselves and China
She helped spreading Buddhism

Along with many other achievements.
She was vilified by Chinese historians simply because she was a woman.
Yes,she was cruel,but she was a good leader,Qin Shi Huang was more cruel than her along with other leaders in history.She totally deserves the title of "The Great".