Who's your favourite person, from throughout the history of the world, and why? :book:
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Who's your favourite person, from throughout the history of the world, and why? :book:
Zhuge Liang. The only one who reaches near him is Alexander, and all others below them are very far away. While Alexander was an incredibly successful general, I find Zhuge Liang incredibly more complete. He dominated the Art of War, crushed his enemies numerous times against the odds, was a through diplomat, an inventor, a philosopher, an orator. A master of warfare, politics and astrology. He was brilliant in every way. Noone can match him, noone can reach him.
Andrew Jackson. The epitome of America
Hannibal Barca. He may not have been up there with Alexander for Grand Strategy but in my humble opinion the best tactical general that has ever lived. Unfortunately, Hannibal the man is somewhat of a mystery as the only information we have of him comes from his enemies, the Romans.
Zhuge Liang's abilities was highly exaggerated in the novel, but everything you said about him was true to some extend, the guy was quite a poet as well. I would like to nominate Kangxi Emperor of China, possibly one of the greatest ruler the world has known.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jolt
I base myself on not solely on the Romance. Thus why I linked to his "historical" biography, not the Romance one. I also read his Art of War, which in my opinion, is quite superior to that of Sun Tzu.Quote:
Originally Posted by Quintus.JC
I certainly, do not believe he called the South-East winds. >_>
That was just a lucky Zhou Yu, knowing a fisherman who was his friend and the fisherman told him the South-East winds would arrive in a number of days.
Julius Caesar. The man was a living god.
Emperor Napoleon I. Few other people have had an entire period of human history named after them.
Ceasar and Napoleon, only for the fact that they ended democracy to supposedly protect it.
Add to that the fact they were good generals, orators and politicians, as well as overly megalomaniacs, and here you are, you have the most interesting historical figures ever.
Alexander, Caesar and Napoleon.
Let’s debate this one. I know he is your choice and you are welcome to it, but Old Hickory was not exactly a role model for American Youth!Quote:
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
He was vengeful, conniving, underhanded, & brutal! And those could be said to be his good points.
His political excesses were legendary. It was by his urging that the Indian Removal Act was passed and the few good things we think of him doing were all out of selfish motivation…
Are you sure you don’t like Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson just a bit more?
Or Teddy, I mean the man gave a speech after getting shot without any medical attention!Quote:
Originally Posted by Fisherking
Course Jackson did wait for a man to shoot at a duel, get shot, and then shoot the man dead though his gun malfunctioned on his first pull of the trigger and he had to squeeze it again...
I don't even know how he got the winds, wasn't he supposed to be really good at astrology and deduced that the wind was going to come, like a human weather machine or something like that? Or was it really the fisherman.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jolt
It was really a fisherman. He told Zhou Yu that there would be the South-Eastern winds at a certain day. Zhuge Liang, had nothing to do with the event. Same goes for the recieving arrows incident. That was Sun Quan's orders to attack during the fog.
Socrates.
I only thought that perhaps Lone Stare or Perl had confused him into thinking Andy was Tom…Quote:
Originally Posted by Uesugi Kenshin
Strike may not find Teddy as appealing but instead of Andy Jackson I could offer up another Tennessean, ol’ Sam Huston might not be as bad a choice, though the both of them likely owe more to Tennessee Whisky than Tennessee Breeding.
Zhuge Liang just became less god-like then he had been. :no:Quote:
Originally Posted by Jolt
Chinggis Kha(a)n.
EDIT: close second is Siddharta Gautama
To be fair, unless he was an metereologist, he would hardly know how fogs and winds appeared and vanished. The fisherman must of had a life long experience for him to know the wind patterns of the river, still that doesn't deny the fact that he was the best strategist ever.Quote:
Originally Posted by Quintus.JC
Likewise, Liu Bei is depicted in the Romance as the most virtuous and kind of all people, though in reality he was much more 'grey'. For instance, it was Liu Bei himself who ordered the beating of Cao Xing which led to the attack of Lu Bu. The Romance also has Liu Bei look like a weak or mediocre general, while in reality he was far more able in commanding armies than in the Romance.
I mean Andrew Jackson. The man ushered in universal suffrage he was the first "president of the people" He was an arrogant person but such was the nature of early presidents. Adams Jefferson and Adams Jr. were all more wrapped up in themselves more so than Jackson.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fisherking
He fought his whole life for the ideal of an America were everyone had a voice. I also like a man who walked the walk as it were he wasn't afirad to back down from a fight and all good leaders need to be able to stand there ground. He also was very principled, stuck to his guns I can respect that.
He also was a loving caring gentleman who adopted an Indian boy. The man came from nothing into everything due to his sheer will.
My heros in American history are not guys like Washington or Hamilton or even FDR. I like guys like Jackson or Patton. Men who instead of finding ways around the wall in front of them went right through it.
Stonewall was a very good general (maybe better than Lee) but not much more.
All I think of that man when I hear the name is the Indian Removal act (Not that I dont know his other history, not in-depth though). Forcing native americans to go from their ancestral homelands to Oklahoma. All the while doing it in nazi fashion, being overly cruel on the long march there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
Oklahoma, you ever been there? I grew up there. Not a fun place to be.
I never said the man was perfect but what he did for voters and the democratic process outweighs what he did to the Indians.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooks
I have never been to Oklahoma but with good reason, I'm from Texas.
Is that the same guy that used to be a general and commanded American army at New Orleans in the war with UK?
You mean like ignoring the supreme court, his handling of the nulification crisis and the spoils system?Quote:
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
The spoils system is a pretty weak argument. Every president does that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Winter
What did he do about nullification. I know he didn't agree with SC what did he do wrong?
True, but he was the start of it on a larger and offical scale.
As for nullification, he threatened to use force, and alienated the South, starting (among other factors) the build up to the civil war.
Debatable considering perviously the same guys were running the show.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Winter
If we had a weak willed president the country could have very well split in two right then. While I am a proponent of states rights. A divided union would've probably stayed that way.
My namesake, of course, Ramses II of Egypt. One of the longest reigning king/emperors in history. Personally led troops to victory in battle. Signed the first peace treaty in recorded history. Fathered about one hundred legitimate heirs. Survived to age 90 in an era when 35 was the typical lifespan. Effectively declared himself a god while still living, and was believed in so firmly that by some accounts his subjects were convinced the world would end when he died.
His success was so great that those who followed him tore down his monuments and tried to erase his memory because they could not match his accomplishments. Failing that, they took his name and claimed his deeds for their own. That despite this his name and some small part of his great works still echo down through more than three thousand years of human civilization bears witness to his might.
Look on his works, ye mighty, and despair. (With apologies to Shelley :laugh4:)
:egypt:
I agree with Strike that Andrew Jackson was awesome, but I have to note that the spoils system was removed after Garfield's assassination.Quote:
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
There are ways around those pesky laws. We see it today. It's just not as pronounced.Quote:
Originally Posted by a completely inoffensive name