Category Ancient World\’s Commanders

                Saladin was a famous military hero. His real name was Salah al Din Yusuf. He was Kurdish, hailing from Tikrit in Northern Iraq. He came to Egypt in 1168 as an assistant to his uncle, who was a general. After Saladin’s uncle died the next year, Saladin took power. In the late 12th century, he succeeded in uniting various parts of the Middle East and Mesopotamia, and in overtaking the Christian armies of the early crusades through a combination of shrewd diplomacy and decisive action. In 1187, Saladin recaptured Jerusalem at the Battle of Hattin. When his soldiers entered the city of Jerusalem, they were not allowed to kill civilians, rob people, or damage the city.

                 Saladin’s capture of Jerusalem prompted King Richard to launch the Third Crusade. Though he came close, Jerusalem eluded Richard. After a year’s stalemate, Richard made a truce with Saladin, and started his journey home. In 1193, Saladin died in Damascus. Saladin had earned himself a remarkable place in history.

         Enrico Dandolo was the Doge, or elected chief magistrate of the former republic of Venice. Dandolo had served Venice in diplomatic and perhaps military roles for many years, with at least two expeditions involving the Byzantine Empire based at Constantinople. He lost his sight in a battle with his city’s Byzantine rivals, but this did not prevent him from making Venice the greatest naval power in the Mediterranean. He did this by building ships for the Crusaders to transport their armies. The Crusaders were missions organized by the Church to recapture Christian lands that had been invaded by others. 

            The Venetians lent ships to the Crusaders, and supplied their armies with food and fodder for the horses for a staggering fee. The original plan of the Crusaders was to land an army in Egypt. However, Venice had a trade relationship with Egypt, and did not wish for this relationship to be threatened. When the Crusaders could not pay the amount that was due to Venice, Dandolo convinced the Crusaders to assist Venice in conquering the city of Zara, which was now under Hungarian control. Zara fell in November of 1202. Despite the plunder and economic gain of Zara, the wealth gained was still insufficient for the Crusaders to break free from their debt. So, Dandolo helped the Crusaders gain complete control over Constantinople on April 13th, 1204. In the days that followed, the Crusaders pillaged the city.

             Venice flourished under Dandolo. His foreign policy ensured Venice gained exclusive trading rights throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Historians often refer to him as the ‘founder of the Venetian Colonial Empire’. 

        England’s first Norman king, William I, was born in France, and was the Duke of Normandy. He was a cousin of the English king, Edward the Confessor.

        Early in 1066, Edward died, and Harold, Earl of Wessex was crowned king. William was furious, claiming that in 1051, Edward had promised him the throne, and that Harold had later sworn to support that claim.

        William built a fleet, and launched an invasion of England. Travelling by night, the Normans landed at Pevensey Bay and established their camp near Hastings. On 14th October, Harold’s army met William’s. It was a close-fought battle lasting all day, but Harold was killed, and his army collapsed. William was victorious, and on Christmas Day 1066, he was crowned king in Westminster Abbey.

         A Norman aristocracy became the new governing class, and many members of the English aristocracy including bishops, were replaced with Normans. 

           Toghril Beg was the founder of the Seljuk dynasty, which ruled in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Anatolia during the 11th – 14th centuries. He belonged to a tribe called the Seljuks, who came from Central Asia. Toghril Beg was crowned tribal sultan in 1038, and began building an empire at once. By 1040, Toghril Beg had conquered all of the Persian Plateau, defeating every Arab or Persian force sent against him. He also conquered Armenia, a Roman territory. He was smart enough to study the Persian administration, and employ the same procedure to govern his empire.

           In 1055, Toghril Beg and his army entered the city of Baghdad. He took over the city, and freed the Caliph who was being held a prisoner by local strongman. Toghril Beg was then recognized in Baghdad at ‘Sovereign of the East and West’. He will always be remembered as the ruler who changed the history of the Middle East by establishing the great Seljuk Empire. 

                Otto I (Otto the Great) is considered by many historians to be the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. He convinced Pope John XII to crown him emperor, and over the course of his reign, Otto defeated revolts by his half-brother, his younger, brother, and his son, and expanded the boundaries of his empire through constant war. He extended the frontiers of the German kingdom, winning territory from the Slavs in the east, forcing the Bohemians to pay tribute, and gaining influence in Denmark and Burgundy. In 951 Otto became King of the Lombards, and married the queen of Italy.

                Otto deliberately made use of the bishops to strengthen his rule and by doing so, he provided a stable and long-lasting framework for Germany. By his victorious campaigns, he gave Germany peace and security from foreign attack.

                 Though warfare was frequent, Germany was stable under Otto’s rule, and a small cultural renaissance flourished. He also extended his authority over the church, and promoted missionary activity in lands he had conquered. By his death, Otto had created the most powerful state in Western Europe, and laid the foundation for the later Holy Roman Empire. Otto 1 was born in 912 and died in 973 AD.

              Charlemagne was king of the Franks in 768 AD, and one of Europe’s most successful monarchs. The Franks were legendary fighters. Using the strength and loyalty of his army, combined with his own leadership abilities, Charlemagne soon defeated most of the other barbarian tribes in Western Europe. He expanded the Frankish Empire to include Germany, all of France, most of Italy, and even sections of Northern Spain.

                One of the most important things Charlemagne did for the world was to turn his castle into a learning centre inviting scholars from all over the world to take up residence there. He also introduced many administrative reforms, and a jury system that ensured a fairer way of ensuring justice.

               Charlemagne held his kingdom together by the sheer force of his personality. He was over six feet tall, and had blonde hair that seemed to glow in the sun. He fought heroically in battles, and personally visited local administrators, creating new laws to protect his people. Charlemagne was brave and fair, and his people adored him for these qualities. 

            After his return from Italy, Attila married a young girl. The marriage took place in 453, and was celebrated with a grand feast, and plenty of alcohol. After dinner, the new couple retired to the wedding chamber. Attila did not show up the next morning, so his nervous servants opened the chamber door. The king was dead on the floor-‘covered with blood’, and his bride was huddled in a corner in a state of shock. No one really knows whether he died of a nose-bleed, or whether he was murdered by his wife, or whether he died of alcohol poisoning.

           Attila was king and general of the Hun Empire from 433 to 453 AD. The Huns were a Mongoloid people who began invading the Roman Empire in the 300’s. Attila united his subjects for the purpose of creating one of the most formidable and feared armies the ancient world had ever seen. He was so ferocious in his attacks, that he was called ‘the scourge of god’, by his enemies.

            From 435 to 439, Attila conquered, pillaged, and attacked his way through Eastern and Central Europe. The success of this invasion emboldened Attila to continue his westward expansion. Passing unhindered through Austria and Germany, Attila plundered and devastated all in his path. He suffered a setback in 451 when he was defeated by the combined forces of the Romans and the Visigoths.

             In 452, Attila and his horsemen crossed the Alps to invade Italy. Pope Leo I had to pay him money to stop him from sacking and destroying Rome. He devastated the western half of the Roman Empire, and controlled a region from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea and from the Rhine River to the Caspian Sea. 

          Flavius Aetius was a gifted soldier, who did more than any one man to help slow the inevitable fall of the Roman Empire, to the barbarian nations in the West, during the reign of Valentinian Ill. Aetius learned the arts of war well and at a young age, he could hold his own with grown men.

           He learned how to fight, while riding on a horse from the Huns who had held him hostage during his youth. This combined with his knowledge of standard Roman infantry tactics enabled him to come up with deadly strategies for dealing with almost any enemy.

            Some of the battles fought by Aetius became famous, while others are known only to scholars of history. When Gaul was attacked repeatedly, Aetius protected it. He drove back the Visigoths and the Franks, and won his famous victory in 451 over Attila at Chalons. During the reign of Valentinian Ill, Aetius made himself ruler of the Roman Empire, but eventually he was murdered by the emperor himself. 

The Huns were a war-like people from the steppes of North Central Asia, north of China. They were excellent horsemen, and their use of the stirrup gave them an advantage over their enemies. Stirrups are loops hung from a saddle that support a horse rider’s feet, and these loops let the Huns brace themselves on their horses while wielding swords, or shooting arrows. Their bows were also far superior to those found in Western Europe, because they were flexible enough to fully draw yard long arrows. The Huns also used the lasso very effectively.