Three Men of History

Gregory Stephens-North

"I believe that the supreme duty of the historian is to write history, that is to say, to attempt to record in one sweeping sequence the greater events and movements that have swayed the destiny of man." Steven Runciman, London Times 7 Jul 83

The "Great Man" theory of history falls in and out of favor with academe, but has never been an issue with me. It is clear to me that there are those who seize the moment and take up the pen to write the history of the future yet to come. True, they ride waves of change that buoy their efforts, but they also make waves that crash upon the shores of time, forever altering its coastline. This is more than a matter of mere contingency. There are indeed small acts that have tremendous potential to deflect the path in one direction or another. Applying Chaos Theory to this problem, one might say that all acts have some bearing on the future, a sort of historical "Butterfly Effect." But I am referring to something more, to acts by a very few that have dramatic consequences for multitudes. There are many acts that might qualify:

Breakthroughs in science and medicine
Groundbreaking work in the arts
New insights in economics and government

But there are two arenas wherein this type of act most often occurs: the church and the battlefield. With religion, we define in an absolute sense why we are living. In war, we define those causes for which it is worth dying. It is remarkable that even though anyone could have conceived of a vision of God, and many do, only a few moved millions as did Buddha, Jesus, Confucius, and Mohammed. In the realm of Mars, it is also true that the names of the Great are known to all, though countless soldiers have taken the field. Alexander is still renown three thousand years later for his breathtaking victory at Issus, defeating Persia and in so doing shifting the balance of power to the West to this very day. Caesar Augustus is acknowledged for his victory at Actium that paved Rome's path to Empire. Attilla's name suggests fear long after his hordes helped tear that empire down.

There are three men of history that have most interest for me. They are alike in that they are men of war. They stirred their partisans to unimaginable passions, enabling them to both endure and inflict unspeakable hardships in their name. They took their people to great heights, pouring victory upon victory, but in the end their armies tasted bitter defeat. They were said to be geniuses, but they fought on losing sides, credited with making mistakes of historic proportion. Along the way they dredged channels in which our present flows.

But they were as different as any three men that have lived.

One lived to serve.

One lived to rule.

One lived to destroy.

Follow the links below to peer briefly into the tragic histories of three men…