re: Caeser or Napoleon: who was greater

Damned both ways, with a free but ailing Spain he'd always have an additional dagger at his back.


Dealing with it was a sinkhole though and using Spain to bolster the French navy didn't stop the inevitable conclusion of why you don't frick with the British at sea.

Right, but he placed his brother as monarch when the Spanish crown was looking for a diplomatic alliance through marriage to one of Napoleon’s nieces. That tipped things over for a lot of Spanish

Well, Caesar established an dynasty through his chosen heir (who I think was his nephew?) that lasted for awhile. Napoleon, not so much.

Plus, Caesar wasn't killed in battle. He was pretty much straight out assassinated. Napoleon, as great a general as he was, lost a couple of big battles at the end.

quote:

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bunch of patricians terrified that their power structure is being threatened.

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And didn’t Napoleon successfully handle that when he ran his coup?

Sulla was the one who really did it his way - started impoverished, (but with a good senatorial name), married (I think) a couple of rich women (and may or may not have killed them) to establish himself financially, learned warfare from Marius, kicked all kinds of arse, was counsel twice, then dictator, set things up like he wanted (so his faction was in control) and walked away on his own terms to enjoy his last days in wild and drunken orgies. He did die kind of unpleasantly (worms I think) but other than that the dude pretty much put his stamp on things.

Worms were poking out of his testicles was what I heard :(

Got to go with Caesar simply due to how long his Empire lasted and changed the world. Napoleon I admire a bit more though. He’s definitely in my Top 10 of historical figures I’d want to have dinner with.

I mean, it wasn’t really his empire. It was Augustus’ empire. That may seem like semantics but what Augustus did was remarkable. And it’s not like France turned into a shitty country when Napoleon was deposed. It wasn’t until 1870 for that to be cemented. :)

I know most of my arguments have been on Napoleon but I really am undecided.

Tough to say. Most people would lump Caesar, Alexander, and Napoleon together as the top 3. As a ruler, I think the edge goes to Napoleon. As an empire builder, the edge also goes to Napoleon because he took a shitty army and transformed it into the greatest army in the world. If he could have put together....even a serviceable navy, many may label him as the greatest conquerer ever. Hell, had he stayed away from Russia, It might have changed the fall of his empire.

Caesar didn’t start off from as high of a position as Alexander, but it was still a good name with higher status than Napoleon.

Propaganda from both was top notch, but I feel like Caesar benefited more due to the lack of other outlets sending information. Caesar went a little more Scorched earth than Napoleon because Caesar could get away with it a little easier than Napoleon.

I also feel like napoleons competition was a lot better. While Caesar had the celts and Germans to go against...and they were formidable, Britain and even Russia were legitimate world powers. Spain even gave Napoleon trouble due to his army being spread all over.

I’m gonna go with Napoleon because he built his empire. Caesar expanded his, but not nearly to the degree Napoleon did. Napoleon, as a person, probably impacted society as a whole on a greater level than Caesar did as well. I don’t think either answer is wrong, though.

And Napoleon sold Louisiana to the US. A move that essentially kickstarted the future powerhouse of America. Historically speaking, that was a very important move.