Military Leaders.

Just because Caesar was able to defeat Pompey in the end does not prove that he was the better General. Does that mean Scipio was better than Hannibal or that Wellington was better than Napoleon. Not necessarily. Pompey is among one of the most under appreciated.

Some information on Pompey:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompey

Here is my list, in no particular order but chronologically, the 25 greatest military leaders in history:

Cyrus the Great (R. 559-30)- Persia ruler, first truly great general in history.

Darius the Great (R. 521-486)- Persian, annexed Thrace and Macedonia.

Alexander the Great (R. 336-323)- Macedonia, conquerored Persia and almost the entire "known" world.

Hannibal Barca- Carthaginian, invaded Italy with much success in the Second Punic War against Rome.

Scipio Africanus- Roman General, defeated Hannibal at Zama in 202 B.C.

Dionysius (R. 405-367)- Syracusan, conquerored most of Sicily and southern Italy. Faught four wars against Carthage.

Julius Caesar- Roman general, conquerored Gaul and defeated Pompey in the Great Civil War to gain power in Rome.

Sulla- Roman general and dictator, won important battles for the empire in Greece (83-81 B.C.)

Pompey the Great - Roman general, expanded the empire in the east.

Belisarius (505-565 A.D.)- Thracian General for Byzantium, defeated the Persians and regained Italy. One of the most underappreciated in history.

Attila the Hun- Terrorized the Roman Empre in the 5th cetury A.D.

Theodoric- Ostrogoth, invaded Italy in the 5th century and established a Gothic kingdom there.

Clovis(R.481-511)- Frank, expanded the Kingdom to the Pyranees.

Heraclius- Byzantine, expanded the Empire eastward into Persia in the 7th century.

Richard I "Lionheart"- English King and crusader, went along on the third crusade and gained valuable territory for the Christina cause, although fell short of Jerusalem.

Saladin- Kurd and Ruler of Egypt in the late 12th century. Expanded into Syria and northern mesopotamia. Although, best known for winning the Battle of hattin to regain Jerusalem for the Muslim side in 1187.

Genghis Khan- Mongol, late 12th century and early 13th, unified Mongolia and expanded its Empire to China, Russia and much of Asia.

Tamerlane- Tarter, conquerored Persia and much of the middle east. Although many historians downplay his successes today. (R. 1381-1405)

Muhammed II- Ottoman Turk, conducted a successful siege on Constantinople in 1453. Established the Ottomans as a permanent force in Turkey.

Suleiman the Magnificent- Ottoman Turk, expanded the empire in North Africam Hungary and to the gates of Vienna in 1529. (R. 1520-1566)

Gustavus Adolphus- Swedish king, faught a very successful campaign in the 30 years war against Catholic Austria. (1594-1632)

Frederick the Great- Prussia, strengthened Prussi amilitarily anf faught in the 7 years war. (1712-86)

Napoleon Bonaparte (L. 1769-1821): French emperor, where do I begin. Amassed the largest European empire since Rome.

Horatio Nelson- British seamen, greatest navy captain in history. Defeated Napoleonic forces in the Battle of Trafalgar, which established British navy supremacy.

Duke of Wellington- British general, faught and defeated Napoleonic forces in Spain and at waterloo.

For more information please check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page