Who is the greatest military leader of the medieval period?

many tribes from germania, gaul joined him

Originally posted by Cywr Originally posted by Exarchus I though Gauls fought against Attila at Chalons along with the Visigoths, Franks, Romans, Saxons, Burgundians, Alans ect...... Thats obviously western propaganda

Yea I know it's so obvious eh? We're all just being brain-washed aren't we! Very effective propaganda, it's being posted everywhere!

ps: Would you ppl stop saying "western" propaganda, or western lies, or how the west invents the "facts"...etc There are lies everywhere people, not jsut in the west. Set down your prejudices and start considering other sources. Persoanlly I trust western documents above nonexistant asian ones.

Firstly, Komenos is right about Belisarius, he did not receive the ungrateful end some historians paint. Proof of this is that monuments of the great general existed in Constantinople for hundreds of years after his death. Had he really been humiliated there is no way Justinian would have allowed these to stand.

Id be throwing up between Genghis and Belisarius. I have massive respect for any man who goes from eating rodents as a boy to being the most powerful man alive. I am not too sure of Genghis' actual ability to command though, he could easily have left the commanding to competent subordinates. I think the Khan's greatest achievement was political: unifying the steppe tribes through determination and uncompomising brutality and then channeling their abilities into attacks on traditionally more powerful enemies. With Belisarius though, we have a clear close-up perspective of a brilliantly imaginative and charismatic commander. Have a read of the Siege of Rome when he defended it from Vitigis and you gain some measure of the resourcefulness of the man. The fact that he was politically non-active was only a praiseworthy trait in him, a fact which Justinian would have done well to acknowledge.

I think, but I'm not an English native speaker, that here terrorize doesn't mean be a terrorist but cause terror, considering that he caused fear to the Romans without destroying them, it's correct.

My vote has gone for Belisarius.

I voted "Other".

Greatest leader does not, necessarily, mean nicest or that most agree with him.  Anyhow, I would vote for Simon de Montfort.  He was the key military leader in the Albigensian Crusade.  Due to the fact that he was ruthless and much of what aimed for was personal gain, he is often downplayed.  I believe that, without his leadership, that particular crusade would not have made it as far as it did.  The crusade, finally, began to falter around the time of his demise .  (Yeah, I just wanted an excuse to use that smiley.)