(2) Great Commanders of Classical Antiquity

Iron Age (1100 BC-500 BC)

Ashur-nasir-apli II (905 BC-859 BC) -

Tukulti-apil-Esharra III (775 BC-727 BC) -

Sharrukin II (760 BC-705 BC) -

Ashur-bani-apli (685 BC-627 BC) -

Nabu-apla-usur (658 BC-605 BC) - Known as Nabopolassar; a member of the Chaldean people and an official in Babylonia. After the death of Ashurbanipal the Assyrians were plagued by civil war, Nabopolassar took advantage of this to lead a revolt against the Assyrians in Babylonia. He had attempted to besiege the nearby fortress of Nippur but was defeated when the Assyrians sent a relief force. Still he successfully took Babylon (between 626 BC and 623 BC) and was made king by the population. The Assyrians retook Uruk in the south around 624, the Babylonians quickly took it again. Another civil war broke out in Assyria in 623 and an invasion force had to withdraw from Babylonia. Nabopolassar quickly consolidated his rule in Babylonia, taking Nippur after another attempt in 620 or 619. He followed up by invading Assyria but was defeated and forced to withdraw. Instead he spent the next four years reducing the remaining Assyrian positions and fighting Assyrian forces still active in Babylonia. Finally he assembled an army and invaded the Assyrian heartland in the north-east. In 616 he crossed the Tigris to the east, defeated the Assyrians at Arrapha and drove them across the Little Zab River. In 615 the Medes invaded Assyria and took Tarbisu in the north. With the aid of the Medes under Cyaxeres they took Ashur (614) and Nineveh (612) in the Tigris and then Harran (610) in the Euphrates (in addition to Gasur, Dur-Sharrukin, Kalhu, Ekallatum and Arbela in the Tigris). The Assyrians that held out in the west allied with the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II. With their support Necho II besieged Harran in 609 BC, Nabopolassar and his Mede allies relieved the city. thus ending the Assyrian Empire. Later in his reign he sent his son Nebuchadnezzar west to conquer the Arameans, Phoenicians, Cilicians and Jews and to contest this territory with the Egyptians. His son defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish in 605 and Nabopolassar died shortly afterwards. Nabopolassar destroyed the Neo-Assyrian Empire, established the Neo-Babylonian Empire and reorganized the post-Assyrian world together with the Kings of Lydia, Media and Egypt. In particular by making the alliance between the Babylonians and the Medes, he cemented his rule and that of his successors.

Nabu-kudurri-usur II (634 BC-562 BC) -

Kurosh the Great (580 BC-530 BC) - Kurosh (or Cyrus the Great) was the son of the Persian king Cambyses and the Median princess Mandana. Sources are scarce but it can be inferred that he spent much of his youth in the court of his grandfather Astyages. In Mede service he carried out campaigns against rebellious tribes in the north-west of Iran. He defeated the Cadusians, the Armenians and Chaldeans. According to Xenophon he also took part in border conflicts with the Babylonians. By 559 he had returned to Persia to rule jointly with his father as a vassal king to the Medes. During that time he seems to have increased his control over the region and subjected many of the Persian tribes. However Astyages of the Medes wanted to increase his authority over his vassals thus appointing officials over these subject territories and began to extract more tribute. This culminated in Kurosh carrying out an uprising in 552, during which time he fortified the mountain passes and ambushed a Median cavalry contingent at Hyrba. Astyages then assembled his forces and invaded Persia, Kurosh intercepted their forces on the main road along the border and fought them to a standstill on the first day. On the second day Cyrus secretly withdrew leaving only a contingent, under King Cambyses, to guard the local fortress. Astyages attacked the fortress with the bulk of his forces not realizing that Kurosh had retreated, however Kurosh's father Cambyses died in the battle. Kurosh withdrew to his city at Pasargadae in the south, Astyages marched deeper into Persia and besieged them. However Kurosh resisted them at Pasargadae Hill and successfully repulsed their attacks. At which point it appears that the Medes mutinied and the troops led by Harpagus defected to the Persians. Astyages was then forced to retreat back to his capital at Ecbatana, but perhaps due to his policies and his defeat he began to lose support from his subjects and vassals. The next year in 550, Kurosh invaded Media, taking Ecbatana, and was made King of the Medes. It seems that for the most part the vassal kings accepted Kurosh as their overlord. However King Croesus of Lydia, who was the ally and brother in law of Astyages, did not accept Kurosh's claim. It is possible that Kurosh spent the years 549 and 548 consolidating his power, and also subjecting the local rulers, such as in Urartu. In 547 Kurosh made an audacious move, he crossed the mountains southwards into the Tigris and then marched north into Cappadocia. Croesus was not expecting this maneuver and the two clashed at Pteria along the Halys River. Both armies fought to a standstill and Croesus' heavy cavalry prevented his army from being defeated. Croesus then opted to withdraw back into Lydia and demobilized his army for the winter, keeping only his personal levies and mercenaries from Ionia, Egypt and Babylon. Kurosh again made an audacious move and rather than put his army into winter quarters he marched across the Anatolian mountains into Lydia. The Persians reached the city of Sardis, Croesus decided to give battle and they fought in the plain outside of Sardis, at Thymbra. Kurosh interspersed his flanks with camel units which caused the Lydian cavalry formations to lose cohesion. Then after routing both enemy flanks he outflanked the Lydian infantry in the center and defeated them utterly. Sardis was besieged and eventually it fell to the Persians, after which they sacked the city. At the start of 546 Kurosh returned to Iran, however not long afterwards the Lydians and the Ionians rebelled, killing the local official. Kurosh then sent various generals, including Harpagus, to put down the uprising. Harpagus also went on to subjugate Ionia, Aeolia, Caria and Lycia, he therefore became Kurosh's deputy in Anatolia. Herodotus asserts that during this time Kurosh was campaigning in the east in order to conquer the lands of Margiana, Bactria, Gandara, Drangiana and Sogdia. Largely he defeated the Bactrians and Sogdians using maneuvers, ambush tactics and besieging their citadels. It is possible that he also attempted to cross the Hindu Kush and campaigned in the Gedrosian desert as well as in the Persian Gulf. According to a later tradition, Kurosh lost much of his army in that area between the Hindu Kush and Gedrosia. What is certain is that he added the eastern territories to his empire and secured Gandara in the Hindu Kush, whether he reached the Indus River or not. After Harpagus secured Anatolia and Kurosh conquered the East, the next objective was Babylon. The King Nabonidus records that Kurosh overthrew the Medes and the Lydians but Babylon seems to have not supported their allies except in the most minimal terms. Kurosh had worked to isolate Babylon and began to chip away at their empire. Initially during the conflict with Lydia, Kurosh had marched with his army through the Tigris but it is unclear whether this constituted a violation of Babylonian territory. Babylonian tablets also record that just prior to the Persian invasion, the Babylonians lost contact with Cilicia. Xenophon also asserts that Kurosh invaded in the west first and took Phoenicia and Syria (this may have been carried out simultaneously by Harpagus), although this could have happened after the actual invasion of Babylonia. It is also likely that the Persians secured the buffer state of Elam. Whatever the case Kurosh invaded Babylon in 539 BC. As usual he carried out an unpredictable maneuver; moving his army through the mountains into the border region of Gutium. As the Nabonidus Chronicle records, Kurosh bribed the governors of that region causing them to defect, which permitted his army to march out into the area east of the Tigris, in the center of Mesopotamia. In so doing he would be able to take the most direct route to the city of Babylon. The Persians marched on the city of Opis, having to cross the Tigris so that they could attack Babylon. The Babylonians hastily assembled their army and battled Kurosh outside the city, the outcome was the death of Prince Belshazzar and a resounding victory for the Persians, who then sacked Opis. Then the Persians marched across to the Euphrates, and likely secured the city of Sippar in order to continue onto Babylon (perhaps negotiating its surrender). Nabonidus had retreated to Babylon and walled himself inside the city. Accounts of the fall of Babylon are conflicting. Some sources state that the city surrendered to the Persians when they arrived and accepted Kurosh as king. Other sources record that the Persians either starved the city out by diverting the river or even assaulted the city. Regardless Nabonidus was captured, the Babylonians made peace, and Kurosh became King of Babylon. The Persians then organized all of the Babylonian Empire into provinces and tax districts. Possibly even sending armies west to conquer Aramea and Phoenicia. All of the world powers had fallen to Kurosh save for the Egyptians, who may have placated him by sending tribute. In the meantime Kurosh again turned east and campaigned in Sogdia and Chorasmia. Conflicts in the east as well as consolidating this massive empire were probably the focus of the rest of his reign. In 530 he began a campaign against the Massagetae, nomadic tribes which had probably raided the frontier, but which according to some sources were ruled by a Queen Tomyris. Kurosh crossed the Syr Darya (Jaxartes) and then, according to Herodotus, he ambushed the forces led by the son of Queen Tomyris. Afterwards another battle was fought against Tomyris herself, in which Kurosh was supposedly killed. Although various sources contest the exact nature and outcome of this expedition. For example Xenophon says that Kurosh in fact died in his palace at an old age, others such as Ctesias state that the Persians fought against a tribe called the Derbices led by King Amoraeus. According to Ctesias, although Kurosh was seriously wounded the "Sacae", his allies (perhaps the Sogdians), were able to turn the tide of battle and defeat the Derbices. Kurosh died soon after, having conquered the majority of the known world throughout his thirty year rule.

Dareyavaush the Great (550 BC-486 BC) -


Classical Era (500 BC-360 BC)

Themistokles (524 BC-459 BC) -

Kimon (510 BC-450 BC) - An Athenian who was the son of Miltiades the Younger. He was an officer during the Battle of Salamis against the Persian invaders. He was given command of a fleet and campaigned in the Aegean Sea against islands and coastal cities which were controlled by the Persians. He took Eion and Strymon in Thrace. He defeated a Persian fleet at the mouth of the Eurymedon River near coastal Cilicia and Lycia. Around 463 BC he took the island of Thasos, which had rebelled. Kimon was influential and had positive views towards Sparta, he also opposed Perikles and his Democratic Faction. Perikles had him put on trial for bribery at some point. Kimon led an expedition of 4000 hoplites to aid Sparta against a helot revolt, but when he arrived the paranoid Spartans turned him back. Losing political prestige yet again, Perikles convinced the citizens to have him exiled in 461. Kimon returned around 451 BC, Perikles sent him to Cyprus to conquer it from the Persians and also to support an Egyptian revolt. He besieged Kition and defeated a Persian force in a land-naval operation at Salamis-in-Cyprus. Supposedly he died just prior to the battle and his death was kept secret until after the campaign.

Perikles (495 BC-429 BC) -

Phormion (470 BC-427 BC) -

Alkibiades (450 BC-404 BC) -

Thrasybulos (440 BC-388 BC) -

Lysandros (440 BC-395 BC) -

Agesilaos II (444 BC-360 BC) -

Epaminondas (410 BC-362 BC) -

Pelopidas (410 BC-364 BC) - Had served as an officer or soldier in the siege of Mantinea in 384 BC to support the city of Thebes' Spartan allies. In 383 or 382 BC the Spartans turned on their allies and attacked Thebes. Pelopidas fled to Athens then returned in 379 BC and established a Democratic faction to oppose the Spartan backed oligarchy. He ambushed the political rivals in Thebes and with an army raised from Boeotia and Attica he surrounded the Spartans and reclaimed Thebes, with the support of Epaminondas and Gorgidas. He took part as a general in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 which defeated the Spartans. In 370 BC he and Epaminondas raided the Peloponnese but did not attack Sparta itself. Then in 369 BC he undertook a campaign into Thessaly to chase out Alexandros of Pherae and expanding the Theban Hegemony. Continuing into Makedonia he installed his own claimant on the throne (Perdikkas III). Returning to Makedonia in 368 his mercenaries mutinied and he was captured by Alexandros of Pherae. Thebes sent two expeditions into Thessaly to procure his release. He spent much of 367 in Persia trying to secure Persian support for the Theban Hegemony over Greece. In 364 BC he went on another campaign into Thessaly and defeated Alexandros of Pherae at Cynoscephalae. Although he won that battle he was killed in the fighting. In revenge Epaminondas invaded and defeated Alexandros of Pherae (363 BC). The loss of Pelopidas was a serious blow to Thebes. Even more so because Epaminondas died fighting Sparta and Athens the next year.


Makedonia and the Diadochi (360 BC-270 BC)

Philippos II (382 BC-336 BC)

Alexandros III the Great (356 BC-323 BC)

Antigonos I Monophthalmos (382 BC-301 BC)

Eumenes of Cardia (362 BC-316 BC)

Seleukos I Nikator (358 BC-281 BC)

Chandragupta Maurya (340 BC-297 BC)

Agathokles (361 BC-289 BC)

Pyrrhos I of Epeiros (319 BC-272 BC)


Hellenistic Era (270 BC-139 BC)

Kleomenes III (260 BC-219 BC)

Antiochos III the Great (241 BC-187 BC)

Hamilcar Barca (275 BC-228 BC)

Hannibal Barca (247 BC-183 BC)

Marcus Claudius Marcellus (270 BC-208 BC) - A Roman commander who started his career leading a campaign against the Gauls of northern Italy in 225 BC. At the start of the 2nd Punic War (218 BC) he was sent to cover a potential naval invasion of southern Italy and to defeat an uprising in Syracuse in 216 BC. After Hannibal defeated the Romans at Cannae, Marcellus was held back and kept in Campania to check Hannibal's advance southwards. He prevented Hannibal from taking Nola three times from 216 BC to 214 BC. From 213 to 212 BC he besieged Syracuse and pacified Sicily. He fought again to a stand still at Numistro in Lucania (210) and Canusium in Apulia (209). In 208 BC he was ambushed by a scouting party and killed. During his campaigns he avoided open battles with Hannibal and halted the advance of his Punic armies, a similar application to Fabius Maximus' strategy.

Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236 BC-183 BC)

Titus Quinctius Flamininus (229 BC-174 BC)

Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemelianus (185 BC-129 BC)

Viriathus (170 BC-139 BC)


Supremacy of the Roman Republic (139 BC-20 BC)

Gaius Marius (157 BC-86 BC)

Lucius Cornelius Sulla (138 BC-78 BC)

Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo (135 BC-87 BC)

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (130 BC-63 BC)

Quintus Sertorius (123 BC-72 BC)

Lucius Licinius Lucullus (118 BC-56 BC)

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (106 BC-48 BC)

Gaius Julius Caesar (100 BC-44 BC)

Titus Labienus (99 BC-45 BC)

Marcus Antonius (83 BC-30 BC)

Monaeses Suren (83 BC-20 BC)

Publius Ventidius Bassus (100 BC-27 BC)

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (63 BC-12 BC)


Early Roman Empire (20 BC-180 AD)

Tiberius Claudius Nero (42 BC-37) -

Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (38 BC-9 BC) -

Germanicus Julius Caesar (15 BC-19) - Was the son of the Roman general Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, and the nephew of Emperor Tiberius. He had many political roles in the reign of Emperor Augustus and was made Proconsul of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and the three Gallic provinces. With eight legions he crossed the Rhine in 13 AD and carried out three campaigns against Arminius and his allies in order to avenge the disaster at Teutoburg. He defeated Arminius at Idistaviso and the Angrivarian Wall in 16 AD. Having marched as far as the Weser River, reclaimed the three lost eagles and broken up Arminius' coalition, he was recalled by Emperor Tiberius. He was largely regarded as the successor to his uncle Tiberius. In 17 AD Germanicus Caesar celebrated a triumph over the Germanic tribes. He was sent to exercise control over the whole of the Eastern provinces. Touring Greece and the east he then marched into Armenia to install the vassal Artaxias as king. He also organized the Kingdom of Cappadocia into a Roman province as its vassal king had died. In addition to that he made the Kingdom of Commagene a province as well. Germanicus then traveled to Egypt to aid in the relief of a famine. During his stay in the East he had made a few enemies from local officials and his trip to Egypt insulted Tiberius' paranoid sensibilities. He died of an illness in 19 AD while at Antioch, many have speculated that he was poisoned by one of these rivals. His son Caligula would become the successor for Emperor Tiberius.

Aulus Plautius (4-57) - The general who commanded Claudius' invasion of Britain. He established the Roman foothold on the island and conquered the eastern region. Afterwards he served as governor of Britannia for five years and he expanded the Roman foothold out of the Cantiaci and Trinovantes lands to the north and west.

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo (7-67) - A Roman general that campaigned along the Rhine in the reign of Claudius and against the Parthians in the reign of Nero. Successfully invaded Armenia, organized the defense of Syria and invaded Mesopotamia to defeat the Parthians.

Titus Flavius Vespasianus (9-79) - His first command was under Aulus Plautius in Britain as the Legate of Legio II. According to the sources he performed well in the main campaign against the Catuvellauni and was then sent to subdue the south west. His career was at its peak under Claudius and Nero and so he took up many state positions such as governor of Africa. Under Nero he was commanded to put down the Great Jewish Revolt which he did systematically. After the murder of Nero and the death of Galba he became a contender for the Imperial title. He received much support from capable officials and the military. Vespasian appointed his son Titus to finish off the Jewish revolt while a portion of his army moved to secure Anatolia and Greece and he personally led a force to take Egypt. With such a shrewd strategy he made his success practically inevitable. At the same time his Danube legions commanded by Mucianus and Marcus Antonius Primus marched into Italy and defeated Vitellius at Bedriacum, then marched across the Appenines and took Rome. Vespasian proved more capable than most of his predecessors and succeeded in governing Italy. During his reign Lucius Silva and Lucilius Bassus finished off the remnants of the rebellious Jews.

Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (10-70) - Was appointed one of the governors of Britain in the reign of Nero. Upon succeeding Quintus Veranus he set to work putting down the Briton revolts in modern Wales. He also conquered new territories in northern Wales. In the meantime Boudicca of the Iceni rebelled and wreaked havoc in the east, Paulinus returned from the west and put down Boudicca's revolt. His methods were considered harsh and Emperor Nero preferred conciliatory policies so Nero recalled him to Rome. During the Year of Four Emperors (69) he sided with Otho and was his commander and adviser. In this capacity he and Aulus Marius Celsus commanded Otho's forces on their march from Gaul into Italy, defeating the forces of Vitellius in two battles and taking Placentia and Cremona. However at Bedriacum the forces of Otho were outnumbered by Vitellius, he suggested to Otho and his brother Titanus that they withdraw but Titanus advised Otho to battle while the Emperor brought reinforcements. Instead Vitellius defeated Paulinus' smaller army and was captured. Emperor Otho killed himself in his camp, upon hearing that his army was defeated.

Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40-93) - A Roman general who served under various governors of Britain. Eventually being promoted to the command of a legion he saw action in many campaigns. During the Year of the Four Emperors he supported Vespasian. Upon seizing power Vespasian appointed him governor of Britain. He put down a revolt in northern Wales and campaigned against the Brigantes in northern England. Then he undertook his famous campaign and invaded the territory of northern Britain, defeating the Britons at Mons Graupius and marched as far as the sea. Receiving tribute and hostages he withdrew into his borders and established the frontier as far as modern Perth.

Marcus Ulpius Trajanus (53-117) -

Publius Aelius Hadrianus (76-138) -


Roman Decline and Crisis of the Third Century (180 AD-284 AD)

Septimius Severus (145-211) -

Ardashir (180-242) -

Shapur the Great (215-270) -

Lucius Domitius Aurelianus (214-275) -


Late Roman Empire (284 AD-480 AD)

Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus the Great (272-337) -

Shapur II (309-379) -

Flavius Claudius Julianus the Apostate (331-363) -

Samudragupta (320-375) -

Flavius Stilicho (359-408) -

Flavius Aetius (391-454) -

Attila the Hun (400-453) -

Genseric (389-477) -