Alexander and Napoleon had outstanding ones that even if they had not served under their esteemed masters would have been distinguished generals in their own right - Alexander had Parmenion, Craterus, Ptolemy, and Napoleon had Davout, Soult, Massena. One point of similarity between Alexander and Napoleon that Caesar mostly did not share (with a couple of exceptions) is in their subordinates.

They did not just inherit a good army, but they built on it and improved it where they could. These innovations were directly responsible for their great military successes, and gave them an edge over many of their foes. Each man would impart their own significant innovations to these armies, however - Alexander improved logistics by focusing on naval supplies rather than slow and cumbersome supply trains, Caesar focused heavily on engineering feats such as bridges and walls to improve mobility and defence, and Napoleon created the 'corps' system, essentially making each French army consist of many smaller, self-sufficient armies, each with its own branches of infantry, cavalry and artillery. While Alexander was a big drinker and basically an alcoholic, both Caesar and Napoleon were very moderate in their drinking and are never recorded as being drunk.Īll three men 'inherited' strong and disciplined armies that were built by their direct predecessors - Philip II built the modern Macedonian army, Sulla built the modern Roman army, and various revolutionary French generals built the modern French army. All three men were close to their mothers and provided for them when in power. None of the three men were blessed with having many children - Alexander died before even his first child was born, and interestingly Caesar and Napoleon both had only one legitimate child (Julia for Caesar, Napoleon II for Napoleon - both of whom died in their early twenties), as well as one prominent and acknowledged bastard child from their favourite mistress (Cleopatra for Caesar, Marie Waleska for Napoleon). Caesar and Napoleon both divorced one of their wives. On the topic of family life, all three men had multiple wives - Alexander and Caesar both had three, and Napoleon two.

This forced them to become the 'man of the house' at an early age and they were thrust into public life right away and expected to take charge. All three men lived and rose to prominence in the capitals of their countries - Pella, Rome and Paris, and did so during periods of turmoil and upheaval - the assassination of Philip II, the degradation of Roman republicanism and the rise of dictatorship, the chaos and instability of the revolutionary governments.Īll three men lost their fathers when they were young - Caesar and Napoleon when they were teenagers, Alexander when he was 20. Alexander inherited his position by virtue of his birth, while both Caesar and Napoleon - despite being aristocrats - were from less prestigious families and had to earn their status through their own accomplishments. While Alexander came to power in a kingdom with strong monarchical traditions, both Caesar and Napoleon began their careers as military leaders in republics that were violently opposed to monarchy, very rare for their respective eras. There are many more interesting similarities than these, however, which I'll try to detail based on what I know.įirstly, of the three figures, Alexander is the least similar to the others, and Caesar and Napoleon bear the most similarities with each other. are all hallmarks of successful conquerors throughout history, so I don't think these three are unique in possessing them. Traits such as ambition, aggression, charisma, ruthlessness, etc. Instructions and advice on how to best do an AMA. Want to do an AMA or know someone who does? Message the mods! Comments should be on-topic and contribute.ĭiscussions are limited to events over 20 years ago.If a post breaks one of our rules or guidelines you will be informed about it. So it is perfectly normally for your post to not show up in the new listing. Feel free to submit interesting articles, tell us about this cool book you just read, or start a discussion about who everyone's favorite figure of minor French nobility is!Īll posts will be reviewed by a human moderator first before they become visible to all subscribers on the subreddit. r/History is a place for discussions about history. Join the r/history Discord server to chat with other history enthusiast!

Napoleon julius caesar coin