Most influencial King or Queen from any part of history?

Question

For history, I have to research and report on one king or queen from any part of history...

Problem is...there's a LOT of them.
and I want to research a king/queen who has a lot of info available out there.

a few things i'm looking for...
- Lands or colonies he/she ruled
-Ethnic groups he/she ruled
-how did he/she become a monarch?
-famous accomplishments?
-absolute power of monarch?
-How did the country change during the rule of this monarch?
-How did they die?

I'm NOT asking you to answer the above questions.......

I;m just asking for you to give me a few names of most influencial kings or queens that you know of.

I'd really appreciate the help!
Thanks.

Answer 1

My thoughts would include:

Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain (Aragon and Castile; Spain was not a country as we know it until later) - under them, Columbus set sail to America. Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII of England, was their daughter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II_of_Aragon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_I_of_Castile

Peter the Great of Russia, who forcibly dragged his country into modern times. He built St Petersburg.
http://www.cityvision2000.com/history/peterthe.htm

Perhaps the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas II, whose murder ended centuries of Russian monarchy and instigated the scourge of Communism.

Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I of England. Henry broke with Rome so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth, and so laid the foundations of Protestantism. Under Elizabeth, the arts flourished and her pirate ships set sail into the New World.

Also, perhaps, the 16th century kings of Spain with their vast empire, including South America - they introduced chocolate, among other things, into the west!

Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, and who was the "Mother of the royal houses of Europe" - including spreading haemophila amongst the royal families. (Lots of sites.)

Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. Mother of Marie-Antoinette.
http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/whm2001/maria.html

Louis XIV of France, the Roi de Soleil, who built Versailles.
http://www.royalty.nu/Europe/France/LouisXIV.html

I agree - there are so many from which to choose. I would pick one monarch in whom you are particularly interested, or whose time interests you most! Good luck!

Answer 2

St Petersburg has a thing that gets below the skin and if you intend to learn what it's then, you ought to have a look with hotelbye . Nevsky Prospect is St Petersburg's major avenue and one of many best-known roads in Russia. Cutting through the famous middle of the town, it works from the Admiralty, image of Russian energy, to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery and it is going to be really lovely to go along this street later in the day when all illuminations on. Here, you will see everything: the absolute most spectacular architecture, the superb palaces, the world-famous museums and the sparkling five-star hotels. Among the places must see from St. Petersburg is State Hermitage Museum. The main architectural collection of the Hermitage is situated in the centre of St Petersburg and consists in: Winter Palace, after the former state residence of the Russian emperors, buildings of the Small, Old (Great) and New Hermitages, the Hermitage Theatre and the Auxiliary House.

Answer 3

King Henry VIII. He's not the most beloved king, but his life is full of history. Look him up, and I believe that you will be interested in his goals, achievements. The only problem is, that he's known to have beheaded his wives, because they did not bear him sons...

Maybe Marc Antony too. He was a great man, but is said to have betrayed Rome, marry an Egyptian, and claim that he would be buried in Alexandria. He was a very interesting person.

Or, King David. He was said to be the greatest human king in Christian history. He gained trust from his people by doing many things, but he did some bad things as well, like sending a man off to war to be killed, because David wanted that man's fiance in his bed...

I think that those men are great influential kings of our time.

Answer 4

Henry viii, for a lot of the above mentioned reasons. The most intriguing part of his rule was his disassociation with the church of Rome. he did it for personal reasons...because he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn and he needed to have his marriage with Catherine of Aragon to come to an end. My second choice would be King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, not because they financed Columbus' voyage, but because Isabella was so forward thinking about her daughters. They were well educated in a lot of things other than proper womanly pursuits. They all understood the fine nuances of diplomacy and dealing with other countries, treaties and many political things that other daughters of Monarchs never gave a care about. If memory serves me right...Catherine of Aragon was one of their daughters. Better check that one. The third choice would be the Habsburgs (sometimes spelled Hapsburgs) of...Austria? At one time their offspring had married into almost all of Europe's royal families and the Habsburgs had serious clout in the policy making of that time, because of those marriages.

Note* Elizabeth the first, of England was the daughter of Anne Boleyn and she did have a half sister Mary who was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, but I don't think that Mary was the Mary Queen of Scotts, I believe that she was a cousin of Elizabeth's.

Answer 5

Most definitely, Queen Elizabeth R(first one). When she came to power, her father Henry the 8th of England, had already beheaded her mother, Ann Boleyn. He created the Anglican Church..breaking with Roman Catholicism in order to marry Elizabeth's mother. She never bore a son (only Elizabeth) , so he branded her a harlot and a witch ...going on to marry 6 wives by the time he finished his life. What a Dad! Her half sister, Mary Queen of Scotts, had imprisoned Elizabeth very briefly for not converting back to the Catholic faith. Later on, after several religious revolts, Elizabeth had Mary beheaded along with an entire cadre of some of the most important leaders of the time.
Elizabeth took England from an impoverished mess to the most powerful and wealthiest country in the world. She ruled for over forty years, I think, and died of old age. She was, in fact, a brilliant tactician and dedicated her life to England...therefore, the title:"the Virgin Queen"..England was her love. She is probably the greatest female monarch to ever live. Yes, her rule was absolute. I think(check on this) that Sir Walter Scott and maybe even Sir Raleigh explored the high seas bringing riches from North America to her treasure chest. I am remembering from over twenty years ago.....so, since this is most likely your homework assignment, sweat a bit and factcheck this. ...go to the Wikipedia..it's a wonderful creation.

Answer 6

Henry VIII of England was very powerful, and brought about many changes, not least of which was breaking from the Catholic Church, and although he didn't intend it, the rise of protestantism in his country. He inherited the throne from his father. He's also famous for having so many wives and beheading two of them. Henry died hugely obese, suffering from gout, and a festering wound in his leg that never healed.

Queen Victoria of Britain had less personal power, but ruled many more lands because of the expansion of the British Empire. She inherited the throne from her uncle. During her long reign, she influenced the morals and culture of the western world.The industrial revolution reached its height during her reign. She died peacefully at a very old age.

Answer 7

Carolus magnus (charles the great), emporor carolingian who first realised the great unity of Europe. He instaured education for the monks and priests and after they created shool for wealthy kids, he created the rules to write music and rules for writing ("minuscule caroline en français), he solved the problem of the pope with his opponents, he invented a new way to build (romans were doing circles or quarrels, he did both in the same time).
He's called the father or Europe and had a great influence on his empire.

Answer 8

Henry the 8th of England

He beheaded lots of is wives and liked to eat food, he was just a famous monarch for what he did. He died of a heart attack i think

Answer 9

Personally, I found that Mary, Queen of Scots was an absolutely intriguing person. The climate was volatile, the political scene was nail biting suspense, and she was easy to write a paper on. She was so interesting, as were the times, that I even read stuff after the assignment was done.

Good luck!

Answer 10

henry viii. even though he had 6 wives and is villified. england had just come out of years of civil war because the royal families could not produce a male heir. no male heir meant civil war in those days. henry divorced his wives because he could not get a male heir. he had to split from the catholic church to get the divorce. henry really was trying to keep the peace by producing a male. he is seen as a huge pig, yet he was trying to stabilize the country. ultimately his daughters took over the country and showed that women were just as capable of ruling as men. so mary or elizabeth may also be good topics from a sexual equality view point. hope this helps.