Okay people, Caesar was never an emperor. You may rule over a country that controls a ton of land but you aren't an emperor if that country doesn't state it is an empire or if that person is not granted the position of emperor. Caesar was part of the Roman Republic, not empire, and he was given the rank dictator for life, which is not the Roman position imperator meaning emperor.
I feel the greatest emperor of all-time was Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. He is otherwise known as Augustus. We get the months August and October from his name. Augustus didn't do a ton to expand the Roman empire so as far as conquering nations he wasn't the greatest emperor. His achievement was more in politics, although we shouldn't slight his dominance in military matters.
When Caesar was killed in 44BC Rome was a Republic. This means the people got to elect all of their officials, and there was a different set of leaders, or consuls, every year. Everything Rome stood for was about having the people run the Republic. It was an insult to be called a King, Tyrant, or Emperor(which is a word that wasn't really invented yet in modern terms). Caesar was killed because people thought he was a tyrant. They felt he was trying to cease power from the Republic so they murdered him.
What happened after this was a long civil war. Caesar's adopted son, Octavian(who, remember, will become Augustus) joined up with Marc Antony and another man named Lepidus to form the second triumvirate(meaning literally three men). Octavian was only 18 years old. He wasn't even of legal age to hold office and he was granted many prestigious positions. During the civil war Antony and Lepidus were out fighting a lot. During the time Octavian fought some to gain experience, but he spent a lot of time in Rome winning the favor of the people. He spent a lot of money on the people. Because he was doing this the people started to love him. This allowed him to gain a foothold over Antony and Lepidus. One day Octavian walked into Lepidus' camp and took all of his legions just by his presence. These men were loyal to Lepidus but Octavian's aura permeated that.
Then Octavian ended up winning the civil war. When he was granted the titles of Augustus and Princeps(prince/emperor). The Senate didn't want to grant him this power but the people got really worked up and forced this power on him.
This is where Augustus' greatness comes into play. So, 13 years prior or so this man's adopted father, which meant 100% father in Rome, was murdered for being a tyrant. This kid is now given all the power in Rome? How is he not killed? Augustus was able to get 100% while retaining the facade of the Republic. People thought he fixed what was wrong when in actuality he was more powerful than Caesar ever was.
Augustus did this by restoring the city. It is written that he found the city in brick and left it in marble. He rebuilt temples all over the city, he created statues to him and his family while taking down Republican works, he threw lavish games for the people, he had huge parades in his honor, and he put his face on coins and such. On those coins he was portrayed as Jupiter Optimus Maximus... or God. He was also Pontifex Maximus, or highest pointiff, which is the Pope's title today.
It is because of Augustus the word Caesar has been made into the word king. Kaiser in Germany and Tsar in Russian. Caesar in Latin is pronounced Kaiser.
Augustus ushered in a era known as the Pax Romanum. This is when Rome was at it's height and its prosperity and power reached their pinnacle.
When people talk about the power of Rome they are talking about Augustus' Rome. Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire was named such because they didn't know of another name. All the knew as far as empires was Rome. Augustus is the prime example of an emperor. Most people think poorly on emperors and that they were bloody tyrants. Augustus was not thought upon in the same vein, although he was hardly innocent.
2007-01-27 04:55:18
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answer #1
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answered by Jake 2
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You could make an argument for Alexander The Great, Mongol Lord Genghis Khan, Augustus Caesar of Rome and Hong Wu of The Ming Dynasty.
2007-01-27 04:02:21
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answer #2
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answered by Feathery 6
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do not recognize yet there have been various of countries, entities, & religions which have had a tremendous effect on international heritage. only saying is it Greece or Rome is to simplistic. The Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Hebrews, the chinese, the Myans, the Persians, the Mongols, the jap, the Aztecs, the Ottoman Empire, the Russians, the French, the English the Spanish, the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, u.s.. The Catholic Church, Islam, Budism, Hinduism, the Protestant Reformation, Judiasm, ought to bypass on & on & on lol. only saying Greece & Rome would not extremely cut back it to me :). the international has been made the way it is through a hodge podge of diverse cultures, concepts & religions. The Romans took plenty from the Greeks so i wager you could say the Greeks in case you go with to easily reduce it 2 both of them. yet it is dificult to do & it eliminate what both countries were waiting to do.
2016-10-16 04:27:11
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answer #3
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answered by ? 4
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My area of expertise is strictly limited to ancient/medieval European history, so note that this was done with little knowledge of China or the east which undeniably produced some top class rulers.
Alexander was a great leader, but without his father, he would never have given himself such a name. When he died, his empire crumbled into one of the worst excuses of a kingdom the world has ever seen.
Julius Caesar is also up there as a leader (assuming you were looking for leaders and not just emperors,since that category can get hazy on the edges), but he was too forgiving and naive which led to his assassination.
Augustus, Caesar's heir, is a notable character, but he relied entirely too much on his "minions" (especially Agrippa) when it came to hacking at things with swords. In the end, he gave them little or no credit.
Attila was the same type of leader Alexander was, brilliant while alive, but more than useless when dead.
Diocletian was a truly brilliant leader. Good on the field of battle, competent enough to survive in the world of 4th century Roman politics (something I doubt Augustus could have accomplished), and smart enough to know when it was time to just give up. Having come from a peasant family, Diocletian ruled for 21 years, some would argue that his reforms and just the fact that he held the empire together under one man for so long bought the it one more century of glory in the history textbooks.
To contrast him with Augustus, who seems to be his only opposition here, Diocletian was a much better general. As I mentioned above, Augustus knew nothing of warfare and would have never fought his way to the top without his loyal generals. Augustus was responsible for the disaster of Teutoburg forest, where three of Rome's European legions were completley destroyed, whereas Diocletion did not suffer any major losses on the field.
It is true that Augustus ruled longer than Diocletian, but this is only because he had strong connections with Julius Caesar. Diocletian was born a peasant, and unlike Augustus, had to fight battle after battle in the legions to earn his emperor status. He had no family connections what so ever and was never named heir to the throne in any emperor's will like Augustus was. Diocletion's environment was also highly dangerous. By the time Diocletian was emperor, Rome's leaders were being assassinated at a rate terrifyingly close to one a year. Corruption could be found everywhere and the empire was in a state of chaos. This was a Roman empire that was dying, unlike Augustus's empire, whose star was still rising. It was remarkable that Diocletion was able to take this empire and make something out of it.
2007-01-27 05:50:45
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answer #4
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answered by laetitia_gaudiumque 2
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Gaius Julius Caesar
2007-01-27 03:58:36
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answer #5
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answered by Parry 3
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Emperor Ashoka the Great ( Maurya) - India
He was and is considered the greatest emperor of the world in history
2007-01-27 17:38:44
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answer #6
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answered by 'S' 2
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Octavius Caesar, Trajan, Constantine.
Although America wasn't an empire, George Washington was perhaps the greatest leader of any country, which unfortunately has now become an empire.
2007-01-27 04:56:59
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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The greatest emporer in the world was ALEXANDER THE GREAT.This is my opinion.
2007-01-27 04:02:52
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answer #8
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answered by mirrry 1
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Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great.
2007-01-27 04:13:54
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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Alexander the Great
2007-01-27 04:01:38
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answer #10
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answered by NeelS 2
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