3 Military Leaders of Antiquity Today’s Business Leaders Can Learn From
Yup, I read & collect history books, especially biographies. I know, it’s not a very common thing to do anymore… all that room they take up and the dust! But, it’s a fascinating and rewarding hobby.
TLDR:
There are three leaders of antiquity who achieved tremendous success, often against incredible odds
As a student of history, I wanted to highlight these three historical figures as examples to follow for those in leadership today.
They weren’t saints, but as ancient leaders go, they were fair, effective, and worldly.
I’m an avid reader, so I’ve listed books for reference, but if you aren’t into books, there are digital versions and also audiobooks available that I’ve also included.
If like me, you are a busy business owner and need a quick but also entertaining story, then I recommend these books:
Cyrus the Great, by Stephen Dando-Collins
Hannibal: The Novel, by Ross Leckie
Julius Caesar, A Biography, by Michael Grant
Below, I include links to more in-depth books on these three great men. Many of them also have Kindle versions and audiobooks, so I link to those as well when they are available.
I have always been fascinated by men of the past who conquered kingdoms, built great monuments, and ruled over great empires. Yes, I said men. For too many reasons to go into here, these are not women, so allow me to sidestep that can of worms, here.
I have been a history buff my entire life. When my friends collected baseball cards, I collected stamps, when they watched superhero movies, I watched documentaries, when they crammed for their math finals, I was reading dusty books on Viking life, when they majored in business in college, I was writing essays on siege tactics. …Then I graduated.
I quickly discovered that there were few jobs for history majors. It took me some time to come to terms with that, but I did manage to find work in another nerdy field: computer support. I made a career out of it and worked in that field for the better part of my life, but I never forgot my real passion. I still read history books throughout those years, especially historical biographies.
Reading those biographies has taught me invaluable lessons that shepherded me through office politics, strategic business decisions, layoffs/downsizing, and changes in leadership. Granted those were all pressures above my pay grade and out of my control, but I can also say that history books proved useful in managing personal finances, building up my side hustle into a business, managing people around me, and navigating the complexities of growing my nest egg.
From these books, there are three historical leaders that stand out as having been particularly interesting to me over the years. I admit that they weren’t names that will typically come to mind first. You’re probably thinking of Alexander and Napoleon. Sure, they were successful and are often quoted in business/leadership books. However, they had many leadership flaws, not to mention that they were self-serving, cruel, and vain. Hence they do not make good examples to follow, so while I have read many books about them, they are not on my list of biographies to recommend.
Instead, I offer these:
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great, by Stephen Dando-Collins
(Kindle)
Long before Alexander, there was another “great” and that was Cyrus. He was a Persian king who founded the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC. While he isn’t as well known, he was actually one of the most successful military leaders and conquerors of all time. He began his reign by conquering the Median Empire and then went on to conquer the Lydians, the Babylonians, and many other city-states in the Middle East, uniting them under one empire.
It is difficult to put the many achievements of Cyrus into a single paragraph. To be honest, I had read about many Western leaders before going to college, but I had never heard of Cyrus until I picked up a book on a whim. It was a book about Cyrus that one of my teachers was tossing out. Reading about his military campaigns and the administrative policies that he implemented in his vast empire was eye-opening.
There were other great military figures before him, but Cyrus was particularly successful on the battlefield. This led to the formation of the Persian Empire, the first to span multiple continents, making him the most influential figure of antiquity before the Romans. Because the empire was so large, larger than any contemporary empire, it required a new, modern way to administer such vast territories and differing cultures.
This is why his tolerance towards different cultures and religions and his policy of allowing conquered peoples to keep their own customs and religions were so important. This was a break from what previous conquerors had tried before. He also built great monuments and cities, including the city of Pasargadae and the famed palace at Persepolis. He also built roads throughout the empire and the world’s first postal system, not unlike the US Pony Express service.
He is also credited with the abolition of slavery, which was a revolutionary concept. Prior to Cyrus, conquered men, women, and children were always sold into slavery, it was one of the many rewards for warfare at the time. As the discussion of our legacy with slavery still haunts us today, Cyrus’s policy on slavery is a particularly pertinent topic to understand.
As a study of good leadership and administrative capabilities, Cyrus is about as good as you can find. Unfortunately, I only own two books about Cyrus, although I have read a few others. The one mentioned at the top of this article by Stephen Dando-Collins, is not one that I own, but it was published recently, and I have been told it is well-researched. If you’re looking for a more contemporary-leadership-focused read on Cyrus, then Xenophon's Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War (Kindle) (Audio CD), is a great resource that highlights the important things that business leaders would typically focus on. Honestly, this isn’t the type of book I reach for, but it is very well-written and an excellent resource. One of the books that I do own and that I like to recommend is Cyrus the Great: An Ancient Iranian King. At just over 100 pages it offers a super quick read and is written with greater reverence than many other books, in my opinion. Another well-known biographical author is Jacob Abbott. The one I have on my shelf is History of Cyrus the Great: Makers of History Series (Kindle), but there is a more recent edition called History of Cyrus the Great (Kindle), that I can heartily recommend. They are also a quick read at just over 100 pages each.
Hannibal Barca
Hannibal: The Novel, by Ross Leckie (Kindle) (Audio CD)
No, I’m not referring to Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal from the Silence of the Lamb movies. That Hannibal was actually named after the historical Hannibal Barca, a Carthaginian general, and statesman who fought the Second Punic War with Rome at the end of the third century BCE. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history for his audacious tactics and leadership. He is most famous for leading his army, including war elephants, across the Alps to attack Rome from the North in 218 BC. More notably, he is the architect of the spectacular victory over superior Roman forces at the Battle of Cannae, a calamitous event that is still studied in military schools today.
Hannibal was such a terrible scourge on Rome that they spent three wars to defeat them completely. Carthage was eventually decimated with such hate that the Romans did their best to wipe the entire people off the map and out of history books. This is why we actually know surprisingly little of Hannibal much of it is likely not very accurate. As historians, though, we must ask why there was such enmity towards Carthage, and especially Hannibal. The relative dearth of information is still hinders us today – people might know about the elephants and perhaps about Cannae, but little else.
The fact is that well before Cannae, Hannibal’s lightning-fast expedition across the Iberian peninsula, evading Celtic and Roman enemies, was such an effective strategy that the Germans studied it as a basis for their Blitzkrieg strategy. Likewise, the treacherous Winter trek with elephants over the Alps and then surprising the Romans on their own lands before campaign seasons began was a terrifying shock. He then followed that up with stinging defeat after defeat, not unlike the early successes of Alexander against the Persian empire. Hannibal had actually studied Alexander in his youth.
It should also be pointed out that Hannibal spoke fluent Latin, Greek, Celtic, and several other languages enabling him to unite vastly heterogeneous enemies against Rome. Despite always being outnumbered, Hannibal won every battle, or at the least drew them to a draw. He was never defeated in battle during an entire decade of campaigning on enemy territory. It was only when he returned to Africa after 30 years, fighting for a city with soldiers and a city-state he hardly knew anymore, that was he finally defeated in battle. Even then, he still managed to negotiate a workable armistice for them.
Hannibal eventually left Carthage to fight with other enemies of Rome but was ultimately betrayed by them. Despite that, he was never captured and died by suicide. As a model of perseverance against unbelievable odds, as a model of leadership in the most difficult negotiations, and as a model of strategic intelligence, I do not believe any leader of antiquity can compare. While that is strictly my own opinion, I urge you to read his story and decide for yourself.
I have a half dozen books on Hannibal, but the book I typically recommend is the one I mentioned at the top. Yes, it is a fictional novel that takes broad liberties with known history.
Why do I recommend it? Well primarily because the story of Hannibal has been erased from history, so some liberties are acceptable, IMHO. This is because reading history can be a hard pill to swallow. So, if reading history isn’t easy for you or you just don’t have much free time, then this is a great read that will keep you turning pages late into the night. By the way, Ross Leckie also wrote two sequels: Scipio (Kindle) and Carthage (Kindle), that are just as entertaining. I have recommended Leckie’s books to coaches, entrepreneurs, and CEOs - it is a great source of inspiration.
However, for a more in-depth and historically factual book, I recommend Leonard Cottrell’s Hannibal: Enemy of Rome. It is still a quick read from a historian’s perspective but doesn’t stray too far from established history. If you are a history fan and would like an in-depth look into the actual battles, I find Theodore A. Dodge’s Hannibal (Kindle) (Audio CD) (Audible) a fantastic reference. It contains an a closer look at the wars with Rome, the politics of the time, and battle strategies. For those who want to understand tactics on the battlefield, this is the book.
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar, A Biography, by Michael Grant
There are hundreds of books written about Julius Caesar, and for good reason. I own many and I have read or heard about Caesar since childhood (Asterix and Obelix were a regular staple). Julius Caesar was a remarkable general and politician. It is my opinion that every entrepreneur and leader today should know who this man was.
Born into Roman nobility, Caesar was first a public servant, who became a brilliant military leader, and a capable orator and chronicler of his own campaigns. He played a critical role in the events that led to the end of the Roman Republic which led to the eventual rise of the Empire. In 60 BC, Caesar formed a political alliance with two other statesmen to share power under what is known as the First Triumvirate. Caesar's subsequent victories in the wars just North of the Roman peninsula, primarily in Gaul (modern-day France), extended Rome's territory up to the English Channel and the Rhine River.
Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both when he conducted the first invasion of Britain and built a demonstrative bridge across the Rhine. His conquest of Gaul greatly extended the Roman world, and also its wealth. The story for which Caesar is probably best known (thank you Shakespeare) is that on the 15th of March, 44 BC, he was assassinated by a group of senators who feared his growing dictatorial power. That said, what he accomplished before that and how he did it is worth learning about.
Unlike Cyrus, Caesar was neither magnanimous nor fair. He was absolute, violent and pursued his enemies until their complete destruction - something he likely learned from Alexander. It is therefore with reservations that I place him on my list of great historical figures. That said, the verdict, especially from many contemporary authors, is that he was an extremely effective leader and so I am keeping him on the list.
What should be of significant interest to contemporary readers, especially business leaders, is his genius for manipulation. Against typically significant forces rallied against him, he still managed to eke out a victory in politics, in growing his wealth and as a general on the battlefield. The way he managed debtors and politicians throughout his life is remarkable. Politically, he had a knack for being in the right place at the right time and made the best possible use out of his appointments and service. Likewise, his military victories at Alesia and Zela were masterful in their tactical approach.
As I mentioned there are many books written about Caesar, so picking the right ones can be difficult. The book by Michael Grant that I mentioned at the top is a quick read and the one I usually recommend for anyone needing to get a good overview of Caesar. For a more in-depth read on this fascinating man, I also own Caesar, a Biography (Kindle) by Christian Meier. Although it is a bit older, it is still an excellent biography and one I can heartedly recommend.
Another biographical author I heartily recommend is Theodore A. Dodge’s Caesar (Kindle) which goes more in-depth into the man and his times. I have several books written by Dodge, and I am always impressed by the care he takes in laying out strategies and what is known to be historically accurate.
Conclusion
There are many books on leadership that you can choose to read. I have shelves full of them, and to be honest, most of them are only half-read, if that. After you read enough of them you start to see that they are just rehashing the same advice. More importantly, when someone just tells you exactly what to do, it doesn’t make for an interesting story to read anymore.
Cyrus, Hannibal and Caesar came long before these self-help books cam along. They forged their own path in history and the fact that we can still learn from them thousands of years later is an indication that their stories mattered. What is also significant is that Hannibal studied leaders that came before him, like Cyrus. Likewise, Caesar studied the Punic wars that Hannibal was the central figure of. They took from those who came before them and used that information to create their own success.
The most successful leaders in history have studied these three men as well. Those that learned from their stories used it for their own success, those that didn’t didn’t… and it is why we don’t know their names. Today, we have libraries of information available at our fingertips, or at the tap of a screen. Yet despite that, we often neglect to learn from the success of leaders before us.
This begs the question, will people two thousand years from now read about you with the same interest? If so, then it is likely because you learned something from these great men of our past. Instead of binge-watching reruns of Two and a Half Men, maybe sitting down with one of the books linked above may be a better use of your time.
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