Who's the coolest general?

[J-WO]

Poor show for Alexander. I'd of thought he'd be at the top of the list.

 

[Sparrow]

Remember, the original question is "coolest" general, not who we think is the best general in history.

 

[Vladd67]

How about John Churchill? Started as a page in the House of Stuart and went on to become one of Europe's finest generals whose victories helped Britain become a major power in the 18th century.

 

[J-WO]

I don't know who John of Bedford is, but his name is spectacularly uncool. He sounds like a furniture shop.

 

[Drachir]

Remember, the original question is "coolest" general, not who we think is the best general in history.

I doubt many generals would be thought "cool" just for playing rock music and smoking dope. If a general cannot engage in human slaughter efficiently he is not going to make the list.

 

[Pyan]

I don't know who John of Bedford is, but his name is spectacularly uncool. He sounds like a furniture shop.

Never judge a book by its cover, J-WO - your "furniture shop" was:

• Heir to the English Throne
• Duke of Bedford
• Earl of Kendal and Richmond
• Regent of England and France
• Governor of Normandy
• Lord High Admiral of the Fleet

And was responsible for the trial and execution of Joan of Arc...

 

[J-WO]

In that case hats off to him, but he really should have sacked his image consultant.

How about 'John of Badass'?

 

[reiver33]

There was a ruler of Navare (I think) known as 'Don Pedro the Cruel'. Now, if that's the best your own citizens have to say about you...

Well, I suppose it beats 'Pippin the Fat' (Holy Roman Empire)

 

[Pyan]

France had a "Charles the Fat", as well as "Charles the Bald", and a "Louis the Simple", whereas Norway had both a "Magnus the Blind" and a "Magnus Barefoot".

But the Swedes have them all beaten, IMHO, with "Eric the Lisp and Lame"

 

[Drachir]

France had a "Charles the Fat", as well as "Charles the Bald", and a "Louis the Simple", whereas Norway had both a "Magnus the Blind" and a "Magnus Barefoot".

But the Swedes have them all beaten, IMHO, with "Eric the Lisp and Lame"

And Timur the Lame - not a bad general as I recall.

 

[dreamhunter]

Now at least we're seeing some non-American & non-Brit names. Now, that's cool.

Heard of Marduniya (Mardonius)? He was nephew of Daraya (Darius) & cousin of Khshayarsha (Xerxes). His father was Gaubaruva (Gobryas), a Medean general & satrap of Elam, who married Daraya's sister, Ardu Zaustri (Artozostre), by whom Marduniya was born.

A daughter of Gaubaruva from an earlier marriage was also married to Daraya.

Marduniya was tasked by Daraya to reorganise the Asiatic Greek region of Ionia. He deposed all the Ionian kings & set up democracies there, which pleased the proponents of democracy in Greece proper.

During his time, Macedonia & Thracia (vassals of Persia then) rose in rebellion against Persia. Marduniya helped Daraya subdue Macedonia without too much resistance. The Thracians gave a tougher fight, but was still defeated. But Marduniya came back to Persia heavily injured from a night time attack by the Thracians.

A sister of Alexander I (great great great great grandfather of Philip) was given in marriage to Khshayarsha (Xerxes). Part of the typical ancient post-war peace deal, probably. I would speculate that Alexander I himself could have married a close relative of Xerxes.

The point is, Marduniya could have decimated the entire Macedonian royal house - including Alexander I - that time if he had so wished. So, in a way, you could say that Philip of Macedonia & Alexander the Great wouldn't have even been born, had Marduniya been a more ruthless, more uncool, Persian general.

Some writers also speculate that in the end, it was Alexander I, then a supposed ally of Xerxes & Persia, who betrayed Marduniya at the Battle of Plataea, where he fell in battle.

For those who have read Tom Holland's "Persian Fire", Marduniya (Mardonius) is mentioned somewhere in there in fairly favourable terms.

 

[Connavar]

Of course Saladin didnt make the list he crushed crusaders,recaptured Jerusalem. Things that make him a holy figure to islamic part of the world.

Since he is culturely close i always thought he was cool plus :

His chivalrous behavior was noted by Christian chroniclers, especially in the accounts of the siege of Kerak in Moab, and despite being the nemesis of the Crusaders he won the respect of many of them, including Richard the Lionheart; rather than becoming a hated figure in Europe, he became a celebrated example of the principles of chivalry.

Not a feared killer like Ghingis,Napoleon and co which is a weird for a conquerer.

 

[dreamhunter]

Oh yeah. Salahuddin should definitely be somewhere in there. He spared the lives of like 20,000 vanquished, captured enemy soldiers who had massacred easily twice that number of his own people.

Maaannn, he was like, coolness personified.

 

[Connavar]

Yeah specially for generals who are remembered are usually cold bloody mass murderers that likes to use that as fear.

Seeing documentaries on Genghis Khan conquering was sick,bloody mass murderers where he didnt have to just to scare his enemies.

I would name my first offspring Saladin, not because people name them after famous history people like Caesar world wide famous name. Because its a beautiful name.

 

[Pyan]

I would name my first offspring Saladin, not because people name them after famous history people like Caesar world wide famous name. Because its a beautiful name.

That's the English rendition though, Conn - in Arabic it would be Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn, which to my ear at least is even better.

 

[pom]

well if we are going for the straight forward coolest leader. I would have to say che guevara. lets be honest, I dont see many young people wearing tee shirts with pictures of the others.

If its brilliance, then I would say Zhukov, or maybe Vo Nguyen Giap who has to be one of the most underrated generals ever. this was a man who defeated not one, but two superpowers and inflicted such a schism on American psyche that it needed the combined force of Stallone and Norris to re write history

 

[thaddeus6th]

Young people are renowned for being wrong though.



As I'm pretty sure I said earlier, Hannibal gets my vote. But reading a little of Alexander's successors, Eumenes appears to have done very well with very little, ultimately failing despite his abilities.

 

[Connavar]

That's the English rendition though, Conn - in Arabic it would be Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn, which to my ear at least is even better.

I'm a somali my spoken language sounds very much like arabic. I wrote in the english rendition for the posters here.

My name is of the prophet, we all say it like the arabs do. Not the way the name is written in western,english world Muhammed.

Salah ad-Din i have no choice of saying but in the arabic way. I might not write arabic as well as before but we are born,raised in islamic,arabic based culture. Those guys almost erased our post Islam culture. Somali language is 60-70% arabic.

Its the sound my tongue makes the arabic name of the great general that makes it my fav name

Its the sound only arabic speakers can make. I know i have tried for years explaining how somali names sound like the arabic ones....

 

[J-WO]

well if we are going for the straight forward coolest leader. I would have to say che guevara. lets be honest, I dont see many young people wearing tee shirts with pictures of the others.

I wonder if there would be a market for T-shirts that did?

 

[HareBrain]

I wonder if there would be a market for T-shirts that did?

We could design some. Mine is a front-view of an IS-2 tank crushing a bunch of Germans and the wording "Zhukov and die!"