The Mikado
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« on: April 13, 2011, 01:42:14 PM » |
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« edited: April 13, 2011, 03:10:45 PM by The Mikado »
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EDIT: Usual caveats apply: list is biased towards politics, etc.
1st Century: Arminius/Hermann, for driving Rome out of Germania.
2nd Century: Hadrian. You get the tie-in to the more-or-less final borders of the Roman Empire, the crushing of the Second Jewish Revolt and the end of large-scale Jewish presence in Palestine, and a look at Roman society at its peak.
3rd Century: Shapur I of the Sassanid Empire, for revitalizing Persia after a considerable period of decline and defeating Rome again and again, setting up the long Roman/Byzantine-Sassanid struggle that would last until the rise of Islam.
4th Century: Constantine, no question.
5th Century: If Time was around then, they'd chicken out and use something like "the Century of the Barbarian," and put Alaric, Attila, and Odoacer on the cover together. I suppose I should give it to Attila for getting the ball rolling.
6th Century: Justinian
7th Century: Muhammad
8th Century: Harun al-Rashid
9th Century: I know very little about this period. I...suppose? Charles the Bald, but out of lack of a better candidate.
10th Century: Abdul-Rahman III of Umayyad Spain
11th Century: Pope Gregory VII, for reinforcing Papal authority in the Investiture Controversy and cheapening the title of Emperor, weakening the once-powerful Ottonians.
12th Century: Genghis Khan (Easiest one yet)
13th Century: St. Louis (King Louis IX of France)
14th Century: Petrarch, symbolizing the proto-Renaissance. Dante's a good choice, too.
15th Century: Mehmet II The Conqueror (though Ferdinand and Isabella deserve a mention)
16th Century: Could we do a dueling cover? Martin Luther facing off with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor?
17th Century: Louis XIV
18th Century: Washington's not a bad choice, but I think an Enlightenment figure would go well. Adam Smith.
19th Century: Otto von Bismarck
20th Century: If only I could break this one into first half and second half. I'd feel horrible giving it to Einstein when I didn't give Newton the honor earlier. V. I. Lenin, I suppose.
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