ext_15741 ([identity profile] ravenclaw-eric.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] fpb 2013-04-09 08:28 pm (UTC)

I don't approve of Napoleon myself. But when an expert in any field is speaking on his area of expertise, I listen very carefully. I've known people who were grade-A jerks on a scale almost beyond belief, but were very good in one particular area, and when they spoke about the areas that they were good in, I perked up and paid attention.

And as far as unwarrantedly calling someone "The Great" goes---I'd put Justinian I of Byzantium in that category. His wars devastated Italy and left it open to the Lombards, who were quite a bit more barbaric than the Ostrogoths he'd destroyed; his policies did a lot to weaken his Empire in the long run, and his conquests outside Italy were evanescent at best.

Post a comment in response:

This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting