Send in the Hordes!
Ever notice how the more ancient a conqueror was/is, the more overall respect they seem to garner for themselves? Sure everyone has their detractors, but even still I tend to find more positive (and sometimes even romanticised) thoughts regarding some of the older conquerors out there.
For example, I have not really encountered a lot of people who vehemently condemn or argue against the conquests of such well-loved pillagers as the Norse Vikings, the Mongol hordes, or the ancient Greek and Roman armies. Even Alexander the Great is considered a pretty good conqueror, as far as conquerors go.
Compare these to some of the more recent (I hesitate to use the term "modern") conquerors, like Hitler or Napoleon. Or Disney or Bill Gates for that matter. Perhaps I'm picking the examples that tend to get picked on, and this is resulting in a biased view against recent conquerors. Yet many people seem to think Napoleon was a short megalomaniac, whereas Bill Gates is just a nerdy-looking megalomaniac. Disney has a lot of vocal detractors. And Hitler...enough said, simply by saying his name here.
Why is that? Why are the more ancient of conquerors, who were probably and in all likelihood not the nicest of characters, garnering such overall good publicity? Is it because they're so far back in time, we cannot properly understand their vices, so what we're left with are extolling their virtues? Is it because they've somehow procured the greatest historical spin doctors ever? Or is it because they actually succeeded, whereas the ones in more recent history, by many accounts, have failed poorly? This does beg the question of whether or not the line between insanity or genius is drawn by success or failure.
If that is the case, the art of conquest started going downhill around the time of the first Crusades, since the Crusades tend to get lumped into the "Conqueror Bad" listing more often than not. You can't help but wonder if somewhere out there, the Khans are staring down at such warlording empires as Microsoft, and indignantly snorting, "Idiots."
Today's Lesson: perhaps the old ways are better; 1,000 large sweaty guys on horseback with large, pointy swords can't be wrong!
posted by Phillip at 4:48 PM
