Conquerers

By the age of 25, Napoleon Bonaparte had been expelled from the army, was disgraced, despondent and suicidal. One year later, he was the youngest general in France, and began winning victories with ragged troops who were at the point of starvation. "He was like an expert chess player, with the human race for an opponent, which he proposed to checkmate. Napoleon I (1769-1821), emperor of the French, who consolidated and institutionalized many reforms of the French Revolution. One of the greatest military commanders of all time, he conquered the larger part of Europe and did much to modernize the nations he ruled.

Napoleon was a great Leader. He balanced the budget, and established the Bank of France. He controlled prices, started public works to put people to work, and encouraged new industry. Order, security, and efficiency replaced liberty, equality, and fraternity as the slogans of the new regime.

Peter the Great or Peter I (1672-1725), tsar and, later, emperor of Russia (1682-1725), who is linked with the Westernization of Russia and its rise as a great power.

Declared war against the Ottoman Empire, and became determined to modernize Russian forces after early defeats illustrated Russia's military inadequacy
1697 Embarked on a tour of European countries with a delegation known as the Grand Embassy, gathering knowledge and returning to Russia with more than 750 foreign experts from various fields
1698 Ordered the execution of more than 1,000 Russian soldiers who had plotted to overthrow him in his absence
1700 Commenced the Great Northern War against Sweden and, after early defeats, modernized the Russian military
1721 Defeated Sweden and gained the Baltic coastline in the Treaty of Nystad, expanding territory to the Baltic Sea and facilitating sea access to Europe
1721 Was granted the titles of Great and Emperor, signifying Russia's emergence as a European power

In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan created one of history's largest land empires, which stretched from the Caspian Sea in Russia to the South China Sea. Genghis Khan succeeded his father as a Mongol chief when still a child, and faced many challenges to his position. He defeated these insurrections, and through his military genius united the nomadic Mongol tribes and turned them into a disciplined fighting force.

He formed one of the greatest empires in history. He united the Mongol tribes. This was no mean feat for the mongol tribes had never united before his rule and have never managed to unite again. Besides this, he planned well his successors and his empire lasted for a few generations after his death.

Kublai Khan (1215-1294), Mongol military leader, founder and first emperor (1279-1294) of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China, grandson of the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan and his best-known successor. Kublai Khan completed the conquest of China that was begun by his grandfather. From 1252 to 1259 he aided his brother Mangu Khan in the conquest of southern China, penetrating successfully as far as Tibet and Tonkin.

He relinquished all claims to the parts of the Mongol Empire outside China, consolidated his hold on China, and in 1279 established the Yuan dynasty as the successor to the Southern Song dynasty. He undertook foreign wars in attempts to enforce tribute claims on neighboring states, conquering Burma (now known as Myanmar) and Korea. His military expeditions to Java and Japan, however, met with disaster.

However, of the approximately 18 million Jews in the world, one-third were killed in what came to be known as the Holocaust.