RULER • ACHAEMENID PERSIA
Cyrus the Great
c. 600–530 BCEFounder of the Achaemenid Empire and one of the most influential rulers of the ancient world.
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GREAT FIGURES
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Meet the people whose ideas, leadership, discoveries and achievements left their mark on history.
RULER • CHOLA
Karikala Chola
100 CE (Sangam Age)An early Chola ruler traditionally associated with military campaigns and major works of infrastructure in the Tamil region.
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RULER • ROME
Julius Caesar
100–44 BCERoman general and statesman whose rise to power transformed the political structure of the Roman Republic.
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RULER • MACEDON
Alexander the Great
356–323 BCEKing of Macedon and one of the most influential military commanders of the ancient world. His campaigns created a vast empire and helped spread Greek culture across much of the ancient world.
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RULER • CHOLA EMPIRE
Rajaraja Chola I
c. 947–1014 CEOne of the most prominent Chola rulers, known for imperial expansion, administration and monumental temple architecture.
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RULER • OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Mehmed II
1432–1481 CEOttoman sultan best known for the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and the expansion of the Ottoman state.
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RULER • UMAYYAD CALIPHATE
Al-Walid I
c. 668–715 CEUmayyad caliph during a period of major territorial expansion and extensive architectural projects.
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SCIENTIST • MEDICINE
Ibn Sina
c. 980–1037 CEPersian polymath whose works in medicine, philosophy and science became influential across the Islamic world and Europe.
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SCIENTIST • PHYSICS
Isaac Newton
1643–1727 CEEnglish mathematician and physicist whose work transformed the study of motion, gravity and mathematics.
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SCIENTIST • MATHEMATICS
Al-Khwarizmi
c. 780–850 CEMathematician and scholar whose writings played an important role in the development of algebra and mathematical computation.
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SCIENTIST • OPTICS
Ibn al-Haytham
c. 965–1040 CEScholar whose investigations into vision, light and optics became an important part of the history of experimental science.
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THINKER • GREECE
Thales of Miletus
c. 624–546 BCEEarly Greek philosopher and natural thinker traditionally regarded as one of the first figures of the Milesian school.
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THINKER • GREECE
Socrates
c. 470–399 BCEA foundational figure in Western philosophy, remembered for his method of questioning and examination of ideas.
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THINKER • TAMIL NADU
Thiruvalluvar
c. 1st century BCE – 1st century CETamil poet and philosopher best known for the Thirukkural, a timeless work on virtue, ethics, politics, love and human conduct.
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THINKER • GREECE
Aristotle
384–322 BCEGreek philosopher whose work covered logic, ethics, politics, biology, physics and many other fields of knowledge.
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THINKER • CHINA
Confucius
551–479 BCEChinese philosopher whose teachings emphasized ethics, education, social responsibility and good governance.
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THINKER • HISTORY
Ibn Khaldun
1332–1406 CEHistorian and scholar known for his analysis of societies, states, economics and the forces that shape civilizations.
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MILITARY LEADER • ARABIA
Khalid ibn al-Walid
c. 592–642 CEEarly Islamic military commander known for his campaigns during the seventh century and remembered by the title Sword of Allah.
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MILITARY LEADER • BYZANTIUM
Belisarius
c. 500–565 CEByzantine general who served Emperor Justinian I and played a major role in campaigns against several rival powers.
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MILITARY LEADER • AYYUBID
Salahuddin Ayyubi
1137/38–1193 CEFounder of the Ayyubid dynasty and a major political and military leader during the Crusades.
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MILITARY LEADER • MONGOL EMPIRE
Subutai
c. 1175–1248 CEMongol military strategist and commander who participated in campaigns across a vast area of Eurasia.
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MILITARY LEADER • FRANCE
Napoleon Bonaparte
1769–1821 CEFrench military and political leader whose campaigns reshaped European politics during the early nineteenth century.
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EXPLORER • ATLANTIC
Christopher Columbus
1451–1506 CEMaritime explorer whose 1492 voyage across the Atlantic led to sustained contact between Europe and the Americas.
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EXPLORER • TRAVELLER
Ibn Battuta
1304–c. 1368/69 CEMoroccan traveller whose journeys across Africa, Asia and parts of Europe were recorded in the famous Rihla.
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EXPLORER • CHINA
Zheng He
1371–1433 CEChinese admiral who commanded major maritime expeditions across the Indian Ocean during the Ming dynasty.
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EXPLORER • VENICE
Marco Polo
c. 1254–1324 CEVenetian traveller whose reported journeys through Asia became famous in medieval Europe.
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EXPLORER • MARITIME
Ferdinand Magellan
c. 1480–1521 CEPortuguese navigator who led the expedition that began the first recorded circumnavigation of Earth, although he did not complete the voyage himself.
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