Comparison Of The Military Achievements Of Caligula, Hannibal And Shaka Zulu

In the midst of one's knowledge of ancient leaders and armies, one can see the great differences and similarities they all have. Originating from one another and ending up as enemies can be seen as perplexing because the thought of them assisting each other is obvious, yet they decide to battle each other to see who’s best. Caligula, the emperor of Rome, and Hannibal, commander of the Carthaginian army, are two leaders whose work had a huge impact on others in both similar and different ways.

Their differences can be easily noticed as they both ruled in different manners. Caligula was a person of love and attention. His strategic ways of getting his people to love him were common in the fact that he did positive things for others. He gave his people entertainment by putting on gladiator fighting shows that were extremely violent. In his mind, he knew that his people would be excited to see things as such because they love to see others get killed. Caligula also used money as one of his factors.

On one occasion, he stood on top of a tower and threw money down towards the citizens. One may view this as outrageous but to him he wanted his people to love him so giving back to them using money was a way to keep on pulling them in. In another instance, Caligula adopted his nephew Gellemus after he was left alone when his parents were killed. Caligula did this to show people that he was family oriented and cared about others well-being just as much as he cared about himself. He was of course a great leader yet with his enhanced ways of getting to be loved back, one can see it isn’t like the norm. Now on the other hand, Hannibal was a man of battle. Unlike Caligula, he was strategic on the battlefield instead. In one of his fights with Rome, his soldiers formation on the battlefield began as coming towards Rome--sort of in the shape of the letter “V” but with the point coming first.

After a while Hannibal came up with the idea of moving backwards and allowing Rome to come in towards them so in the end they could be trapped in. His plan succeeded in which a few of Hannibal’s other soldiers came from behind Rome’s army and trapped them in between both sides of the rest of his army forming a triangle. His ingenious strategy caused him to come out on top just as he had hoped for and had always fought for. Hannibal was raised win--and especially win against Rome. In the case of viewing their differences and noticing their intricate thoughts, it is clearly shown that Hannibal was a better leader because of his more strategtic ways of leading his people. Caligula can be seen as more worried about gaining love from his people and having them praise him, meanwhile Hannibal cares more about winning his battles and knowing how to defeat others in a tactical manner.

Although Caligula and Hannibal had different ways of leading, they both led in very strategic ways. Because of their deliberate planning, they were both able to become successful leaders which resulted in their rise in power. Unlike many others, these two leaders were able to use their way of planning to get others to follow them. The fact that they both were able to please the people and actually have knowledge of what they were planning caused them both to be some of the strongest leaders. Despite the fact that they had different strategies, their planning was able to enhance their ruling in the same kinds of ways. They were trusted by the people of their cities to be the person who would lead others in the right direction and have a successful ruling.

One can compare and differ both Caligula and Hannibal to each other, and one can also compare and differ them to other rulers that were on the same standard or higher. Shaka Zulu is known for being chief of the Zulu. He was known as a strong, great warrior, but brutal leader who did what was best for his army. He can be differed from Caligula and Hannibal in the way he was brought up as a child. His father drove him and his mother, Nandi, out of the village and they were disgraced and had to find another clan to join. After trying to fit in, “Here, growing up as a fatherless child, Shaka seems to have been the victim of humiliation and cruel treatment by the Langeni boys” (“Shaka Zulu”).

Shaka Zulu went through various hardships yet he took the negativity in his life and turned into positivity as he came out to be one of the greatest leaders known in history. In a manner of similarities, Caligula, Hannibal and Shaka Zulu are alike in the matter of they all had a hard upbringing. Their childhoods were out of the ordinary--as for a person would think them being successful rulers means they had it all as they grew older. Although their upbringings were different in various ways, they all endured the same concept of having to go through a troubled period in order to reach the goal they had in mind.

In the end, all three leaders were ones to remember. Their similarities and differences make them unique. All leaders hold the power of being all-mighty and it is clearly shown through their history and the effects they made on their cities still to this day. They left a legacy behind that will remain in the books of history--Caligula being remembered as a leader of love and recognition, Hannibal being remembered as a strong warrior, a man of the battlefield, and Shaka Zulu being remembered for his well-built kingdom and powerful army. Leaders today can be seen as wonderful and above us all, yet not as many leaders can be seen to create and put to use, strategies that will benefit them in the end.