Draft, working on this post.
The following is a list of historical figures, selected primarily for having been interesting. Most either were extremely successful, crazy, won or lost key battles, or committed or were victims of atrocities.
I want to quickly summarize their lives using geographical features and cities (rather than modern national borders).
BC Years
1810-1750 BC, Hammurabi, 6th Amorite King of the old Babylonian Empire.
~800 BC, Homer
669-631 BC, Ashurbanipal
600-530 BC, Cyrus II of Persia
551-459 BC, Confucius.
450-404 BC, Alcibiades, Greece, Anatolia. Contemporary of Socrates.
430-355 BC, Xenophon, marched through Northern Iraq and noted huge old cities.
381 BC, King Dao of Chu, Early ruler in the warring states period.
356-323 BC, Alexander III of Macedon, tutored by Aristotle. “Alexander the Great”
350,-285 BC, Pytheas of Massalia, “Pytheas the Greek” Explored from Greece to Britain
367-283 BC, Ptolomy 1, “Ancestor to Cleopatra, inherited Egypt from Alexander the Great”
312-63 BC, Seleucid Empire figure?
247-181 BC, Hannibal Barca, Carthage, Defeated by Hublius Cornelius Scitio Africanus
~-161 BC, Maccabean Martyrs
215,-164 BC, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Historical monster
80-46 BC, Vercingetorix: Celtic leader who united the Celtic clans against Julius Ceasar, lost, and was executed in Rome.
5 BC-67AD, Paul of Tarsus, wrote much of the New Testament, “Reading from the Letter of Paul to … ”
69-155, Polycarp
100-165, Justin Martyr
202 Irenaeus
244-311, Diocletian, Ended the 3rd Century “crisis of emperors.”
298-373, Athanasius
437, Gunther, Scandanavia, Hungary?, Killed by Attila the Hun, Norse legend.
480-575, Saint Brendan the Navigator, See also Patrick and Brigid of Kildare
500-548, Theodora, “Mabbug, Cyprus, or Paphlagonia, Wife of Justinian, convinced men to stay during Nika riot, insisted on wearing royal purple.
573-634, Abu Bakr, Muhammed’s father-in-law, Sunni leader.
686-741,Charles Martel, Stopped the Muslim advance at Battle of Tours
752-803, Empress Irene, Byzantine Empress. Killed her own son.
885-954,Erik Haroldsson, King of Norway and Northumbria, “Erik Bloodaxe”
-986, Bjarni Herjolfsson, Overshot Greenland and landed on Labrador Coast / Newfoundland
-1014,Samuel of Bulgaria, Lost to Basil II. 99 / 100 of his men were blinded after loss, brutal.
1022-1066, Harold Godwinson, Harold II, Last Anglo-Saxon King of England. Beaten at Hastings, William the Conqueror.
1215-1294, Kublai Khan, Successor to Ghengis
1304-1377, Ibn Battuta, Major traveler. Berber. Never the same path twice.
1336-1405, Tamerlane, Uzbekhyzstan, Murderous.
1371-1433, Ma He / Zheng He, Chinese explorer, huge fleet, did not conquer. He was a eunuch.
1450-1500, Bartolomeu Dias, Cabo de tempestade, Portuguese explorer
1485-1547, Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca. Burned his ships and defeated the Aztecs.
1519-1589: Catherine de’ Medici – influenced by Il Principe (2nd book printed on press behind The Bible), married to King of France, instigated St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
1583-1634: Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein – Bohemian military commander influenced by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
1635-1695, Michael Toussaint. Became Michael of Ruffine. First Ruffing.