Jump to content
UNRV Ancient Roman Empire Forums
Gloria Exercitus

Best/Personal Favorite Roman General Poll

Recommended Posts

Why don't you make this a poll as long as you have limited it?

Anyway, Scipio is my man. If it weren't for him, we all might belong to to al-kida.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If he was there, I'd have gone for Julian. But as he isn't, I'll go for Belisarius.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Belisarius made an epic effort to rebuild the Western Roman Empire. The amount of territory he conquered was vast. Most of Vandal North Africa, some parts of Spain as well as Italy. And that's not to mention his campaigns against the Persians. For the Roman period I would go for Flavius Aetius, seeing as he made a lot out of nothing. He managed to defeat Attila and his hordes with only a broken army and barbarian allies. Considering the resources he had at his disposal he managed some very surprising successes. For the Republican era I'd go for Scipio.

 

Scipio Africanus I would rate as one of, if not the greatest Roman strategists. His campaigns against the Carthaginians in Spain, as Hannibal marched across Italy, would have seemed a disastorous desicion for a lesser general, yet he succesfully pulled it off.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am sure we have had this poll before. In any case, I would vote for Scipio Africanus. I cannot comment on Belisarius' efforts as he lies outside my perimeters of knowledge, so I offer apologies to military experts who may disagree with my choice of Scipio. However, as much as we may all admire Caesar's conquests, Scipio had to deal with an aggressor on the doorstep, as it were, and my final vote goes to him for rescuing Rome from what could have been an early end.

 

BTW: It always amazes me that Germanicus is even mentioned in polls of this nature!

Edited by The Augusta

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I like generals who are not as famous as those mentioned in the poll but who were highly efficient on the battlefield and also were very interesting characters. I mean men like Lucullus, Sertorius or emperor Tiberius.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Its temping to vote for a general who often recieves lesser mention in mainstream knowledge. But I still feel that Caesar was the greatest general by virtue of not just his amazing tactical inovations - but the sheer godliness that even the most lay person can associate with his name. Aurelian is a close second in my opinion though. His outstanding military leadership in the midst of the 3rd century crisis singlehandedly allowed the Roman Empire to recover and endure for another 2 centuries - even if the path to destruction had already been laid down.

 

Oh and by the way, I'm back from the dead :thumbs_up:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd stake a claim on both Scipio Africanus and Julius Caesar. Scipio being the better tactician and Caesar one of the great 'leaders of men' in ancient history.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I always thought that Caesar was great for his politics but Scipio was the better General. He did much with little. I am a Marius fan but he wasn't as good as Scipio. Belisarius gets an A for strategy but his tactics weren't as spectacular as Scipio's, who gets an A+ in both departments.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would have to go with Marcus Agrippa, without his victories and military genuise, Augustus could never founded the Roman Empire.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I would have to go with Marcus Agrippa, without his victories and military genuise, Augustus could never founded the Roman Empire.

 

Does that make him great or terrible? There will be people on both sides of this issue.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Does that make him great or terrible? There will be people on both sides of this issue.

 

You could argue about the politics but I think everyone would agree that Agrippa was among the greatest Roman general.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well your favourite generals are all nice and such, but they never can top mine. My chosen general is Marcus Minucius Rufus. He was magister equitum to Q. Fabius Maximus during the second Punic war. After the battle at the lacus Trasumenus, the Romans preferred merely to follow Hannibal

Edited by Schabbes

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Map of the Roman Empire

×