Greatest Historical Figures — All-Time Rankings

Overall ranking by weighted total score: Military (10%) + Political (20%) + Influence (20%) + Legacy (20%) + Leadership (15%) + Strategy (15%).

Military Political Influence Overall

Top 50 Leaderboard

Qin Shi Huang

85.2

Augustus

85.9

Alexander the Great

85.2

Augustus

Emperor · Ancient · Roman Empire

85.9

Tier S

Qin Shi Huang

Emperor · Ancient · China

85.2

Tier S

Alexander the Great

General · Ancient · Macedon

85.2

Tier S

Cyrus the Great

Emperor · Ancient · Persia

83.9

Tier A

Julius Caesar

General · Ancient · Roman Republic

82.8

Tier A

Yamagata Aritomo

General · Modern · Japan

82.5

Tier A

Rajendra Chola I

Emperor · Medieval · India

82.2

Tier A

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

General · Modern · Japan

82.0

Tier A

Tokugawa Ieyasu

General · Modern · Japan

81.8

Tier A

Abbas I

Emperor · Modern · Persia

81.4

Tier A

Genghis Khan

Emperor · Medieval · Mongolia

81.2

Tier A

Emperor Wen of Sui

Emperor · Medieval · China

80.3

Tier A

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Politician · Modern · Turkey

80.0

Tier A

Afonso de Albuquerque

General · Medieval · Portugal

79.6

Tier A

Mao Zedong

Politician · Modern · China

79.4

Tier A

Emperor Taizong of Tang

Emperor · Medieval · China

78.9

Tier A

Duke of Zhou

Politician · Ancient · Zhou China

78.8

Tier A

Suleiman I

Emperor · Medieval · Ottoman Empire

78.8

Tier A

Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba

General · Medieval · Spain

78.6

Tier A

Toussaint Louverture

General · Modern · Haiti

78.5

Tier A

Alexios I Komnenos

Emperor · Medieval · Byzantine Empire

78.4

Tier A

Cleisthenes

Politician · Ancient · Greece

78.3

Tier A

Hong Taiji

Emperor · Modern · China

78.3

Tier A

Babur

Emperor · Medieval · Mughal Empire

78.1

Tier A

Dorgon

General · Modern · China

78.0

Tier A

Cao Cao

General · Ancient · China

77.5

Tier A

Abraham Lincoln

Politician · Modern · United States

77.5

Tier A

Isabella I of Castile

Emperor · Medieval · Spain

77.2

Tier A

Abu Bakr

Emperor · Medieval · Rashidun Caliphate

77.1

Tier A

Dwight D. Eisenhower

General · Modern · United States

76.8

Tier A

George Washington

Politician · Modern · United States

76.8

Tier A

Vauban

General · Modern · France

76.4

Tier A

Muawiyah I

Emperor · Medieval · Umayyad Caliphate

76.3

Tier A

Ashoka the Great

Emperor · Ancient · India

76.3

Tier A

Helmuth von Moltke

General · Modern · Prussia

76.2

Tier A

Theodosius I

Emperor · Ancient · Roman Empire

76.0

Tier A

Trajan

Emperor · Ancient · Roman Empire

76.0

Tier A

Turenne

General · Modern · France

75.8

Tier A

Yi Seong-gye

Emperor · Medieval · Korea

75.8

Tier A

Ardashir I

Emperor · Ancient · Sassanid Empire

75.6

Tier A

Constantine the Great

Emperor · Ancient · Roman Empire

75.5

Tier A

John Churchill Duke of Marlborough

General · Modern · England

75.4

Tier A

King David

Emperor · Ancient · Israel

75.3

Tier A

Rama of Ayodhya

Emperor · Ancient · Vedic India

75.3

Tier A

Ivan III the Great

Emperor · Medieval · Muscovy

75.3

Tier A

Otto I the Great

Emperor · Medieval · Holy Roman Empire

75.2

Tier A

Ruhollah Khomeini

Politician · Modern · Iran

75.1

Tier A

Duke of Wellington

General · Modern · United Kingdom

75.0

Tier A

Charles I of Spain

Emperor · Medieval · Spain

75.0

Tier A

Xu Da

General · Medieval · China

74.9

Tier B

Rankings are determined by the HistoryVersus data-driven scoring engine. Scores combine multiple weighted sub-indicators. See individual figure pages for detailed breakdowns.