History Main / TheConqueror

* ''XenaWarriorPrincess'' featured an AlternateHistory storyline in which Hercules was never born, and thus never "unchained" Xena's heart. She ended up the cold and ruthless Conqueror. As the name implied, she brought most of Ancient Greece and the Mediterranean region under her boot.
** Likewise, in "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, the Parallel World version of Hercules, the Sovereign, is a ruthless conqueror.

* General Tacticus, from whose name the the word "tactics" is derived, was a famous Morporkian leader of the DiscWorld. Not only did he win countless wars for the Empire of the time, but when placed in command of a satellite city-state, he promptly did what he regarded as the best move in the interest of said state's defensive self-interest, and attacked Ankh-Morpork. And won, of course. He also famously wrote a book that is the Disc's equivalent of ''The Art of War'', which is standard reference material for military leaders the Disc over.

!!Examples:

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* General Tacticus, from whose name the the word "tactics" is derived, was a famous Morporkian leader of the {{DiscWorld}}. Not only did he win countless wars for the Empire of the time, but when placed in command of a satellite city-state, he promptly did what he regarded as the best move in the interest of said state's defensive self-interest, and attacked Ankh-Morpork. And won, of course. He also famously wrote a book that is the Disc's equivalent of ''The Art of War'', which is standard reference material for military leaders the Disc over.
* Artur "Hawkwing" Paendrag of ''TheWheelOfTime'' not only managed to take over the entire continent, but also ran it so well that "a child could carry a bag of gold from one coast to the other without fear", although his justice system became a bit draconian in later years. The only group he failed to conquer were the Aes Sedai, and possibly only because he died before his war against them was concluded. Unfortunately, he succumbed to the VetinariParadox, and his hard-won Empire collapsed soon after he died.

* In the BackStory to the first ''{{Gor}}'' book, Marlenus, the Ubar of Ar, has captured the Home Stones of about a hundred other city-states, which in practical terms means those city-states are vassal to Ar. It is Tarl's assignment to steal Ar's Home Stone, thereby breaking their power.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Napoleon Bonaparte, who ''almost'' succeeded in uniting Europe under his rule, if it weren't for those pesky British and a bad winter in Russia.
* Julius Caesar. So effective his name became a title for emperors after him.
* Alexander the Great, who holds the record for most land personally conquered by a single individual.

* During his reign (1479 - 1425 BC), Pharaoh Thutmose III conquered Northern Africa and the Middle East from Niy in north Syria to the fourth waterfall of the Nile in Nubia, the largest extent ever covered by the Egyptian empire.

** Darius, Cyrus's successor, added parts of Greece and even more of India to Cyrus's empire.
* Attila the Hun carved out an empire that stretched from Germany to the Ural River and from the Danube to the Baltic Sea.

* Suleiman the Magnificent expanded the Ottoman Empire by basically eviscerating the Byzantines. Under his rule, the Ottoman's controlled everything from Algeria to Iran and from Ethiopia to Hungary.

* King William I of England (better known as William the Conqueror), first battled to secure his claim on Normandy, then invaded England in 1066. While he really only conquered one small island, the impact of that one small conquest on world history cannot possibly be understated.

[[AC:{{Animation}}]]

ConquerorFromTheFuture is a SubTrope of this when the Conqueror in question has, in fact, actually managed to conquer something. GalacticConqueror and YoungConqueror another one.

* Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon united Spain under their joint banners and drove the Muslims out of Western Europe. And then they subsidized an ocean voyage by some guy named Columbus. (Modern Spaniards like to give the credit to Ferdinand alone because Isabella was an icon of the Franco regime, but [[HistoryMarchesOn Isabella was a far more capable ruler] and a better general to boot; while she was leading troops (often while pregnant), he was off porking his various mistresses before showing up after the battle to take credit.)

* Ferdinand II united Spain under his banner and drove the Muslims out of Western Europe. And then he subsidized an ocean voyage by some guy named Columbus.

* Charlmenge, King of the Franks and later the original Holy Roman Emperor.

* Atilla the Hun carved out an empire that stretched from Germany to the Ural River and from the Danube to the Baltic Sea.
* Ferdinand II united Spain under his banner and drove the Moslems out of Western Europe. And then he subsidized an ocean voyage by some guy named Colombus.

* Ghengis Khan, who ruled an empire that made Alexander's look like a postage stamp (but who did not personally conquer all of said land).
** What's said above under {{Literature}} about Artur Hawkwing's realm is actually adapted from a boast Ghengis Khan made: "A virgin with a bag of gold around her neck could walk naked from one end of my realm to another without being attacked."

** Prior to being known as William the Conqueror, he was known as William ''the Bastard''. No doubt he really appreciates the switch in titles.

** Artur Hawkwing's boast, quoted above under {{Literature}} is actually adapted from a boast Ghengis Khan made: "A virgin with a bag of gold around her neck could walk naked from one end of my realm to another without being attacked."

* CyrusTheGreat ''created'' the Persian Empire by conquering pretty much every other civilization in Southwest Asia, the Near East, and the Middle East, from Egypt to the Indus River.

* Cyrus the Great ''created'' the Persian Empire by conquering pretty much every other civilization in Southwest Asia, the Near East, and the Middle East, from Egypt to the Indus River.

ConquerorFromTheFuture is a SubTrope of this when the Conqueror in question has, in fact, actually managed to conquer something. GalacticConqueror and YoungConquerer another one.

ConquerorFromTheFuture is a SubTrope of this when the Conqueror in question has, in fact, actually managed to conquer something. GalacticConqueror is another one.

* Suleiman the Magnificent expanded the Ottoman Empire by basically eviscerating the Byzantines. Under his rule, the Ottoman's controlled everything from Algeria to Iran and from Ethiopia to Albania.

Throughout history, there have a few individuals who have had a marked personal effect on the course of events around them. Some did this through political or sometimes aesthetic means, but most of those who were single-handedly instrumental in deciding the path of history have been military leaders. It seems that certain men combine a rare set of natural traits - leadership ability, tactical thinking, staggering ambition, copious ego, and a large dose of suicidal bravery, all combined with a visionary drive to [[TakeOverTheWorld rule the world]] and the imagination to see it done - to create a whole individual who is patently capable of turning even a ragtag band of woefully underfed and poorly equipped vagabonds into a fighting force that is not only formidable but easily capable of crushing any opposition that stands before it.

Looking at history, there are a few individuals who have had a marked personal effect on the course of events around them. Some did this through political or sometimes aesthetic means, but most of those who were single-handedly instrumental in deciding the path of history have been military leaders. It seems that certain men combine a rare set of natural traits - leadership ability, tactical thinking, staggering ambition, copious ego, and a large dose of suicidal bravery, all combined with a visionary drive to [[TakeOverTheWorld rule the world]] and the imagination to see it done - to create a whole individual who is patently capable of turning even a ragtag band of woefully underfed and poorly equipped vagabonds into a fighting force that is not only formidable but easily capable of crushing any opposition that stands before it.

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* [[MarvelComics]] has Kang the Conqueror, Rama Tut, the Scarlet Centurion, and Immortus. The catch is that these are all actually the same guy: he's traveled through time so often, and created so many {{Alternate Timeline}}s, that there is now an entire LegionOfDoom called the Council of Kangs made up entirely of his own iterations. Immortus, it seems, is the original Kang, who is now a BoxedCrook: forced to spend eternity undoing the Continuity Snarl that is the Marvel universe thanks largely to him.

* In the BackStory to the first {{Gor}} book, Marlenus, the Ubar of Ar, has captured the Home Stones of about a hundred other city-states, which in practical terms means those city-states are vassal to Ar. It is Tarl's assignment to steal Ar's Home Stone, thereby breaking their power.

* ''XenaWarriorPrincess'' featured an AlternateHistory storyline in which Hercules was never born, and thus never "unchained" Xena's heart. She ended up the cold and ruthless Conqueror, who as the name implied brought most of Ancient Greece and the Mediterranean region under her boot.

* During his reign (1479 - 1425 BC), Pharaoh Thutmost III conquered Northern Africa and the Middle East from Niy in north Syria to the fourth waterfall of the Nile in Nubia, the largest extent ever covered by the Egyptian empire.

Looking at history, there are a few individuals who have had a marked personal effect on the course of events around them. Some did this through political or sometimes aesthetic means, but most of those who were single-handedly instrumental in deciding the path of history have been military leaders. It seems that certain men combine a rare set of natural traits - leadership ability, tactical thinking, staggering ambition, copious ego, and a large dose of suicidal bravery, all combined with a visionary drive to [{TakeOverTheWorld rule the world]] and the imagination to see it done - to create a whole individual who is patently capable of turning even a ragtag band of woefully underfed and poorly equipped vagabonds into a fighting force that is not only formidable but easily capable of crushing any opposition that stands before it.

Kieron in Steven Brust's ''{{Dragaera}}''. In addition, Sethra the Younger is a wannabe TheConqueror, though she has not succeeded (yet).

ConquerorFromTheFuture is a SubTrope of this when the Conqueror in question has, in fact, actually managed to conquer something.