History Main / EmperorScientist

* Kit Darling of ''Webcomic/PoppyOpossum'' is a queen and a dedicated magical ([[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic scientific]]) researcher, not to mention an inventor. Unfortunately, she's failing to achieve what she wants in either role. As a queen, she's only a more or less powerless puppet in a more-or-less self-sufficient state, propped up by her family and [[OccupiersOutOfOurCountry resented by the local population]]; and despite being uniquely qualified for research due to a quirk of nature, she pushes herself to exhaustion and into dangerous subjects trying to find [[spoiler:a cure for her father]] without success.

* In ''Videogame/GenshinImpact'', the nation of Sumeru is a technocracy lead by the Sages, the heads of the various schools of the Akademiya, with the Grand Sage as the overall leader of both the nation and the Akademiya. While technically they're meant to be regents for their god "Lesser Lord Kusanali", worship of Kusanali has been actively condemned due to her being scapegoated for the loss of the previous god "Greater Lord Rukkhadevata". As a group, they're revealed to be incredibly corrupt since aside from condemning and imprisoning said goddess (who is for all intents and purposes a child) [[FunHatingVillain they also consider the arts to be a waste of time]] to the point of outlawing festivals and theater performances.

* ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'' has Orrin, King of Surda, who in the second book proves the existence of vacuums, among other things.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': Princess Zelda aspires to be a benevolent version of this. An avid researcher into the recently rediscovered {{Magitek}}, she is more knowledgeable about the Ancient Sheikah Technology than any other non-Sheikah. During her excursions with Link, she also gets excited studying the various flora and fauna of the fields. But her father King Rhoam [[FantasyForbiddingFather tells her to "stop playing the scholar"]] because he thinks it distracts her from her efforts to unlock her RoyaltySuperPower to defeat the soon-to-return Ganon (efforts that have been fruitless up to that point despite Zelda's fervent dedication to the task). [[note]] [[{Irony}} This is actually what prevents Zelda from unlocking her power]], since Zelda carries the Triforce of Wisdom and [[WrongGenreSavvy by stifling her from learning the king also stifled her power]]. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone He only realises this as his kingdom crumbles around him, well too late for it to do any good]].[[/note]] A straighter example would be the unnamed Hyrulian monarch who had the Ancient Technology built in the first place 10,000 years ago, though said monarch doesn't get any real characterization.

[[caption-width-right:350:''All my machines are made for destruction!\\

AuthorityEqualsAsskicking means they'll often qualify as a GeniusBruiser. That [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools doesn't have to be a bad thing]], though, if it provides a cool, legendary central character to [[BackStory build a universe around]].

* Emperor Nicholas the Puissant from the Negaverse in the ''Webcomic/GeneralProtectionFault'' webcomic. Conquered the earth (and at least one alien race) through a combination of HollywoodHacking, [[RealityWarper reality-bending]] inventions, [[MindControlDevice mind-control drugs]], and [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking sheer ruthlessness]].

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': Annorax in the "Year of Hell" two-parter. Somewhat of an inversion, as Annorax is not interested in conquest but merely re-writing reality to bring back his dead civilization (and wife). His myopic vision blinds him to the consequences of his action, causing a downward spiral where he's nuking entire planets left and right. He also commands his own nomadic battle cruiser and has a fanatical crew, similar to Nero from the ''Trek'' reboot movie.

* ''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Warhammer 40K]]'':

[[caption-width-right:350:''"All my machines are made for destruction!\\

I will succeed, and you will see,\\
With my machines, there is no retreat!"'']]

%% Image kept on page per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1451621394004271200
%% Subsequent thread did not produce a new image: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1612735976010308600

[[quoteright:268:[[Webcomic/GirlGenius https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/emperor_6.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:268:[[JustTheFirstCitizen Baron]] Klaus Wulfenbach, ruler of Europa, and dedicated researcher into the nature of the [[TheSparkOfGenius Spark]] (which he also has).]]

* Andrew Ryan from ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'', the "greatest electrical engineer of our generation" and "the bloody king of Rapture". However his actual in-game backstory indicates that he was actually an industrialist with little actual ability in regards to science.
* [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]] of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' fame is the self-proclaimed ruler of the "Eggman Empire", with his life goal being to establish and expand it worldwide through his robotic expertise, along with reverse-engineering whatever supernatural power sources he can get use out of. There are strong implications that this Eggman Empire ''does'' already have a degree of territory, as Eggman has owned multiple companies, factories, amusement parks and cities across the franchise's history, but it isn't until ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' where he [[TheBadGuyWins succeeds]] in taking over the world… [[TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin for about six months until Sonic and pals do their usual thing.]]

** The Think Tank of the Big Mountain facility from the ''Old World Blues DLC'' are this, being a collection of [[MadScientist mad scientists]] who survived the Great War by preserving their [[BrainInAJar brains in jars]]. Most of the Mojave's resident GoddamnBats are the result of their experiments, having escaped the facility.

* ''VideoGame/Fallout4'':
** The Institute is ran by these, being a [[TheDreaded shadowy cabal]] of [[MadScientist mad scientists]] hidden from the Wasteland at large. [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in that while they have made serious scientific advances they're only scientists and as such don't always make the best decisions.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Charles zi Britannia. At least, by the standards of science set in the show, since he seemed to have spent a great deal of time working on the Sword of Akasha, and had a near-complete understanding of the AppliedPhlebotinum found in the show. [[spoiler:His (technically older) twin brother V.V. is a much straighter example - he's the head of the Geass directorate, which studies Geass powers, and would have been emperor if he hadn't received a Code when he was a kid, making him an immortal prepubescent boy]]. Since we know so little of Charles' past, however (other than [[spoiler:him and V.V.being survivors of a particularly bloody royal fratricide that killed their mother and forever traumatized them]]), the extent to which his understanding of the show's technology and AppliedPhlebotinum allowed him to come to power in the first place is up for debate. Advanced [[HumongousMecha Knightmare Frames]] and a desire to get ahold of the precursors' LostTechnology ''definitely'' played a big role in his conquest of over one-third of the world, however.

* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', while Supreme Commander Gendo Ikari isn't an Emperor technically speaking, he's an extremely ruthless ManipulativeBastard who holds a '''lot''' of power in the already nigh-almighty NERV organization and has overseen/ordered many experiments to create/improve the EVA's and fight against the Angels. [[spoiler:His actual goal is to be reunited with his wife Yui, whose soul is trapped inside EVA-01 - and if he has to damn the world, his surviving son, and himself to do it, [[LoveMakesYouEvil so be it]].]]
* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Vinsmoke Judge is not only the ruler of the Germa kingdom, but is also a scientist who specializes in cloning and gene modification, and (presumably) was the creator of his family's Raid Suits. [[spoiler:This stems from his past time as a former colleague of Dr. Vegapunk, during which they made the revolutionary discoveries that made Germa an infamous military power]]. However, it's deconstructed; [[spoiler:when the World Government came after Judge's research team for their experiments, he fled, abandoning Vegapunk and most of their peers to their fates]]. Judge proceeded to use his scientific discoveries for conquest, breeding clones specifically for cannon fodder and meat shields [[spoiler:and genetically on his children to rid them of all '[[VirtueIsWeakness weaknesses]]' and raising them on his philosophy of [[TheSocialDarwinist superiority through strength]]. This drove his wife Sora to try save her children in desperation, but only succeeded with Sanji and killed herself in the process]]. While his family appear to be successful on the outside, much of its dysfunction can be traced back to him - [[spoiler:Reiju is a self-loathing StepfordSmiler who wants to die to atone for her family's atrocities, Sanji ran away from home to escape the horrific abuse he suffered as a child and utterly loathes his family (save for Reiju) as a result, while Sanji's brothers become cruel sociopaths who literally can't understand empathy thanks to Judge's experiments]]. And when Judge decides to ally his family with Big Mom, it backfires in his face spectacularly, ending with his family name irreparably ruined, his royal privileges revoked by the World Government, and his dreams of conquest crushed - a FateWorseThanDeath in the world of ''One Piece''.

* ComicBook/DoctorDoom, main enemy of the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', with a side-order of SorcerousOverlord - he started out as just this, but more and more stories have been building up his use of magic.

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'', the Learning Focus can lead to a character becoming this; especially if they build an observatory and [[spoiler:come up with a heliocentric theory of the universe centuries before Copernicus]]. Of course Crusader Kings taking place when it does, the potential wrath of religious authorities and zealots may force the character in question to keep their discoveries a secret: openly being a scientist may (rarely) lead to a violent revocation of the Emperor part - or Excommunication.

Emperor Scientists can commonly be found hanging about in various types of {{Dystopia}}n, [[AfterTheEnd Post-Apocalyptic]], SchizoTech, FutureBadass, and UsedFuture [[TheVerse worlds]], where they will typically be the guy (or gal) in charge of one of the two [[TheEmpire Empires]] or [[BlackAndWhiteMorality warring factions]] that tend to be battling it out over what's left of those sorts of places. Bonus points if it was their superscience that actually ''caused'' [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The Cataclysm]], either indirectly or unintentionally, or directly and intentionally. Expect them to try to pursue {{Transhuman}}ism and {{immortality}}, and/or outright make the jump (but may not) to actual GodEmperor territory, using their superscience to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence partially ascend to a higher plane of existence]] while still keeping enough of their physical form around to be visible to their subjects.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy Technocracy]] is the Real Life equivalent, though that requires multiple Emperor Scientists while this trope usually deals with one.

* Andrew Ryan from ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'', the "greatest electrical engineer of our generation" and "the bloody king of Rapture"

* The Risen Emperor of ''Literature/{{Succession}}'' invented a form of {{Immortality}} to save his dying sister, and leveraged this into becoming GodEmperor of eighty worlds.

** The foremost mad scientist and ruler in Europe is the image provider, Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. However, Klaus laments that the "Emperor" part of the job description leaves him with very little time for the "Scientist" bit. There is always an uppity petty noble with a new killbot somewhere, who needs smacking down. However, due to the fact that his usual adversaries are truly nasty megalomaniac Sparks, his normally highly barbaric and mutilative research into the nature of the Spark becomes merely morally questionable when he uses such defeated enemies as [[AssholeVictim test subjects]]. As a bonus, his natural talents for PragmaticVillainy and reverse-engineering the works of other mad scientists make it easier to assimilate the technologies, minions, monsters, and even [[DefeatEqualsFriendship the more reasonable Sparks]] from the enemies he defeats into his empire.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* This trope is the cornerstone of the political ideology of ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy Technocracy]]'', where instead of politicians, scientists, economists and engineers make up a country's government. The movement gained traction during [[TheGreatDepression the depression]] under [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Scott Howard Scott]] and his party: Technocracy Inc., but lost popularity around the time of the New Deal.
* The [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory New Kingdom Pharaoh]] Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, in addition to being history's first undisputed YoungConqueror, was history's first monarch with a clear personal interest in the natural sciences--or at least what passed for them in the ''15th century BCE''. One of his greatest monuments is his [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_garden_of_Thutmosis_III "botanical garden"]], a chamber in the innermost part of his addition to the Karnak temple complex, in which he has depicted a catalogue of the flora and fauna of the lands he ruled (most especially the ones he had conquered himself) in the kind of painstaking technical detail and accuracy (for the time) that can only come from a sincere fascination with all these strange new plants and animals in themselves. He even applies some early suggestions of method, being careful to group the depictions geographically by the region in which they are found. His descriptions of his border-expanding campaigns towards the Euphrates suggest he was motivated almost as much by curiosity about these strange new lands as by a desire to control or exploit them,[[note]]And to keep the Mittani from interfering with Canaan...{{Realpolitik}} is ancient and never ceases[[/note]] and his final "campaign" to Nubia was really a discovery-expedition-cum-pleasure-cruise up the Nile aimed mostly at seeing how far upriver he could go, where the Nile flood came from, and what kind of cool stuff was up in Nubia (he found a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jebel_Barkal cool mountain]] and after investigating it as best as he could he ordered the construction of a city there). That makes this trope OlderThanDirt.
* UsefulNotes/AngelaMerkel was a former research scientist with a doctorate in physical chemistry, but nowadays is the current Chancellor of Germany and therefore the ''de facto'' head of Government of the [[UnitedEurope European Union]], to the point that the EU had been called the "Merkelreich". She doesn't actually use her chemistry knowledge directly in leading Europe, but her scientific background and rigorous mindset are widely credited with the steady, judicious, cautious leadership style that has made her the most popular German Chancellor in recent memory--and also the most powerful person in Europe, and one of the most powerful (and ''the'' most powerful woman) in the world.
* In classical antiquity, you have King Juba II of Numidia, and later King of Mauretania. He was married to the daughter of UsefulNotes/CleopatraVII and Mark Antony (yes, those two famous lovebirds) and a respected client of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire. His father fought against UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, and after defeat, Caesar took Juba as a hostage and brought him to Rome, where he learned Greek and Latin, became [[MajoredInWesternHypocrisy romanized]], and at the age of 20 wrote treatises on Roman archeology, before being sent back by UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} to sit on the throne of Juba. He wrote a lot of works on philosophy, geography, and other matters, and was cited 65 times by Pliny the Elder in his ''Natural History'', and Plutarch in ''Literature/ParallelLives'' during his "Life of Antony" called him "the most gifted ruler of his time".
* Emperor Akihito of Japan, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihito#Ichthyological_research in the field of Ichthyology.]]
** His father, Emperor Hirohito, maintained a laboratory dedicated to the study of marine biology in his palace, and he contributed "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirohito#Postwar_reign description[s] of several dozen species of Hydrozoa new to science.]]"
* King Sejeong the Great of Choseon Dynasty Korea was effectivly this, being a patron of many innovations and technological advancements. Then there is also the fact that he coordinated the efforts in creating the written language of Hangul used in Korea today.
* UsefulNotes/PeterTheGreat did not exactly use science to get power, but he used his knowledge and understanding of mathematics, engineering and construction to create an efficient technical and scientific education system, build a modern fleet, and modernize industry. He even approved and edited foreign textbooks for publication by himself. He also practiced more humanitarian sciences; for example, he invented the modern Cyrillic alphabet to replace the Old Church Slavonic script.
* Rama [=IV=] of Thailand, better known to the West as King Mongkut or the king from ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'', is actually known as "The Father of Science and Technology". He refined geography and astronomy most of all, and actually died from malaria caught when he ventured out to see a solar eclipse.
* Tipu Sultan of Mysore was rather fascinated with technology, or rather as much as a warlord in 1700s Southwest India can be. He and his father, Hyder Ali, pioneered Rocket Technology. They used small rockets, in cylinders and as essentially explosive ballistas in battles against their enemies and the English. The English later repurposed Tipu's Rockets and used it in battle as well. Tipu Sultan's court was also associated with the development of a sophisticated automaton known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipu%27s_Tiger Tipu's Tiger]], which the English claimed as spoils of war after defeating him. Creator/JulesVerne cited Tipu Sultan as an inspiration for Prince Dakkar of Bundelkhand, aka Captain Nemo in ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' and ''Literature/TheMysteriousIsland'', with Nemo stated to be his descendant.
* Alfonso X [[BilingualBonus el Sabio]] of Castile.
* While not necessarily a singular example, many Chinese leaders have been trained as engineers and scientists.
** At one point, the ''entire'' 16th Politburo Standing Committee was composed of engineers.
* While many monarchs have been interested in the sciences, Frederick II, [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire Holy Roman Emperor]], was known to actually do research, or at least what passed for research in [[TheHighMiddleAges 13th-century Europe]], and included that in his attitude towards ruling. He famously ran an experiment in which children were to be raised with no language (to see which one was the "original" language), although that didn't pan out. He also dabbled in astronomy, medicine, zoology, and anatomy, sometimes in experiments crueler than the language one (e.g.: taking two condemned prisoners, feeding them, having one run around and hunt and the other stay in bed, and then after executing them, examining their guts to see whether exercise or rest accelerated digestion). He also did the usual monarchical sponsoring of the sciences, including founding a university (in Napoli; it has since been renamed in his honor). Frederick also had an unshakeable faith in reason and distrust in magic that led him to ban TrialByCombat (believing that the stronger party would always win, contrary to Church doctrine holding that God would cause the "right" party to win) and doctors filling their own prescriptions (as a safeguard against quackery) that we today would regard as...well...''scientific''. Also, he was constantly fighting wars to secure and expand his territory--and try to put UsefulNotes/ThePope in his place. Unfortunately, his wars in Italy led him to give in to the demands of his German nobles, which then weakened the Holy Roman Empire after his death. Suffice it to say, although Frederick might not have been this, he probably ''would'' have been this if he had the technological base.
* Austrian noblemen Archduke Karl Salvator from the House of Habsburg and Count Georg von Dormus were [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic renowned military engineers]] and designed both the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvator_Dormus_pistol Salvator-Dormus automatic pistol]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvator-Dormus_M1893 Salvator-Dormus M1893 heavy machine gun]].
** The Archduke's eldest son, Leopold Salvator, followed in his father's footsteps as a military engineer and inventor, patented around 1906 an all-wheel-drive and steering system for military vehicles and later [[https://patents.google.com/patent/US1355853A/en a dual-drive military vehicle having both wheels and extendable caterpillar tracks]].
* Emperor UsefulNotes/PedroII of {{UsefulNotes/Brazil}} was man of science in addition to being a statesman, making this trope rather literal. He invested on scientific advancement and education, was friends with many inventors and intellectuals of his time such Alexander Graham Bell, Victor Hugo and Louis Pasteur. Pedro said on record he would like being a teacher if he wasn't a monarch and UsefulNotes/CharlesDarwin himself recognized his efforts stating "The Emperor does so much for science, that every scientific man is bound to show him the utmost respect".
* Like Angela Merkel above, UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher studied chemistry and worked as a research scientist before going into politics. According to Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}, she was actually prouder of being the first British Prime Minister with a science degree than she was to be the first female PM.
* UsefulNotes/LouisXVI was fond of sciences and technolgy, working hours long in his locksmithing workshop, reading many books about navigation and geography (on the day of his execution, he reportedly asked about the fate of La Pérouse), assisted several experiments such as the first flight of a balloon and encouraged vaccination by having himself and his brothers publicly vaccinated.
[[/folder]]

* In the Ancient World, you have King Juba II of Numidia, and later King of Mauretania. He was married to the daughter of UsefulNotes/CleopatraVII and Mark Antony (yes, those two famous lovebirds) and a respected client of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire. His father fought against UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, and after defeat, Caesar took Juba as a hostage and brought him to Rome, where he learned Greek and Latin, became [[MajoredInWesternHypocrisy romanized]], and at the age of 20 wrote treatises on Roman archeology, before being sent back by UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} to sit on the throne of Juba. He wrote a lot of works on philosophy, geography, and other matters, and was cited 65 times by Pliny the Elder in his ''Natural History'', and Plutarch in ''Literature/ParallelLives'' during his "Life of Antony" called him "the most gifted ruler of his time".

* In the first ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts}}'' comic series, the main villain, Baron Karza, was originally Chief Scientist of a benevolently ruled Microverse. He was a figure of high influence with the the ruling family for a thousand years due to his ability to extend life via his body banks. Then, when he was ready, he made his coup and slaughtered the ruling family (except for Princess Mari) and ruled with an iron fist except for the interference of TheResistance.

** In "Robot", Helena Winters is trying to become one of these. She's a blue-sky researcher who wants to reform the world based on scientific principles, which means PuttingOnTheReich, murdering people with a robot and trying to start a nuclear war.

** The foremost mad scientist and ruler in Europe is the image provider, Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. However, Klaus laments that the "Emperor" part of the job description leaves him with very little time for the "Scientist" bit. There is always an uppity petty noble with a new killbot somewhere, who needs smacking down. However, due to the fact that his usual adversaries are truly nasty megalomaniac sparks, his normally highly barbaric and mutilative research into the nature of the Spark becomes merely morally questionable when he uses such defeated enemies as [[AssholeVictim test subjects]].

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Charles zi Britannia. At least, by the standards of science set in the show, since he seemed to have spent a great deal of time working on the Sword of Akasha, and had a near-complete understanding of the AppliedPhlebotinum found in the show. [[spoiler:His (technically older) twin brother V.V. is a much straighter example - he's the head of the Geass directorate, which studies Geass powers, and would have been emperor if he hadn't received a Code when he was a kid, making him an immortal prepubescent boy]]. Since we know so little of Charles' past, however (other than [[spoiler:him and V.V.being survivors of a particularly bloody royal fraticide that killed their mother and forever traumatized them]]), the extent to which his understanding of the show's technology and AppliedPhlebotinum allowed him to come to power in the first place is up for debate. Advanced [[HumongousMecha Knightmare Frames]] and a desire to get ahold of the precursors' LostTechnology ''definitely'' played a big role in his conquest of over one-third of the world, however.

* In ''[[ComicBook/LesLegendaires Les Légendaires]]'', the BigBad [[EvilSorcerer Darkhell]] is hinted to have been this in the country of [[{{Mordor}} Shiar]]: the only army he ever used for his world-conquest projects was mostly made of creatures he [[{{Magitek}} Maginetically]] [[LEGOGenetics engeneered himself]]. [[spoiler:Even his own daughter Tenebris is later revealed to have been conceived through his magic.]]

* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' Gives us quite a few, but premiere among them [[BigBad Lord Recluse]] and later Dr. Aeon. Lord Recluse originally designed his army's weaponry and gear, but later recruited Dr. Aeon for that and gave him his own city to rule in-between dooms-day operations. This is all for an organization which regularly plots to take over the world with laser-riffles, inter-dimensional transport, and cybernetic spider-mutants with psychic powers.

%%* Razikale of ''Roleplay/ToRule'' is patron both the magics and the sciences.

** ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'': In the centuries to follow the TimeCrash, when all people on Gran Pulse became ageless (but not invulnerable to death) in a dying world being swallowed by Chaos, Hope stepped up to be the leading figure as he and his research team tried to solve the world's problems. However, 139 years before the start of the game, he mysteriously vanished and the leaderless people of Luxerion turned to the Order of Salvation instead.

* The [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory New Kingdom Pharaoh]] Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, in addition to being history's first undisputed YoungConqueror, was history's first monarch with a clear personal interest in the natural sciences--or at least what passed for them in the ''15th century BCE''. One of his greatest monuments is his [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_garden_of_Thutmosis_III "botanical garden"]], a chamber in the innermost part of his addition to the Karnak temple complex, in which he has depicted a catalogue of the flora and fauna of the lands he ruled (most especially the ones he had conquered himself) in the kind of painstaking technical detail and accuracy (for the time) that can only come from a sincere fascination with all these strange new plants and animals in themselves. He even applies some early suggestions of method, being careful to group the depictions geographically by the region in which they are found. His descriptions of his border-expanding campaigns towards the Euphrates suggest he was motivated almost as much by curiosity about these strange new lands as by a desire to control them,[[note]]And to keep the Mittani from interfering with Canaan...{{Realpolitik}} is ancient and never ceases[[/note]] and his final "campaign" to Nubia was really a discovery-expedition-cum-pleasure-cruise up the Nile aimed mostly at seeing how far upriver he could go, where the Nile flood came from, and what kind of cool stuff was up in Nubia (he found a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jebel_Barkal cool mountain]] and after investigating it as best as he could he ordered the construction of a city there). That makes this trope OlderThanDirt.

* The [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory New Kingdom Pharaoh]] Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, in addition to being history's first undisputed YoungConqueror, was history's first monarch with a clear personal interest in the natural sciences--or at least what passed for them in the ''15th century BCE''. One of his greatest monuments is his [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_garden_of_Thutmosis_III "botanical garden"]], a chamber in the innermost part of his addition to the Karnak temple complex, in which he has depicted a catalogue of the flora and fauna of the lands he ruled (most especially the ones he had conquered himself) in the kind of painstaking technical detail and accuracy (for the time) that can only come from a sincere fascination with all these strange new plants and animals in themselves. He even applies some early suggestions of method, being careful to group the depictions geographically by the region in which they are found. His descriptions of his border-expanding campaigns towards the Euphrates suggest he was motivated almost as much by curiosity about these strange new lands as by a desire to control them,[[note]]And to keep the Mittani from interfering with Canaan...{{Realpolitik}} is ancient and never ceases[[/note]] and his final "campaign" to Nubia was really a discovery-expedition-cum-pleasure-cruise up the Nile aimed mostly at seeing how far upriver he could go and what kind of cool stuff was up there (he found a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jebel_Barkal cool mountain]] and after investigating it as best as he could he ordered the construction of a city there). That makes this trope OlderThanDirt.

* The [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory New Kingdom Pharaoh]] Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, in addition to being history's first undisputed YoungConqueror, was history's first monarch with a clear personal interest in the natural sciences--or at least what passed for them in the ''15th century BCE''. One of his greatest monuments is his [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_garden_of_Thutmosis_III "botanical garden"]], a chamber in the innermost part of his addition to the Karnak temple complex, in which he has depicted a catalogue of the flora and fauna of the lands he ruled (most especially the ones he had conquered himself) in the kind of painstaking technical detail and accuracy (for the time) that can only come from a sincere fascination with all these strange new plants and animals in themselves. He even applies some early suggestions of method, being careful to group the depictions geographically by the region in which they are found. His descriptions of his border-expanding campaigns towards the Euphrates suggest he was motivated almost as much by curiosity about these strange new lands as by a desire to control them,[[note]]And to keep the Mittani from interfering with Canaan...{{Realpolitik}} is ancient and never ceases[[/note]] and his final "campaign" to Nubia was really a discovery-expedition-cum-pleasure-cruise up the Nile aimed mostly at seeing how far upriver he could go and what kind of cool stuff was up there. That makes this trope OlderThanDirt.