The world's leading conquerors: Alexander the Great, Cæsar, Charles the Great, the Ottoman sultans, the Spanish conquistadors, Napoleon

About this book

The work is a concise survey of the most celebrated conquerors in Western history, assembled by Wilson Lloyd Bevan for a popular series that aims to balance readability with scholarly rigor. Opening with a statement of purpose, the author explains that the volume will offer brief sketches of figures such as Alexander the Great, Caesar, Charlemagne, the Ottoman sultans, the Spanish conquistadors, and Napoleon, while acknowledging the inevitable omissions required by its limited size. The introductory essay outlines the method of “arbitrary selection,” the reliance on a range of European historiographical sources, and the decision to interweave military exploits with the less visible forces that reshaped societies. The first chapter then launches into a detailed portrait of Alexander, beginning with the political fragmentation of Greece and the rise of his father Philip, setting the tone for a narrative that moves swiftly from background to decisive battles.

Written in a formal, early‑20th‑century academic voice, the text combines narrative history with extensive footnotes to contemporary scholars such as Beloch, Ranke, and Jorga. Its measured prose and reliance on classic historiography will appeal to readers who enjoy a structured, source‑based overview rather than a novelized retelling, students of history, teachers, and anyone with a keen interest in the strategic and cultural dimensions of empire‑building.

Opening lines

The purpose of this volume is to present, in harmony with the popular character of the series of which it is a part, brief sketches of some of the most familiarly named men and well-known incidents in the history of Western Civilization. The plan upon which the work is constructed assumes that the broad highway of historical narrative must be followed, however attractive may be the deviations from it that offer themselves at almost every page. The story told here has been told often before and very frequently the telling of it has come from master hands of literature. It is no easy task to reproduce, in a condensed form, material so often handled under much more generous limitations of space than are possible in this work. …

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