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Shi Huangdi Characteristics

Decent Essays

There are many leaders throughout history that can be considered great leaders or terrible leaders. It is possible that these leaders had a mixture of both great and terrible leadership qualities. A ruler from this history course that can be considered the worst is Shi Huangdi. Huangdi was the First Emperor of China and he founded the Qin Dynasty. Imperial China under Huangdi’s rule can be considered very successful, but this does not necessarily mean that Huangdi was a benevolent ruler. Huangdi was ruthless in his warfare and bloodlust and he invoked fear in his subordinates, which made them obedient. Huangdi’s rule also practiced legalist methods. Although Huangdi himself did not invent legalism, he adopted legalism as the alternative …show more content…

Augustus was a great ruler for Rome even with his ideals of military dictatorship. Augustus founded the Roman Principate, a form of military dictatorship that helped Rome tremendously after the Roman Senate failed. Augustus was a leader who sought to manage the empire with honest, efficiency, and consistency and his success lasted for centuries. Augustus was able to defeat all rivals with his military armies. Augustus then set the foundations for peace in Rome. He concealed the extent of his power which evidently earned him loyalty from his subjects rather than the usual overt exercising of leadership. Augustus helped set new laws under this new government. The trading networks also greatly contributed to the success of Augustus’s Rome. Augustus’s rule brought about a period of pax romana or “Roman Peace” which lasted for centuries. This was because of the newfound stability and prosperity in the Roman Empire. Unlike Huangdi, whose legalist methods and extreme rule dissipated after Huangdi’s death, Augustus’s Roman Principate and peace in Rome were able to last for centuries. The loyalty of Augustus’s subjects was not driven by fear, but was instead respectfully earned which is also what made him a great

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