List of Individuals
Alexander the great.
4th century BC. (376-323)BC
Lifespan 33 years.
Jesus Christ
1st century CE
Lifespan 40 years approx.
Muhammad the Prophet.
6th century AD (570-623)
Lifespan 55 years
Charlemagne the first.
8th century (742-814)
Lifespan 70 years
Christopher Columbus.
15th century AD (1451-1506)
Lifespan 55 years.
Introduction
Influence is a fickle friend and yet the individuals in this list were able to master it in their lifetime. Influence is the ability of an individual or an object to have a profound bearing on the lives and decisions of other people. While a just ruler employing innovative measures to fill the coffers of the subjects can be influential, so can be the barbaric ruler that scorches the land he walks on. Thus influence is a characteristic that is measurable not by the intentions and design but by actual results and effects on the lives of their contemporary peoples. The people on this list are deemed influential throughout the ages because of the presence of the results of their actions even in the present times even though they have been long dead. These individuals have been the pioneers in the fields of statecraft, lawmaking, inventions and morality. While there have been several others who built on the work of these individuals and some even surpassed them, but as stated earlier, some gained massive influence while others turned to dust in unnamed graves.
Alexander the great
Born to an industrious father, King Philip who united the warring Greek states under his rule and an ambitious mother Olympias, Alexander, was honed for greatness under the able tutelage of Aristotle. Not content with ruling the vast kingdom of Greece, Alexander devised the plan to conquer the entire world. His able leadership rallied thousands of Greek soldiers to undertake invasionary campaigns deep into the Asian continent felling enemy armies by the scores.
He marched into the territories of the Persian king Darius the third with an army less than half of that of his enemy. It was his influence that laid the foundation stone of the Greek empire in the Asian continent.
A notable example of his resolve was evident in his youth when he was presented with a headstrong horse as a gift. While the others stepped back, Alexander observed that the horse was afraid of its own shadow and used this knowledge to tame it. That horse came to be known as Beucaphalus and became the steed that Alexander rode into his battles. Examples of steely resolves such as this are peppered across the lives of people on the list of influential people.
On crossing the Hindu Kush mountains, a territory quite unknown to the Greeks of that time, Alexander used a combination of diplomacy and brute force to continue his march into the deep throes of the powerful Indian empire. He installed able generals as Governors of his Asian provinces that gave rise to the Bactrian Greeks and shaped the history of the entire continent. His influence was evident even centuries later in the Gandhara school of art where the idols of Buddha embodied a distinct Greek influence.
Jesus Christ
The entire lifespan of Jesus Christ was so influential that much of it has crossed the boundaries of this world and has become a part of folklore and mythology. Although born to common parents, mother Mary and father Joseph, Jesus of Bethlehem came to found the largest religion of the world, Christianity. He called himself the King of the Jews who were the subjects of the Roman Empire and walked among them gathering followers by the merit of his views and moralistic insights.
Despite constant persecutions at the hands of both the Romans and the Jews, Jesus and his disciples kept propagating their message of love and compassion. Their simplicity and their mission to help all of mankind ensured that their ranks swelled exponentially despite state diktats against doing so. Even when betrayed by Judas and crucified on the orders of Pontius Pilate, Jesus only asked for forgiveness on their behalf from the Lord.
While compassion is a simple message, it gets lost in the tangles of societal structures. When the community was in the verge of stoning Mary Magdalene to death for prostitution and adultery, it was Jesus who stepped forth and asked that only those who had never erred in their lives should step forward and fling stones at her. This might not seem like a groundbreaking act today but in those days, it was a pioneering decision that redefined the very definition of morality from then on.
The message of Jesus’ teaching was so profound and influential that even after his death by crucifixion, the number of Christian followers only kept in increasing. Some of his staunch disbelievers like Saul the merchant transformed completely into pious disciples and took upon themselves to propagate the message of love and compassion. Today, the crucifixion of Christ is celebrated as a sacrifice to absolve all mankind of all their sins. It was a simple message of love and a charismatic leader by the name of Jesus that birthed the religion followed by the majority of the people of the world traversing distinct cultures and various languages. This exhibits that compassion builds influence that cannot be held back by any adversity.
Muhammad the Prophet
The founder of the fastest growing religion of the world, Islam was born in Saudi Arabia in the year 570AD in the influential Quraish clan. The clan looked after the protection of the holy relic, a black stone that later came to be known as Kaaba. Muhammad, despite his background stuck to his ideals of equality and founded the Ummah which is the conglomeration of all Muslims across the world with no discrimination between them in the eyes of their Lord, Allah.
The people of Saudi Arabia at the time of Muhammad were a divided people that were loyal only to their own clans and undertook bloody internecine battles that weakened the entire region. Muhammad have these people a code to live by so that their would be no bloodshed between them. These codes are enumerated as the word of God in the holy book of the Muslims, the Quran and also in the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as Hadith. It was these codes that unified the people of Saudi Arabia and west Asia transforming them into a singular entity under one Caliph that spread the word of Islam from Spain in Europe to the Malay Peninsula in the far east. The influence of Muhammad was so profound that entire tribes of people gave up their previous lives and chose Allah as their Lord and savior.
It is easy to miss the real genius of Muhammad as a law giver in light of his role in the foundation of an entire religion but it was his codes that shaped the lives of millions of peoples. Muhammad never asked of his people to do what he himself would not undertake and lived the life that he preached. His steadfast belief in moral scruples even in the times of war won him many admirers and followers. This influence was visible even during the years of the Crusades when the Christian armies resorted to looting and plundering while the Islamic armies followed the moral code of conduct of war. Even in victory, the prisoners of war on accepting Islam were spared and even rewarded with coins and land. This was a feat that is as surprising today as it was in those days.
Charlemagne the first
Popularly known as Charlemagne the great, he was the king of the Franks and later the first emperor of the Carolingian Empire. It was under his leadership that the entire European continent was unified under a stable leadership since the time of the Holy Roman Empire. He brought Christianity into the mainstream discussion of western Europe and for his efforts was crowned the Emperor of the Roman Empire by Pope Leo in Rome. He earned the nickname Pater Europe which translates to Father Of Europe.
His father Pepin had been elevated to joint Kingship of France and Charlemagne built on it to unify the regions of Germany and Italy into the fold. His influence was such that even the Popes consulted him on various matters and loaded him with extravagant titles and honors. Charlemagne was a shrewd tactician and always understood the value of a standing army and diplomatic relations. When the Lombardy region grew restive due to the actions of their king Desidarius, he laid siege to their capital at Pavia and ensured that it was successful despite taking many year to come to fruition. As a military General, he undertook the crossing of the Alps with his soldiers winning their respect and adulation.
Apart from his military conquests which were many, Charlemagne also oversaw the cultural and intellectual rebirth (Renaissance) in western Europe by unifying all Germanic people under a single banner and under a new state religion, Christianity. His conquest of the Saxons, which took thirty odd years was followed by his diktat to them to embrace Christianity or embrace death.
Charlemagne’s influence lies not in his military conquests but in his administration as he reinvigorated the central leadership doctrine and ensured that his borders were protected. His unification strategy was based on religion and he himself converted to Christianity ensuring that there was a unifying bond between the erstwhile warring Frankish and Germanic tribes.
Christopher Columbus
Born in the Italian province of Genoa, Christopher Columbus was a pioneer of the European renaissance by way of dangerous expeditions into unknown waters. While the rest of the world believed that the earth was flat, Columbus staked his life to prove the opposite by undertaking a journey across the uncharted side of the Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to reach India.
Following multiple hardships, he arrived at a land undiscovered that came to be known as the New World upon the realization that it was not India. Planting the flag of his emperor, he loaded his ships with the evidences of his voyage to apprise the western world of a new continent towards their west.
The influence of his journey lies in the dismantling of the flat earth theory and the promise of enormous riches for adventurers. This new world was the land which the pilgrims migrated to due to the persecution they faced in Europe. The land they colonized came to be known as America which still stands for democratic principles and equality of opportunity. Although criticized by some for the systematic destruction of the native Indian tribes that resided in the American continent prior to the arrival of Columbus, it would be unfair to place the entire blame on his account.
The influence of Columbus can be seen by the celebration of Columbus day in the American continent.
Conclusion
Among these stalwarts of world history, Muhammad the Prophet is the most influential. In light of recent events in West Asia, where the situation is akin to a powder keg,the influence of Muhammad is profound. While entire western governments and their various strategies have failed in placating the restive region, Muhammad alone did just that with whatever knowledge was available in those days. This is a testament to the influence of his lawgiving ability as well as enforcing it in the most unlikely of all places.
The message of Jesus, though more infused in the lives of the general public loses out because his influence was more subtle than obvious as is the case with Muhammad. The conquerors, Alexander and Charlemagne while being unmatched in administration, fall short in influencing the lives of the common people to the extent that Muhammad did. The discovery of the new world by Columbus and the period of Renaissance indeed marked the beginning of the inventions and enlightenment but it was more of a team effort by contributions from people like Voltaire and Michaelangelo etc. Thus, among singular entities, Muhammad bags the crown as the most influential person for the given period.