History has had many leaders that are consumed by their power and twisted to when they have their friends turn on them. Probably the most corrupted leader in the history books was Julius Caesar, the dictator of Rome. He was appointed as the dictator in a time of need for the Romans, but then he never gave up that power. He stayed in complete control over Rome as a politician and the primary, military leader for the country. The people of Rome loved him, but he always wanted more. Although Caesar was the most powerful man in the known world, he was never satisfied, he did some great things for the Roman Empire but he never knew when to stop. He wanted to become the king of Rome, until the very politicians he ruled over assassinated him because of how corrupted he had become with all the power he had. His corruption turned the men who had once considered him a friend into his enemies. The corruption of Caesar was a dark time in Rome. Historians have argued whether Caesar was good for Rome because he was the key factor in turning the roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Caesar may have improved Rome in a sense, but once he had the power, he always would want more, which was the key to his corruption.
Another leader in history that was corrupted by his power was Alexander the Great. He was the king of Macedon and set out to conquer the world. He was a brilliant military strategist and brought great honor back to his country, but his power changed him. In his journey, he was swept away by all the power he had gotten over the long campaign and tried to turn the expedition into a suicide mission by trying to continue to travel farther east into India. Alexander’s men strongly refused this request because they were afraid that the campaign would take their lives. Alexander’s conquest of the Persian Empire, in a sense, made him get sloppy. He allowed his men to get married o Persia women, including himself; he looked and dressed like a Persian king, and was so happy with his power that he wanted to be treated as if he was a God. Alexander the Great was a brilliant military man who changed Greece, his power corrupted him to the point where he lost his true ideals and views on the world and got carried away with his power until the day he died.
The power given to rulers throughout history has been able to change countries, for better or worse. Many of the rulers who fall into corruption start out as great leaders like Alexander and Caesar, but they fall into their desires for more and more until people will turn on them and they lose themselves in the moment. These two leaders have been able to change the face of the world with groundbreaking strategies, views, and historic achievements, but many consider all of those things to be undone because of how the great men they were became consumed by their power and have had their views changed. Malcolm X said, “Power never takes a step back- only in the face of more power.” This means that those who possess power feel that they are invincible and on top of the world, the only thing that they will desire is to have more power. Power is truly only as good as the men it is given to, and in the wrong hands, it can be very dangerous.
Works Cited
"Alexander the Great -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 27 Feb. 2010.
"BBC - History - Historic Figures: Julius Caesar (100BC - 44BC)." BBC - Homepage. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.
"Power Quotes - The Quotations Page." The Quotations Page - Your Source for Famous Quotes. Web. 27 Feb. 2010.
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