Rulers Who Were Actually Good — History Hijinks

History is full of Rulers, but most of them (especially some famous ones) can be Kind Of Terrible upon closer inspection. So let's take a look at two kings we can actually consider to be Good — not perfect, not blameless, but a heck of a lot more virtuous than the average ruler, that's for sure.

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SOURCES & Further Reading: The Great Courses Plus lectures "Being Persian" by Robert Garland, "The Persian Era" by Jean-Pierre Isbouts, "Saladin: Chivalry and Conquest - 1187" by Eamonn Gearon, and "Saladin and the Defeat of the Crusaders" by Dorsey Armstrong.

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[thebighurt]

Cyrus: "Ok, here's the deal, I'll let you keep your religion, culture, language even local rulers."
Locals: "What's the catch?"
Cyrus: "Pay some taxes and don't rebel."
Locals: "And?"
Cyrus: "That's it."
Locals: "What."
Cyrus: "What?"

[Cianuro]

People in those times:
"Amazing conqueror. Very tactic yet respectful. Five stars. Would get conquered again"

[Taylor-mnfv]

My favorite thing about Saladin is that contemporary Europeans thought he was so awesome they wrote fanfictions about him and Richard the Lionheart meeting and having chivalrous duels.

[Precambrian-Rabbit]

"Our protagonist... was born Yusuf ibin Ayub..."

These names are typically rendered in English as "Joseph" and "Job". So for those of you keeping track, Saladin was, in fact, a JoJo.

[MeliesCinemagician]

One of my favorite stories about Saladin actually has to do with his death. The guy gave so much of his own money away to charity that there was practically nothing left to pay for his own funeral.

[valritz]

Cyrus is one of those figures where even conquered nations who rebelled against the Persian Empire would point back to and go "We're leaving because you're not like this guy!"

[Raleyg]

Try King Eystein of Norway. Not only did the guy build harbors, mountain inns and churches while his brother was out crusading, he was also a therapist for his own bodyguards

[dylanchouinard]

I now imagine Cyrus sending all the gods/peoples to different areas and asking them if this place sparks joy

[philipmccrevis]

Saladin telling his soldiers not to disturb the newlyweds in the tower at the battle of Kerak:
"Professionals have STANDARDS"

[piculra]

Not only did the Bible say that Cyrus was a pretty great guy, he's also the only non-Jewish person to be titled as a Messiah.
As for Saladin, he was great and chivalrous. Richard the Lionheart was too. 2 great rulers who respected each other despite the war between them.

[joeevans]

I wonder what would happen if a king faced with a prophecy of his doom at the hands of a child DIDN'T try to kill the child

[VivaLaDnDLogs]

"Achaemenid Like A Wrecking Ball"
I didn't think it was possible, but you just did it. You just won Historical Comedy for All Time.

[thomasallred]

I would love to see this become a 10 part series, but I doubt history will be so kind.

[sabiangriffin]

Saladin is meme lord 100. Not only did let the newlyweds go at it in the tower, he also scolded Raynald. And then chopped his head off. What a guy

[loganb]

Fun fact, the British later named an Armored Car after Saladin. (The Alvis Saladin.) If there is an afterlife, that’s got to feel pretty cool to have your former adversary respect you so much they name a (from your point of view) self powered metal chariot that shoots explosions after you.

[TheNekoGentleman]

Saladin heard a wedding happened in a castle and his first action was to order to not disturb the couple. "let this be a Fornication Under the Consent of an Sultan."

[orangejuice]

Lmao Cyrus was like if bob ross was a kindergarten teacher managing A LOT of children.
“Alright Timmy let’s put the statues back where they’re happier hmm?”

[jjohansen]

Saladin: Your stepdad is the worst and I'm trying to take him out. Order the siege!

Also Saladin: Wait, you got married?! Look, I'm not going to mess up your wedding night, I'm not a monster!

[matttanner]

The interesting part about Saladin is that he's actually more remembered in the west than in the middle east, specifically because he left such an impact on the crusader kings that he fought

[rainmanslim]

Saladin was smart, he knew that if he continued the denial of christian pilgrims to the holy lands, the crusades would just happen again and again and again, and any good tactician knows that it can be hard to differentiate genius with luck and incompetent adversaries and that even a genius can make a collossal mistake against another great tactician, and that is a chance Saladin would be unlikely to make.

by granting access to christian pilgrims to the holy land not only had he made the land richer because these pilgrims would be buying stuff like supplies and lodging and trinkets to take back home, but he also helped to secure it by addressing arguably the chief concern that motivated the crusaders to invade in the first place.