Name that historical figure!

[realm56]

Another clue: This man served with both Eugene of Savoy and Peter the Great

[Bande Nere]

Peter Lacy?

[Lord Oda Nobunaga]

Well if no one else will... I think that is Maurice de Saxe.

[realm56]

Yes, it is.

Next one is on you.

[Lord Oda Nobunaga]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Lord Oda Nobunaga]

No guesses?

Okay. This Chinese Emperor became Emperor largely due to the influence of his father.

[realm56]

I think this might be emperor Wen of Wei or Cao Pi as most would better recognise him as.

[Lord Oda Nobunaga]

When Cao Cao died Cao Pi succeeded as Chancellor and King but then had the Han Emperor abdicate. Cao Pi then made himself Emperor of Wei. Though he ruled for only some 6 years and had few accomplishments, he successfully overthrew the Han Dynasty and ruled over northern China. He was acknowledged as Emperor by the south eastern warlord Sun Quan, who eventually made himself Emperor of Wu in his own right. Only Liu Bei opposed his claim and as a descendant of the Han Dynasty Liu Bei responded by making himself Emperor of Han in the south west.

Although Cao Pi was able to overcome the legitimacy of the Han Dynasty it is generally agreed that he did so due to the activity of his father. Cao Cao ironically never became Emperor and served as a vassal of the Han while taking power for himself in the form of his "Kingdom of Wei". This was compared to the earlier Count of Zhou who although never broke with the Shang court he nevertheless carved out a large power base with which to challenge the court.

So ironically Cao Cao never taking the mantle of Emperor provided Cao Pi with the pretext that Cao Cao should have been Emperor. Cao Pi became Emperor and posthumously made his father Cao Cao, his grandfather Cao Song, and great-grandfather Cao Teng as Emperors of the new Wei Dynasty.



EDIT: Someone rep realm56 for me. Thanks!

[Flinn]

ripped, I mean raped.. erm sorry REPPED

[Lord Oda Nobunaga]

We need to teach men not to rep.

[realm56]

[Cyclops]

Icy stare, a yawning chasm between us, and if you go walking with him you not come back. He was on the 100 dollar note in my country, and he's definitely had enough of all our ****.

[realm56]

A name please, you are so close!

[realm56]

Seriously, noone? I guess Cyclops referenced the guy indirectly so he gets the rep and the turn. The man is Sir Douglas Mawson, he is the reason why Australia has her slice of Antartica.

[Søren]

A fresh start:

[skh1]

Abelard and Heloise.
Or, alternatively, Heloise and Abelard.

[Søren]

Correct! Well done, your choice then....

[skh1]

Here's an easy one to get the ball rolling again

[Pontifex Maximus]

Mussolini?

[skh1]

Warm! Right country, right time period. But this is Benito Mussolini (anathema sit)



Our subject was much more creditable to his country and a much more faithful leader of his countrymen than this rotter ever was.

As an aside the best biography of Mussolini is R. J. B. Bosworth. It may be regarded as definitive if decidedly (perhaps necessarily) sarcastic in tone. The one by Nicholas Farrell is frankly weird. I haven't read Christopher Hibbert or Denis Mack Smith because vita brevis — how many biographies of this loser does one need to read? Also, The Brutal Friendship by F. W. Deakin exposes the inanity, fecklessness, and utter futility of his last years in granular detail.