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  1. #1
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    Default Who were the most peaceful conquerors in history?

    My friend mentioned Khan. He said something along the lines of Khan being so dominant that he didn't really need to do much violence and that he recruited and treated his enemies well. True or false I don't know.

    I don't know if a peaceful conqueror can even be called a conqueror. Any ideas on who the most peaceful conquerors were?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Who were the most peaceful conquerors in history?

    Genghis Khan? Quite the opposite. His campaigns killed an estimated 40 million. Something like 10% of the world's population at the time.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Who were the most peaceful conquerors in history?

    Interesting thread. I assume prompted by the "red Indian" thread?
    Interested to read the views on this. The Persians were rumoured to be pretty happily integrated and peaceful during their development. Although I'm pretty sure they didn't tolerate dissent and acted severely to keep order.

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    Default Re: Who were the most peaceful conquerors in history?

    It has been said that both the Roman and Mongol empires were ethnically and religiously tolerant in a way that would be difficult to find even today.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Who were the most peaceful conquerors in history?

    Alexander the Great was also known to have integrated conquered people into his empire in a way that included them and their customs. This didn't always go down well with the Macedonians. However, there were exceptions to his magnanimity - such when he slaughtered most of the cities of Thebes (in Greece) and Persepolis (in Persia) and sold the survivors into slavery.

    I guess it is very difficult to judge these things on todays standards. In ancient and into medieval times, it was relatively common for a defending city to be "put to the sword" if they resisted. The Mongolian Horde under Ghengis Khan was especially known for this.

    I guess if one would want to find a "conqueror" who who displays real concern for the wellbeing of those they conquered, one would need to look more at certain modern examples such as the Western Allies in World War 2?

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Who were the most peaceful conquerors in history?

    Maybe to add to my last sentence - the comment on the Western Allies really applies to their treatment of POW's and how they treated the "conquered" after hostilities ceased (i.e. their help in rebuilding Germany and Japan post the war).

    Before someone points out that carpet bombing and firebombing German and Japanese cities was obviously not very "peaceful".

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Who were the most peaceful conquerors in history?

    Quote Originally Posted by Springer View Post
    Interesting thread. I assume prompted by the "red Indian" thread?
    Interested to read the views on this. The Persians were rumoured to be pretty happily integrated and peaceful during their development. Although I'm pretty sure they didn't tolerate dissent and acted severely to keep order.
    Yes it does make me think about this because I have biased views. These days I think many people have biased views because I see so many opinions on what 'really REALLY' happened from just about every person with an FB or Youtube account.
    Some are very convincing and in our history much is from word of mouth.
    I once found a very nice little book with no ISBN in a secondhand book store in Nelspruit. It was by Dr. Johann Broodryk, Oeboentoe Potjiekosstories, he is apparently the first person to do his doctorate on African culture or something similar. In his book he mentions some really funny things like Dingaan meaning stomachworm- because his mother didn't like him. So there is lots from both sides we don't know but to get back on topic.

    I think the word conqueror is not easy to work with but if I say colonizer then there will probably be too many examples to look at or it might be that history was not really written that way. Is it even history worthy to hear about a peaceful colonization? Does history spend more than one sentence on it?

  8. #8

    Default Re: Who were the most peaceful conquerors in history?

    Surely the Western Allies can't be considered as conquerors during WWII, they were defending AGAINST conquerors Germany and Japan.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Who were the most peaceful conquerors in history?

    I would say it was the Vijayanagar empire * South and South East Asia that did so by trade links cultural exchange and intermarriage. This was the reason that the Great Khan did not bother to invade South Asia although ties there were strong.
    live out your imagination , not your history.

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    Default Re: Who were the most peaceful conquerors in history?

    There is a word I am looking for, it means the two words can not be used at same time.
    Conquerors and peaceful, can not be in same sentence.

    In my books all
    conquerors were terrible people forcing there will, opinion or desire on others. Personal lives and wish's were of no consequence, only one mans goal, aim or ambition.
    Terrible people all and everyone of them.

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