Entry #08: Frederick the II

 History is a fascinating subject. It tells the story of so many people and so many stories are also forgotten - how people lived in their daily lives; how people ruled and if they were cruel or kind leaders; and even how the ancient civilizations came and went. It is so intricate and complex that makes it so loved and possibly hated. One subject that is encaptivating is how rulers of empires were from the military dictators, those who ruled absolutely, elected leaders. One absolute leader that I learned about that stood out from the rest was Frederick the Great. 

A common characteristic of absolute rulers was they had control over every aspect of the empire and they believed they had the divine right of god to rule. Unlike Frederick, he didn’t have that same thought process, and due to a traumatic upbring with religion due to his father, he didn’t pray or practice like the other leaders. Frederick actually tried to run away because he didn’t want to rule Prussia; he ran with who is presumed to be his lover to escape to England, but they got caught and he was forced to intense training and school work. (Encyclopedia of European Social History)

This helped shape Frederick to be an extremely talented military leader. He deployed extremely smart military tactics such as back out of a war when he had conquered the land he wanted only to return to help his allies. He trained his men diligently, making them one of the best armies. Napoleon had complimented his warfare and many others admired his knowledge and strategies. But at the end of the day, Frederick actually disliked warfare and would rather not participate. 

Those few factors make him stand out from the other similar leaders, showing a different side of nobility that was often shunned.