← Back to the front page

The Top Benevolent and Malevolent Dictators From History

Khalid Elhassan November 30, 2020 32 min

Augustus - Ancient Rome — 'The Emperor Augustus Rebukes Cornelius Cinna for His Treachery', by Etienne Jean Delecluze, 1814 - Augustus pardoned Cinna and gave him a government job. Van Go Yourself

28. Admiration for This Dictator Endured for Thousands of Years

‘Cincinnatus Leaves the Plough to Dictate the Laws of Rome’, by Juan Antonio Ribeira. Wikimedia

Cincinnatus went down as one of the most revered figures of the Roman Republic, and as an exemplar of civic virtue, modesty, and outstanding leadership. His reputation endured long after his death, and long after the demise of the Roman Republic. Over two thousand years later, George Washington consciously sought to model his career after that of Cincinnatus.

Statue of George Washington as Cincinnatus, resigning his command. Roman Roads Media

That comparison resonated with contemporaries during the Age of the Enlightenment, who knew their Roman history well. Thus, when America’s first president and first great general voluntarily laid down his power at the end of his second term and went into retirement, he was lauded as a modern Cincinnatus.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.