11. This! Is! …China?

War has been a big thing for as long as humanity has been around, but some go down in history for the glory, brilliance, or courage they earned from their time in it. Some of the most famous names that you might hear when discussing such a thing are Sun Tzu and Leonidas of Sparta. Sun Tzu was a general and philosopher in the Zhou period of China (771 to 256 BCE) and is most famous for his book The Art of War.

Even today, it is considered one of the most influential guides to strategy in war. Far west over in Greece, it turns out, Leonida of Sparta was living at the same time. Leonidas was one of the kings of Sparta during the Greco-Persian Wars (499–449 BC) and died in the famous Battle of Thermopylae when Leonidas led 7,000 soldiers of the Greek World to hold off a pass against the invading Persian army of about 120,000-300,000.