In this article, the discussion focuses on two ancient rulers, Ramses II the great Pharaoh of Egypt and Qin Shihuangdi of China. These were great and powerful rulers who put into use different strategies to control their kingdoms and left legacies that are still standing till to date in their respective countries. The basis of discussion is a comparison between the qualities of leadership, personalities, culture, and achievements between the two leaders.
Similarities and differences
Though Ramses II and Qin Shihuang were both powerful, the two rulers of ancient time had similar qualities with numerous differences with regards to their personalities, achievements, and culture. First, the two rulers were identical in that they both had different achievements which for a long time had a significant impact on their respective countries that are still felt to date. Ramses II was a great leader, and he goes down to history as one of the greatest Egyptian leader and a king who was a father, a fighter and great developer ( Ma et al., 2016). Until to date, many scholars still claim that Ramses II was the best leader in Egypt owing to his outstanding contribution in the country. Under his leadership, there were different significant constructions which are vital to Egypt’s history that were built under his supervision. Most of the temples he built are still standing in Egypt. This was similar to Qin. Under his kingship in China, Qin Shihuang came up with different rules that are still effective to date, and others have had a significant influence on indifferent legislation in this country. For instance, he made sure that currency was the same in every town in China. Another similarity is that both had supreme power in their respective kingdoms. Ramses II was the chief decision maker owing to his supreme position in the land. This was the same to Qin.
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There two leaders were different in many aspects. First, Ramses II was not the first pharaoh in Egypt. His leadership was a mere inheritance from his father who was also a great Egyptian leader. According to history, he was the third ruler as a Pharaoh in Egypt. On the other hand, his counterpart Qin was the first emperor in China. He also found himself in this position due to the culture of inheritance. Other than this, the two rulers were different because they had different philosophies and personalities. Ramses II was a combative leader who could not enjoy a meal until his enemies were down on their knees. As a result, people gave him the name of Ramesses the Great. His counterpart was opposite of him. Qin was a coward ruler who put into use different defensive mechanism to keep his enemies far from him ( Li et al., 2015). For instance, he came up with different rules such as withdrawing weapons from people due to fear of being attacked by his enemies.
Cultural Differences
Other than the differences that exist with regards to personalities, achievements, and traits, the two leaders also came from different cultural backgrounds which were a basis of other significant cultural differences during their rule as leaders in their respective countries. First, Ramesses the Great was a pharaoh and Qin as an emperor. This is an implication of the cultural differences between the two countries ( Morris, 2015). In Egypt, all kings were Pharaohs, and among the Chinese, their rulers were emperors. Also, the approach to the ruling as well as the priorities of each of the personalities also brings out their cultural differences. For instance, Ramesses the Great gave the culture of war a priority as his primary strategy of combating threats. Further, he builds a lot of temples which still stands till today in Egypt. It implies that religion was important during this time ( Fagan, 2016). However, Qin gave priority to unity. His central vision was to bring different countries to form China. As a result, he comes up with rules which were to apply to all these states to unite them. It is an implication of togetherness as a culture. The culture of togetherness still exists in China to date. Lastly, Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh and this means the culture of kingship inheritance was the order of the day. However, in China, Qin was the first emperor implying that it was a culture that was beginning.
Modern Day Examples
Great leaders still exist. However, it is evident that the US former President Barack Obama is a typical reflection of Ramesses the Great. As the US president, Obama came up with many reforms that made the country better. A good example is Obama care. He also won wars such as the capture of Osama bin Laden. On the other side, Qin is a typical reflection of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president or the Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni. These leaders did not want the opposition to the extent that anybody who went against them was eliminated. Like Qin who made laws to protect his ruling, these leaders are a typical reflection of his cowardice.
In an art shell, Ramses II the great Pharaoh of Egypt and Qin Shihuangdi of China, though were mostly different, had some surprising similarities. The two rulers were opposite of each other with regards to their approach in the ruling. However, they had similarities such as the determination to make their country better and leadership qualities that made them outstanding to date despite their different approaches to leadership.
References
Fagan, B. (2016). Lord and Pharaoh: Carnarvon and the Search for Tutankhamun . Routledge.
Li, H., Hu, T., Jia, W., Cao, J., Liu, S., Huang, R., & Xi, N. (2015). Evaluation of Policy Influence on Long-Term Indoor Air Quality in Emperor Qin’s Terra-Cotta Museum, China. The atmosphere , 6 (4), 474-489.
Ma, Y., Fuller, B. T., Sun, W., Hu, S., Chen, L., Hu, Y., & Richards, M. P. (2016). Tracing the locality of prisoners and workers at the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang: First Emperor of China (259-210 BC). Scientific reports , 6 , 26731.
Morris, E. F. (2015). Exchange, Extraction, and the Politics of Ideological Money Laundering in Egypt's New Kingdom Empire. In Policies of Exchange: Political Systems and Modes of Interaction in the Aegean and the Near East in the 2nd Millennium BCE (pp. 167-190).
