In this list we see a combination of two of my favorite things – ancient (well mostly) history and warriors. While most of these warrior groups come from ancient history – one or two come close to modern history. They all, undoubtedly, belong on this list. Please mention other groups who might be considered for a future list in the comments.
The Aztecs were famous soldiers and ruthless in battle. They were usually dressed like animals like the eagle or the jaguar. They used pretty primitive weapons like clubs and bows but used them with great effectiveness. The “Shorn Ones” (Cuachicqueh) were the greatest warriors and as soon as the enemy came they swore they would not take another step back. They were eventually defeated by the Spaniards with much more modern weapons but they were a great empire in large part due to their great warriors.
The Mongols were considered barbarians and savages. They dominated Europe and Asia and were most famous for riding on horseback lead by one of the greatest military commanders in history, Genghis Kahn. They were highly disciplined and masters with using the bow and arrow on horse back. They used a composite bow that could rip through armor and were also pretty good with lances and scimitars. They were masters of psychological warfare and intimidation, and built one of the largest empires the world has ever seen.
A mamluk was a slave soldier who converted to Islam and served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans during the Middle Ages. Over time, they became a powerful military caste often defeating the Crusaders. On more than one occasion, they seized power for themselves; for example, ruling Egypt in the Mamluk Sultanate from 1250–1517. After mamluks had converted to Islam, many were trained as cavalry soldiers. Mamluks had to follow the dictates of furusiyya, a code that included values such as courage and generosity, and also cavalry tactics, horsemanship, archery and treatment of wounds, etc.
The backbone of the Roman army that led to an empire that was unrivaled in terms of size and power. They were usually heavy infantry with armor and a shield modeled after the ancient Greeks. They were masters of the sword and spear combination going along with a shield. They were made up of the wealthiest soldiers that could afford to make the best weapons and armor. They were disciplined, well-armed, and had great strategy which lasted beyond their empire.
The apaches were like the ninjas of America. They would sneak up behind you and slit your throat without you even knowing. They used primitive weapons made mostly of wood and bone. They were also the greatest knife fighters the world has ever seen and were pretty good with the tomahawk and throwing ax. They terrorized the southwest United States and even the military had trouble beating them. They were great hit and run fighters and their descendants teach modern day special fighters how to fight in hand to hand combat.
The samurai were the knights of Japan and the masters of the katana. They were heavily armed soldiers covered in armor and willing to die for their masters. They wielded the sharpest sword the world has ever seen and it could easily slice a man in two. They were also masters of the yumi (bow) and were some of the best shots of the ancient world. They were like professional soldiers and were harshly trained and fought knowing their honor was on the line. Due to their violent habits, peasants soon rose up against them and the ninja was born.
The ninja were the masters of stealth and sabotage. They were originally peasants trained to defeat marauding samurai, but the eventually became the legendary assassins that most people think of today. They are known for using a Kanata like sword, blowgun, ninja stars, and kusarigama which would be my weapon of choice. They are known for being stealthy shadow warriors of the night. They greatly feared for their ability to kill and just disappear. They were also great martial artists and underwent rigorous training.
Vikings – the terror of Europe. The most feared warrior of the ancient world. They terrorized Europe with their raids and pillaging. They were ferocious in battle and used weapons that suited their stature. They were big and mean and used their axes, swords, and spears expertly in the conquering of cities. Even their religion was about war and they believed when you died in battle you fought once again in a never ending battle. They were all you would want in a soldier and proved it on the battlefield by destroying all in their paths. On the flip-side, they were also incredibly good traders so they also brought much good to Europe.
You thought they would be number one didn’t you? The Spartan culture was all about war and training men for war their entire lives. They had a saying: “come back with the shield or on top of it” which means don’t come back unless you are victorious. They were some of the toughest soldiers the world had ever seen and have become infamous for their last stand at the battle of Thermopylae. They were masters of the shield and spear combination that was later copied by many other armies.
Knights were great warriors clad in full body armor on horseback. The warrior of feudal Europe, the protector of kings. They were the richest, most trained warriors, and had the armor, weapons, and horses to get the job done. They were among the toughest soldiers in history to kill because of their armor. They were highly effective soldiers that had trained almost their entire lives (due to boys of the day wanting to grow up to be one) and became the tank of the ancient world. The reason they are listed as item 1 – instead of Spartans (which most people would have expected) is that knights were also expected to behave in a moral manner and from the fact that most did, we have the term chivalrous which comes from old French chevalier meaning “knight”. The knight was the perfect example of a warrior and a gentleman.
Khalsa warriors rules.
we should also include gladiators and rajput warriors
what abt rajputs???
yes rajputs are braver than knights or spartans
Islamic Worrior Great Worrior in the World.Knight not a great worrior.
Most Knights didn’t follow the laws of chivalry.They only followed it with their own and with Royalty.Many Knight raped ,robbed and murdered innocent people commoners
very bad list!! his reason for #1 if deffense?? THE BEST DEFFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE!!!
who cares about being gentlemen like, being the best warrior means to be the best at killing your enemy. knight should not be 1 spartan was the best warrior. besides that i agree with the list
i don t really think that you know “the greatest warriors” in the history.
i mean have you ever heard about “TURKS”?i can t see them in your list.
If you didn t bother to put them at the top of somewhre in the list then this is BULL*****!
id like you to check out the kanienkehaka ( mohawk ) warriors, and research a bit… a really fierce warrior to maybe, and hopefully make the top 5
You may want to revisit your number one choice. The “Code of Chivalry” applied only from knight to knight and knight to sovereign. The vast majority of knights were unlanded and as such collected tithes (read stole) from common people. Less than honorable.
very bad top 10………mongols or the Roman legions are historical better than the jnights or the apaches…….
what about the american army, the soviet army, the French Napoleonic army, the British colonial army, etc……
This list is the worst list ever!!! Mongols, Spartans or Samurai would of been better than knights!! Kidding me with this list.
I respect your choice for number one, but you should check your quotes and spelling for the spartan and the spelling for the ninja weapons.
are you serious? knights? they were probably the worst warriors of all they could barely move that’s why arabic countries destroyed them in middle ages pfh.. and they got better place than ninjas or mamlukhs lemme guess are you british or just 13?
agreed, I’m georgian and we always had wars with you guys so what we DO know is admitting how great your enemy is and islamic warriors were really great probably because of being so loyal to their countries and religion unlike knights half of which run away from battle because they were cowards…
YOU MUST LiST THE ULTIMATE WARRIORS OF ALL TIME. THE KHALSA WARRIOR!! although there have not been much recording of there battles in recent history documents. they were the amry of god. (akal purk ke fauj). To this day live they’re desendents. These warriors are from northern india during the persian times. They’re religion is sikhism. ( look into it)
how about mongol warrior genjhis khan and iskandar zulkarnian
My list:
1)Turks=They fought the Chinese against overwhelming odds, they built Mongol Empire under leadership of Genghis Khan, they made the bulk of soldiers who fought against crusaders, they built Great Seljuk Empire, they built Ottoman Empire, they fought against the world (British Empire, French Empire,Russian Empire, Italy and successfully built Turkey in the end. Still kicking after everything standing out as one of the best military powers and emerging economic power.
2)Mongols=Surviving against China is reason alone to be #1 not to mention the Mongol Empire. They were peerless in the field. Could take out much larger armies their size.
3)British=Biggest empire in history. Defeated pretty much everyone out there.
4)Serbs=Unlucky people. Had to serve Rome, Byzantine, Ottomans and then SU. But made fierce footsoldiers in all of these empires they lost to.
5)Chechens=Not easy to stand up to Russia being at such great disadvantage. But they always fought the Rus for a long time and got praised for it. Very underrated today.
6)Apaches
7)Viet cong
8)Irısh republican army
9)Vikings
10)Nazis
This list is soo mediocre. Its obvious the author did little to no research. What bugged me the most was the ninja and samurai categories. It states that Samurais were willing to die for their masters. Samurais were wealthy landowners who had no “masters” and had the suit for mostly ceremonial purposes and symbolic uses. They followed the Bushido way of life which consisted oh honor and honesty not tyranny. They only engaged in battle to protect their property not to assault peasants.
I’m not an incredible brain on ancient warriors, but I do believe that the legion should be placed higher.
We’re talking about a well oiled machine that conquered a great deal of Europe, Asia and Africa, built and destroyed forts in days, and inforced honour and loyalty. The Romans were harsh and efficient, training as well, they always worked together, and they could command battlefields; and the Roman army could cover a lot of ground- from elephants (granted, a borrowed technique and it was a disaster with Hannibal- but they adopted it eventually), to cavalry units, to the legionnaire. Legionnaires were also at the service of the people and okay when you weren’t facing one on the battlefield- they built a lot of Rome’s aqueducts and roads. And it wasn’t always required to be wealthy to be a legionnaire- they would NEVER have had as many soldiers as they did if it were.
Shaka Zulu also deserves a mention, in my mind.
Although the Spartans are the most well-known Greek warriors, hoplytes could stand their ground very well as well. That’s what Alexander the Great’s army was composed of, and they called him ‘the Great’ for a reason after all.
Also; the reason you put knights before Spartans appear to be ‘moral code’. I agree; the knights were good that way (the Samurais too), but to me they were la crème de la crème. They had everything they needed all ready for them. I respect the legion a lot- they made legionnaires out of peasants that enrolled, or ninjas who were pretty much self-developed at their begginings.
Thank you for outlining different people for me so I can explore them furthermore myself
its written that hitler stated that if he had 10,000 of them warriors(maori’s warriors that he would of won the war
Sori cuz that was Rommel …but he was a more honorable person then hitler2 describe our tipuna.
knights were not the greatest warriors, Pirates beat them every time. or was I the only one that seen that episode? you know, Deadliest warrior. According to that show the greatest warrior was the Spartans. If we are going to base our information on what’s seen on tv or the movies and not actual facts in History then what about the Necromongers? they Defeated most of the Universe. Hail to the Underverse! ROFLMFAO!!
Bull*****! Spartans should be number one. I invite you to argue it over.
I personally believe that the Samurai should have made number two and the knight should have gained three, with the Spartan leading at number one. I say this because the Spartan’s one advantage over others was their sheild. Well perhaps in that case Spartans and the knights would tie for number one given their many similarities. If that were the case, then the Samurai would be in second I suppose.
I also think that had a fight occured between a single samurai and a single spartan BUT that spartan had no sheild, the samurai would claim the Spartan’s head. I have nothing but respect for all of these warriors on this list, but I must also point out the flaws of the ninja. They were excellent marital artists, however if they had faced the samurai face-to-face in battle, the outcome would be different. Many forget two things: 1. The Kusarigama was origionally a samurai-developed weapon. 2. The Samurai were also skilled martial artists even without a sword. They utilized various arts of war reffered to as “bushi” from which the term “bushido” derives. The Samurai used not only judo, but also Aikido; which was much like Judo combined with other styles; and was optimal for use against any foe armed or unarmed, utilizing the enemy’s strength against them in a way that the truely masterful required no weapon at all in a 1 on 1 fight against an armed opponent. So if it came down to a ninja and a samurai fighting without useage of a weapon in face to face combat, they would both most likely be evenly matched in that scenario as well. Oh and Amazonian women were not fully mythological, but many confuse them with the Valkerie (which I do believe I spelled wrong) which are part of the viking/norse mythology. The Amazonina women were often seen as greek, however they chose to live outside of Grecian lands due to the feeling of being oppressed by men. Some believe that the Spartan women were some of the first Amazons to form their own groups; although historians debate that possiblity highly. At least that is the extensive information that I discovered in my research of the subject.
WHERE ARE THE MAORI PEOPLE ? THEY NEED TO BE RANKED SOMEWHERE , THEY WERE FEARED & THEY RULED THE PACIFIC. BAD LIST
sry crappy list Samurai,Roman Legion and Mongols should be 1-3
where are the conquistadores?
Shaolin monks should have been on this list- they are awesomee and could kill anyone easily.
What the *****
I have but one thing to say. Look up Alaric the vicigoth, he fout Atila the Hun and lead to the downfall of Rome. I am proud to be his decendent.
No way is accurate, your just a fan boy who listens to what he’s told and researches from bad sources. Yeah, Spartans were badass, but not as good as they’re made out to be, they WERE trained from a young age, but rarely with technique, at least compared to samurai (which should be first), god knows how ninja became closer to number 1 than them, the samurai were trained in jujitsu, and never lost a war in there time, ninja began as rebel farmers, and were later trained for covert jobs, but their skill didn’t compare, now knights, this guys probably just a fanboy, they were better trained to fight 1 on 1 competitively and would rarely fight in battle due to their position. Vikings!! Bull***** 3rd, they weren’t all massive beowoulfs (however it’s spelt), most would have been tall skinny men, untrained but in mass (scandinavian). This is all utter bull*****, My order for top 5 would be:5. Romans 4. Ninjas 3. Mongols 2. Spartans 1. Samurai
Actually the main reason Caledonia was not annexed by Rome was terrain. The Romans had a very difficult time conquering hilly areas because Legions were well suited for open combat. The Romans defeated Celts many many times, the Scots were no different from other Celts. Also, Ninjas are in my eyes pathetic, Ninjas… really they would get tossed in any sort of battle. Interestingly enough Vikings worked directly alongside Roman Legions in the form of the Varangian Guard. Nice list.
i dont think that apache is the greatest knife warrior, why dont you look in asia, the land of knives is there,
i appreciate the effort was put into this list, and i liked it. But i don’t think Knights should the first spot! that’s my say, and i’m a huge fan of samurais, so i think they deserve a better chance
Poo
Yo yo! Take a break man, you listed euroean knights as number 1?? Wtf?! You forgot that those mongol warriors(which you listed as nr9) used to dominate them in almost every aspect of a war skill,
You forgot that mongols used to frighten and demilosh those europeans, not to mention knights.
And you made them nr1 also cause they were kind of a gentlemen??wtf!?
Just think about that, barbarian vs gentleman? Or modern hood guy vs modern gentleman??
Im not saying that mongols r the best, but simply saying that european knights r nr 1 is bulll*****!!
samurais or spartans deserved to be no1
Whilst this is an impressive and well thought out and comprehensive list, it is by no means complete. Some of the warriors mentioned are superior on the battlefield, as were some others not mentioned here ie’ (alexanders army) who revolutionized modern warfare and even police riot control formations of the present day. And others mentioned, ie; (the apache and the ninja) were superiour in gorilla tactics, much like special forces, who were more inclined to poison your water supply and murder you in the midst of your supposed safe house, or fortress in the middle of the night.
ANY ONE READING THIS LOOK UP VISOGOTHS
Mamluks were warriors from Caucasus
Wrong. Go read Sikh History.
What you say about salahu din Ayubi
I don’t know I feel like Afghans should be number one. The British came, the Russians came and the Americans came, they saw, they could not conquer.
Just a correction, the mongols beat the Mamluks, samurai and knights.
The aztecs and Commanche would have been ripped apart armourless by the high powered and accurate archers.
The spartans and romans again, no archers to speak of, would have been torn to pieces from a distance.
The vikings weak on horseback, would have been beaten easy enough.
And the ninja also got beaten by the Mongols.
Summary, Mongols=Number 1.
Actually the Mongolians massacred the knights many times over so in my opinion knights should not be number one
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular post! It is the little changes which will make the most significant changes. Thanks for sharing!
The RAF
Ther wer alot mentioned in the bible …David n goliath also davids mighty men who sum wer hav sed 2 hav killed men of goliaths stature and fought 1 on 10s.Also 2 say sum 1 like a ninja who sneaks up on u is a warrior or dressed like n armoured tank with a weapon 3xs hs size lol ! its about the face 2 face mano a mano !
I should mention my own people the maori who wer not on 1 on 1 combat could psch n army doin a haka (war dance) plus we wernt small aswel as full facial tattoo woujdv bn intimidating but most of all we wernt dum asses.
ment 2 say we wer gud 1 on 1 combatants .
I cannot believe the Kelts didn’t make this list I mean forget the mamluks. What about the Kelts master of the chariot inventors of chain mail. The Kelts were everywhere an sorry but they outlasted the Romans sense the never took Scotland or Ireland for that matter. An let’s not forget the Gauls a member of the Celts sacked Rome in 390 bc. An they gave the Greeks a headache to only real way to get rid of them was to pay up.
Ancient warriors are really the best, imagine if they still exist these days….this can be a world similar in video games. lol
The apache hands down the best overall killer it took the us army over 15 years to tame a relatively small tribe who knows how it would of turned out if they had more warriors. The knight shouldn’t even be on the list pathetic
wrong. the spartans were trained from age six to kill, knight were just pompous nobles that couldnt find the pointy end of the sword.
I think 1 is missing the Zulu worriors let’s not forget that they beat the English troops that had guns and they were using only spears
well if you are going to put down spartans you might aswell put down the orginal
spartans the gods and demi-gods Achilles, Ares, Athena, Hercules etc they would crush everyone.
sorry but it’s Celts and they didn’t wear armour or use chariots
the Egyptians were the masters of Chariots and more than likely Vikings used Chainmail the most
The Celts ran into battle naked with only a weapon and there version of gel in there hair
rajputs and are much braver than knights or spartans it is said that one rajput rana pratap single handedly faced the entire mughal army which was the greatest empire in asia in it’s times without an army but still he did not surrender to akbar and fought with one sword and one horse. he made a vow until he drives mughals out of chitorgarh he won’t sleep in a bed or eat tasty food or wear fancy clothes till his last moment even when he was in his deathbed he fulfilled his vows. when amar sing rathor a rajput enered the court shah jahan fled from the court to save his life not only him but the enitre mughal troops ran for their lives(amazing facts is he did not have an army he was one). rajputs say that if you die in battle you are a saint and they take pride in dying in battlefield(it is said that even before learning to walk rajputs learn to ride a horse)