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← Fame through time1000-1 BC

The 1st millennium BC

Whose working lives fell in the 1st millennium BC. Books are measured from 1800 and readers from 2015, so for this period we can say who lived then, not who was talked about then.

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1st millennium BC, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Julius Caesar100 BC-44 BC · Italy · Politicians22 decades
  2. 2Augustus63 BC-14 · Italy · Politicians22 decades
  3. 3Cicero106 BC-43 BC · Italy · Politicians22 decades
  4. 4Hannibal247 BC-183 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  5. 5Tiberius42 BC-37 · Italy · Politiciansnot measured-
  6. 6Mark Antony83 BC-30 BC · Italy · Politicians22 decades
  7. 7Pompey106 BC-48 BC · Italy · Politiciansnot measured-
  8. 8Xerxes I519 BC-465 BC · Politicians2 decades
  9. 9Chanakya375 BC-283 BC · Politicians13 decades
  10. 10Pericles494 BC-429 BC · Politicians22 decades
  11. 11Scipio Africanus235 BC-183 BC · Politicians22 decades
  12. 12Cato the Elder234 BC-149 BC · Italy · Politicians19 decades
  13. 13Sulla138 BC-78 BC · Politicians22 decades
  14. 14Marcus Licinius Crassus115 BC-53 BC · Politicians0 decades
  15. 15Demosthenes384 BC-322 BC · Politicians22 decades
  16. 16Alcibiades450 BC-404 BC · Politicians22 decades
  17. 17Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa63 BC-12 BC · Italy · Politicians0 decades
  18. 18Themistocles524 BC-459 BC · Politicians22 decades
  19. 19Gaius Marius157 BC-86 BC · Italy · Politicians4 decades
  20. 20Croesusborn 596 BC · Politicians22 decades
  21. 21Cato the Younger95 BC-46 BC · Politicians4 decades
  22. 22Hamilcar Barca275 BC-228 BC · Politicians10 decades
  23. 23Livia59 BC-29 · Italy · Politiciansnot measured-
  24. 24Numa Pompilius753 BC-671 BC · Italy · Politicians22 decades
  25. 25Li Si280 BC-208 BC · China · Politicians7 decades
  26. 26Porus400 BC-316 BC · Politicians22 decades
  27. 27Olympias375 BC-316 BC · Politicians22 decades
  28. 28Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosusdied 203 BC · Politicians0 decades
  29. 29Tiberius Gracchus162 BC-133 BC · Italy · Politicians22 decades
  30. 30Nero Claudius Drusus38 BC-9 BC · Italy · Politicians1 decades
  31. 31Gaius Cassius Longinus82 BC-42 BC · Politicians0 decades
  32. 32Cleisthenes565 BC-500 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  33. 33Scipio Aemilianus185 BC-129 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  34. 34Philip III of Macedon359 BC-317 BC · Politicians0 decades
  35. 35Epaminondas418 BC-362 BC · Politicians22 decades
  36. 36Catiline108 BC-62 BC · Politicians22 decades
  37. 37Publius Quinctilius Varusdied 9 · Italy · Politicians0 decades
  38. 38Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus519 BC-430 BC · Politicians0 decades
  39. 39Servius Tullius600 BC-535 BC · Italy · Politicians22 decades
  40. 40Lysander401 BC-395 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  41. 41Tullus Hostilius710 BC-642 BC · Politicians15 decades
  42. 42Gaius Maecenasdied 8 BC · Italy · Politicians0 decades
  43. 43Jeroboam1000 BC-910 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  44. 44Lucius Tarquinius Priscus700 BC-578 BC · Italy · Politicians0 decades
  45. 45Lucius Junius Brutus540 BC-509 BC · Politicians16 decades
  46. 46Xiang Yu232 BC-202 BC · China · Politicians3 decades
  47. 47Shang Yang390 BC-338 BC · China · Politicians7 decades
  48. 48Nectanebo II400 BC-343 BC · Politicians0 decades
  49. 49Dionysius I of Syracuse430 BC-367 BC · Italy · Politicians0 decades
  50. 50Demetrius I of Macedon336 BC-283 BC · Politicians0 decades
  51. 51Artemisia I of Caria500 BC-500 BC · Turkey · Politiciansnot measured-
  52. 52Bessus400 BC-329 BC · Politicians22 decades
  53. 53Ancus Marcius675 BC-616 BC · Politicians11 decades
  54. 54Shoshenq I1000 BC-924 BC · Politicians0 decades
  55. 55Psamtik Idied 610 BC · Politicians0 decades
  56. 56Gaius Gracchus154 BC-122 BC · Politicians15 decades
  57. 57Perdiccas365 BC-321 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  58. 58Lucullus117 BC-57 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  59. 59Miltiades554 BC-489 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  60. 60Taharqa720 BC-664 BC · Politicians9 decades
  61. 61Agesilaus II444 BC-360 BC · Politicians0 decades
  62. 62Critias460 BC-403 BC · Politicians22 decades
  63. 63Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus85 BC-43 BC · Politicians0 decades
  64. 64Piye800 BC-716 BC · Sudan · Politicians3 decades
  65. 65Amasis II610 BC-526 BC · Politicians0 decades
  66. 66Aristides540 BC-467 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  67. 67Śuddhodanaborn 600 BC · Nepal · Politicians0 decades
  68. 68Parmenion400 BC-329 BC · Politicians16 decades
  69. 69Marcus Furius Camillus446 BC-365 BC · Politicians1 decades
  70. 70Cleon500 BC-422 BC · Politicians22 decades
  71. 71Sextus Pompey68 BC-35 BC · Politicians15 decades
  72. 72Lucius Cornelius Cinna135 BC-84 BC · Politicians0 decades
  73. 73Cimon510 BC-450 BC · Politicians22 decades
  74. 74Quintus Sertoriusborn 123 BC · Italy · Politicians0 decades
  75. 75Hasdrubal the Fair270 BC-221 BC · Politicians0 decades
  76. 76Appius Claudius Caecusdied 300 BC · Politicians2 decades
  77. 77Alexander Jannaeus127 BC-76 BC · Politicians22 decades
  78. 78Titus Labienus98 BC-45 BC · Italy · Politicians0 decades
  79. 79Agathocles of Syracuse361 BC-289 BC · Politicians0 decades
  80. 80Cleopatra of Macedon350 BC-308 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  81. 81Ptolemy Philadelphusborn 36 BC · Turkey · Politicians22 decades
  82. 82Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus228 BC-160 BC · Politicians0 decades
  83. 83Lü Buwei291 BC-235 BC · Politicians6 decades
  84. 84Psamtik III600 BC-525 BC · Politicians0 decades
  85. 85Marcus Aemilius Lepidus90 BC-13 BC · Politicians0 decades
  86. 86Apries650 BC-567 BC · Politicians21 decades
  87. 87Antiphon480 BC-411 BC · Politicians22 decades
  88. 88Publius Clodius Pulcher90 BC-52 BC · Politicians0 decades
  89. 89Marcus Atilius Regulus299 BC-246 BC · Politicians0 decades
  90. 90Aeschines390 BC-322 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  91. 91Polycrates574 BC-522 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  92. 92Hiero II of Syracuse308 BC-215 BC · Politicians0 decades
  93. 93Publius Sulpicius Quirinius45 BC-21 · Politicians0 decades
  94. 94Stateira II346 BC-323 BC · Politiciansnot measured-
  95. 95Antipater the Idumaean113 BC-43 BC · Politicians0 decades
  96. 96Demetrius of Phalerum350 BC-283 BC · Politicians6 decades
  97. 97Tanutamani800 BC-653 BC · Politicians0 decades
  98. 98Peisistratos550 BC-527 BC · Politicians14 decades
  99. 99Gaius Julius Caesar130 BC-85 BC · Politicians3 decades
  100. 100Marcus Claudius Marcellus42 BC-23 BC · Politicians3 decades

How to read these rankings

  • Attention, not reputation. A place on these lists reflects the attention a person still draws in the public record. It is not a judgement on the life.
  • Fame in print. The curves show how often a name appeared in the books of each decade from 1800 to 2019, drawn from the Google Books Ngram corpus.
  • Gaps are left as gaps. Where the record is too thin to be fair, we would rather show nothing than guess.