Every so often, throughout history, a character comes along who refuses to be ignored. In the tumultuous and chaotic period of the French Revolution, many such men have been deemed large enough characters to warrant articles, books, and even whole history courses. None, however, were as large as the man to become Emperor of the French Empire, Napoleon Bonaparte. In this lesson, we explored Napoleon's rise to greatness. Regardless of the surrounding circumstances of his election, by 1804 Napoleon had risen to the imperial throne at just 35 years old. Napoleon's military genius made him famous, and his keen sense of political timing helped pave his way to greatness. His ascent from military officer, to commander, to emperor seems improbable, and without the equally improbable circumstances of the French Revolution, such a stratospheric rise would likely not have been possible. Now, with a secure and ambitious emperor on the French throne, France was set to score some of the greatest victories in its history. Napoleon Bonaparte, general, the Emperor of France and nearly conqueror of all of Europe, lived a truly larger than life existence. Born on a small island, he was educated in the military and rose to greatness during the chaos of the French Revolution. His military victories won him fame in France and his astute political maneuvers helped him become first consul of France in 1799. His popularity was such that most Frenchman applauded him becoming Emperor in 1804. Almost a decade of military victories and French conquests followed, until Napoleon made the fateful decision to invade Russia in 1812. Napoleon's failure to equip his troops for the harsh Russian winter caused him to lose thousands of men and turned the tide against the French Empire. By 1814, France was defeated and Napoleon was exiled. A brief return to power less than a year later only led to his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, and his exile to an even more remote location, where he died in 1821. Jaydn scored 100% on the quiz following this lesson. Good job, Jadyn!