Great Reformers: Psychological Analysis of their Personality Justinian, Julius Caesar and Shi Huangdi

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the personality characteristics of some emperors who made consistent contributions that changed history: Justinian, Julius Caesar, and Shi Huangdi. These historical figures share one specific feature: although members of traditional, conservative societies, they proposed and achieved political projects that caused profound changes of socio-political frameworks. We seek to identify psychological elements that enabled them to think and to act in an atypical manner for their respective cultural contexts. The theoretical background reflects the cross-disciplinary perspective: history and personality psychology. We analyzed historical resources, exploring the main decisions in social and personal contexts, purposes in diplomatic and military policies, attitudes towards collaborators and enemies. The commonalities in their psychology converged towards self-confidence, self-determination, and openness to experience, conscientiousness, intolerance, perfectionism, and autocratic style. The most important individual traits are: social intelligence and vainglory in the case of Julius Caesar; endurance, conscientiousness, hardwork, cruelty and fear of complots (paranoid script) – Justinian the Great; duplicity and obsessive fear of death – Shi Huangdi.