What do you mean “objectively studying history”, what is objective about History? What you’re studying is a narrative, that has been put together by experts, based of what remains from that past. There is nothing “objective” about History, it is an educated guess. Even written records are narratives told from the perspective and culture of the ancient writer.

This is to say that, the reason we don’t judge historical figures through a modern lens is that to do so is to ignore history. It doesn’t matter what your think about Alexander the Great, it matters what his contemporaries (both friends and enemies) had to say about him (objectively biased narratices). For another example think about what the Greeks wrote about the Persians during their many wars, and vice versa. They are conflicrive accounts. Both biased and political. So again, what history is correct, objective?

Do we glorify them, or do we just learn about them because they had a huge impact on the world?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone holding Genghis Khan up as a role model.

I don’t think we glorify them, but we consider them significant figures in history. Remembering and talking/studying history and significant figures allows us to learn more about ourselves as well as learn how things can be done better than they once were. But I don’t really see these people glorified. Nobody calls them heroes or people to emulate.

We also glorify horrible people from the present, so why not?

Once they pass out of living memory, they can be whoever you want them to be. Or you could study them I guess, but that sounds like boring nerd stuff to most people.

Genghis Khan is actually an anti-example, since he’s vilified. It’s not at all clear other kings would have done any different given an unstoppable army, but yet he catches more shit than all his enemies combined.

who does that exactly?

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You should be more worried about why we glorify horrible contemporary people, or from the more recent past. Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, Ellen DeGeneres, the list is endless. There are a lot of people that even glorify Hitler himself.

And wrt Alexander the Great, having killed a lot of people does not make a person horrible. My grandfather killed a lot of people, probably hundreds. He never wanted to talk much about it. He was a great guy and a hero. Alexander the great killed a lot of people, but in doing that he eliminated the enemies of his people. He is recorded in history for spreading civilization, arts, education. He founded many cities that flourished, some of them even stand today. He freed a lot of cities that were ruled by his people’s enemies. His conquests are one of the major reasons modern western civilization exists. He did all that as a military leader and he killed a lot of people.

I mean, the hitler comparison falls off with those specific examples, but I get that you’re saying.

First, they were successful for the most part.

Second, it is the far past. The distance in time means that most people will only ever know about the biggest brush strokes of their biography and actions. The records of the eras aren’t exactly rife with full detail for every bit of their lives. And what is there, most people encounter at the superficial level of a high school world history class.

That kind of class isn’t geared towards detail, nuance, or moral judgement. It’s about the overview.

Since all of the ones you listed are also pretty damn interesting, and made major impacts to human society (for good or ill, that’s not the point of the answer to the question as asked). This in turn means that they’re memorable compared to some random king or emperor that was just doing their job and running their nation without trouble.

In other words, they aren’t boring. And, tbh, they weren’t fascists. They never had that level of complexity to their goals. Fascist != dictator by default. That part means that until and unless you start looking at the horrible things they did, there’s no convenient modern label to apply to them in a general history class to point to them not being good people.

Remember, most entry level history classes might have a week to cover the entirety of the Roman Empire; devoting time to Caesar’s nastiness just isn’t relevant to the goal of that kind of class. The only reason he’s worth going into any detail about at all is that he changed Rome to such a degree that it’s a pivot point, and cant be entirely skipped like the majority of historical roman leaders.

From there to “glorification” is a matter of fiction. We don’t have the kind of detail that allows for interesting documentaries, so what we get outside of advanced history classes (which people won’t likely take unless they’re intending to be historians) is infotainment and outright fiction using the names of people. Once you start making books and shows and movies, entertainment and profit are the goals, not historical accuracy or even adhering to actual facts at all. Most of what people think of about Caesar is from Shakespeare.

So you then have people with disjointed and filtered ideas about historical figures, mashed together from a few facts and a lot of fiction.

Honestly, even with more recent figures, you run into the same thing. How many people do you think could give a detailed and accurate biography of either president Roosevelt? Or JFK? Or Regan? Man, there’s people that couldn’t tell you anything about the current world leaders beyond their name.

Who’s “we”? I don’t glorify these people.

Actions we condemn today were often considered acceptable, even heroic, in their era. Many figures are celebrated for their accomplishments in fields like military leadership, politics, philosophy, or art.

Also national pride, these people become symbols of a nation’s identity and history, youre always taught they’re heroes. They also leave a lasting impact on culture, shaping the art of their era and therefore beyond. Look no further than Napoleon for this one. Or the Mughals.

Power and influence can be awe-inspiring, even if their methods are questionable. These are traits that have throughout history been associated with being morally good in a way. Fame, power, money makes you ‘good’ in many cultures over history. Kings are looked up to, they are seen as people with noble blood. Their actions are inherently correct. I genuinely believe our morality as a society has grown more stringent over time.

Sometimes, people are presented in a simplified, heroic manner without acknowledging their flaws. That’s just the nature of storytelling imo. They aren’t being critically analysed because they are stories. And we make art based on the stories and art that survive. We base stories of Alexander the Great on the art he allowed in his time.

This is brief, I have a lot of opinions on this matter lol.

Conversely why do we act horrified that someone in the past didn’t act according to standards that only exist today and pressures that don’t.

Who is “we”? Many of us go to lengths to point out how important historical figures had dark aspects to their lives. This actually makes history far more interesting and relevant.

We all exist because of those people’s exploits.

That’s basically where the concept of glory begins.

(side note: freefall is an awesome webcomic, you should read it!)