Napoléon Bonaparte was a French military leader and eventual political leader in France who succeeded in seizing power at the end of the French Revolution of the late 1790s and early Napoleon was the leader of France from 1804 to 1815 and is best remembered as a leader in a cycle of European battles. He institutionalized the changes brought about by the French Revolution and sought to spread them throughout Europe. The factors that allowed Napoleon to seize power and crown himself emperor have long been debated. The factors taken into account are Napoleon's personality, his military exploits, the failures of the Directory, the support of the people and the army and even luck. Napoleon's personality has always been an intriguing aspect of his life and career. Napoleon has been said to exhibit a variety of personality traits, some even contradictory, but it is clear that certain traits were very effective in raising Napoleon to the heights he reached. Above all, Napoleon's dangerous ambition is something that ultimately helped him gain power and become the unanimous emperor. His ambition was reflected in his youth where Napoleon became a second lieutenant in the royal artillery at the age of sixteen. Along with this ambition, he was also a stern and ruthless man, as his ascension to the rank of emperor shows. Dwyer reflects this in his swords: “Later, in 1799, during the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire, Bonaparte used his techniques of ruthless fusion of skill and force to take control of the French central government. » In this coup, Napoleon ruthlessly overthrew the Directory and became First Consul. Napoleon's upbringing strongly shaped his personality and it was said that he...... middle of paper ...... but also that he made his own luck to some extent and so his personality seems to be the essential factor. As Lyons perfectly puts it, “For most commentators, traditional historians and novelists, the personality of Bonaparte dominates a twenty-year period of European and even world history” Works Cited LYONS, M. (1994) Napoléon Bonaparte et l The Legacy of the French Revolution, London: The Macmillan PressBERGERON, L. (1981) France under Napoleon, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.ELLIS, G. (1991) The Napoleonic Empire, London: Macmillan PressJONES, B, R . (1977) Napoleon man and myth, London: Hodder and StoughtonSTILES, A. (1993) Napoleon, France and Europe, London: Hodder and StoughtonELLIS, G. (1997) Napoleon, London: LongmanDWYER, G, P. (2001) Napoleon and Europe, London: LongmanCHANDLER, D (1973) Napoleon, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.