8. Doge Enrico Dandolo may have been old and even blind but that didn’t stop him going to war in his 90s
Enrico Dandolo became the Doge, or leader, of the Republic of Venice in the year 1192. He was 85-years-old when his father finally died. Enrico inherited the position and, far from taking it easy, threw himself into the role. Above all, he set his sights on making Venice the leader of the Christian world. He clamped down on foreigners living in the watery city, making them register or simply leave. The octogenarian also worked tirelessly to codify Venice’s complex traditions and laws, plus he is credited with restructuring the Venetian currency.
Most remarkably of all, when he was in his 90s, Danolo launched the Fourth Crusade, aimed at conquering Muslim Egypt. Despite also being blind following an accident when he was in his 60s, the elderly ruler led the mission in person. He even joined his troops on the field of battle, driving his men on through a shower of Byzantine arrows. Dandolo’s men would become the first foreign force to breach the walls of Constantinople. He was buried in the city he conquered when he died there in 1205. A marker for his tomb can still be seen in the famous Hagia Sophia museum in modern-day Istanbul.