Elo Ranking for 573 Historical Commanders from 635 Battles, 1338 BC to 1945 AD

An adaptation of the Elo rating system for historical battlefield command, applied to a dataset of 635 battles spanning from 1338 BC to 1945 AD. The system rates 573 commanders, with 58 qualifying based on sample size, and introduces modifications for adversity, battle outcome, and executive quality. The dataset was authored by Ali Raza Jatoi and last updated on 2026-04-28.

Use Cases

• Ranking historical military commanders based on the adapted Elo rating system.
• Analyzing the impact of force disparity on battle outcomes using the Adversity Weight modification.
• Evaluating commander performance beyond simple win/loss using the composite Battle Outcome Score.
• Studying the relationship between how a commander fought (Executive Quality) and battle results.

Strengths

• Covers a long temporal range from 1338 BC to 1945 AD.
• Includes ratings for 573 commanders derived from 635 battles.
• Applies a modified Elo system with three core methodological adaptations.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the underlying battle or commander data is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal and source bias inherent to the historical record and the selection of battles.

Provenance

Source

figshare, author Ali Raza Jatoi

Collection Method

Likely compiled from historical records; the description mentions adapting the Elo system to the domain.

Time Range

1338 BC to 1945 AD

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 06:40:15; freshness should be verified.