I would say there were 3 men who single-handedly re-made the world in their wake. Alexander the Great, Chinggis Khan, and Napoleon I. The gravity of their political and military successes are unmatched, and in their wake the entire political order of their part of the world was undone. I suppose Qin Shi Huang and Cyrus the Great are borderline in this category, and I'd add Hitler and Charlemagne as being more ephemeral still. Tacking seminal cultural figures such as Jesus, Muhammad, or even Locke and Plato is something of an apples and oranges situation. I'd stick to comparing like with like, and its easiest to judge the political impact of the lives of men of action.