---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ultimate source of power, here as in…"
description: "\"“The ultimate source of power, here as in the whole course of Arab history, is the personality of the commander. Through him, whether he be an Abbasid ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/janet-wallach-42879_history_the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in_1850409.jpg"
---

#  The ultimate source of power, here as in the whole course…

![“The ultimate source of power, here as in the whole course of Arab history, is the personality of the commander. Through him, whether he be an Abbasid Khalif or an Amir of Nejd, the political entity holds, and with his disappearance it breaks.” The echo of her words would ring throughout the region…” quote by Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/janet-wallach-42879_history_the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in_1850409.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/janet-wallach-42879_history_the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in_1850409.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/janet-wallach-42879_history_the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in_1850409.jpg)

> ““The ultimate source of power, here as in the whole course of Arab history, is the personality of the commander. Through him, whether he be an Abbasid Khalif or an Amir of Nejd, the political entity holds, and with his disappearance it breaks.” The echo of her words would ring throughout the region for the rest of the century, in men like Gamal Abdel Nasser, Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein.””

[Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A commander’s personal charisma and authority are the core source of political power in Arab history.

**In simple terms:** Leader’s personality drives political strength.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate strong leadership qualities.

Themes

politics leadership history

Mood

analytical historical

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- political campaigns
- military strategy
- organizational leadership

Key Concepts

charisma authority state formation

Questions to Reflect On

- What traits make a commander effective?
- Can institutions replace personal authority?

A Different Perspective

Charisma alone may not sustain long‑term stability.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/)

## Related quotes

> [“When the young General Gamal Abdel Nasser led a coup against King Farouk in July 1952, he turned to the Germans who had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-feinstein/when-the-young-general-gamal-abdel-nasser-led-a-coup-against-king/)

[Andrew Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-feinstein/)

> [My parents' generation grew up high on the Arab nationalism that Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser brandished in the 1950s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/my-parents-generation-grew-up-high-on-the-arab-nationalism-that/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [“vital historical fact: that Gamal Abdel Nasser signifies the only truly Egyptian developmental project in the country's history since the fall of the pharaonic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarek-osman/vital-historical-fact-that-gamal-abdel-nasser-signifies-the-only/)

[Tarek Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarek-osman/)

> [“Not one of our political spokespeople—the same is true of the Arabs since Abdel Nasser’s time—ever speaks with self-respect and dignity of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-w-said/not-one-of-our-political-spokespeople-the-same-is-true-of-the-arabs/)

[Edward W. Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-w-said/)

> [If we look at Abdel Nasser in Egypt as an Arab leader, he was secular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maajid-nawaz/if-we-look-at-abdel-nasser-in-egypt-as-an-arab-leader-he-was-secular/)

[Maajid Nawaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maajid-nawaz/)

> [Rulers like Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser started subsidizing bread as a way to buy loyalty, or at least obedience, and this system became so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/rulers-like-egypt-s-gamal-abdel-nasser-started-subsidizing-bread-as-a/)

[Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/)

> [Many people are quick to say that we are not recognized by Muslims in the East . And I start with the Honorable Elijah…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/many-people-are-quick-to-say-that-we-are-not-recognized-by-muslims-in/)

[Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/)

> [Bill Clinton is not my commander-in-chief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-north/bill-clinton-is-not-my-commander-in-chief/)

[Oliver North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-north/)

> [“Oh,” Lewis said, “well if you won’t let us then— Wait…wait a minute….I’m looking at my shoulder patch and it turns out I’m the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-weir/oh-lewis-said-well-if-you-won-t-let-us-then-wait-wait-a-minute-i-m/)

[Andy Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-weir/)

> [My first job as commander in chief is to keep the American people safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/my-first-job-as-commander-in-chief-is-to-keep-the-american-people-safe/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/he-who-has-never-learned-to-obey-cannot-be-a-good-commander/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The commander of the forces of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-commander-of-the-forces-of-a-large-state-may-be-carried-off-but/)

[Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/)

> [Through my time in the military and my deployments, I have recognized the importance of having a Commander in Chief who will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/through-my-time-in-the-military-and-my-deployments-i-have-recognized/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [No commander in chief would ever say, 'I'm not going to listen to the guys on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/no-commander-in-chief-would-ever-say-i-m-not-going-to-listen-to-the/)

[Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/)

> [“the only real owner of anything is its commander;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-only-real-owner-of-anything-is-its-commander/)

[Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/)

## More by Janet Wallach

> [“Great persons, like great empires, leave their mark on history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/great-persons-like-great-empires-leave-their-mark-on-history/)

[Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

> [“American President, Woodrow Wilson, whose idealistic thoughts were purely on his new concepts of the League of Nations and the mandate system. “The peoples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/american-president-woodrow-wilson-whose-idealistic-thoughts-were/)

[Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

> [“No one had asked her to marry him, nor was there someone she wished to wed. Not that she did not enjoy the company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/no-one-had-asked-her-to-marry-him-nor-was-there-someone-she-wished-to/)

[Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

> [“Then, as now, archaelogists and writers ventured where others feared to tread.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/then-as-now-archaelogists-and-writers-ventured-where-others-feared-to/)

[Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

> [“Faisal and Lawrence had come from London, where, on January 3, 1919, Faisal signed an agreement with the Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/faisal-and-lawrence-had-come-from-london-where-on-january-3-1919/)

[Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

> [“When the Balfour Declaration was released to the public at the end of the year, Gertrude attacked it viciously. Sir Arthur Balfour, the British…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/when-the-balfour-declaration-was-released-to-the-public-at-the-end-of/)

[Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

> [“But her role had changed; she was now available for marriage and her primary task was to find a mate. As Florence and Hugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/but-her-role-had-changed-she-was-now-available-for-marriage-and-her/)

[Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

> [“From the point of view of most of the Arabs, another foreign conqueror, heretic and Western, had come into their land, evicted their Muslim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/from-the-point-of-view-of-most-of-the-arabs-another-foreign-conqueror/)

[Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

> [“After a while, when he finished telling his stories, they broke bread to bind their friendship and shared salt as a promise of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/after-a-while-when-he-finished-telling-his-stories-they-broke-bread/)

[Janet Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

[Explore all 10 Janet Wallach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/)

## More Commander quotes

> [“the only real owner of anything is its commander;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-only-real-owner-of-anything-is-its-commander/)

[Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/)

> [No commander in chief would ever say, 'I'm not going to listen to the guys on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/no-commander-in-chief-would-ever-say-i-m-not-going-to-listen-to-the/)

[Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/)

> [Through my time in the military and my deployments, I have recognized the importance of having a Commander in Chief who will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/through-my-time-in-the-military-and-my-deployments-i-have-recognized/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [The commander of the forces of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-commander-of-the-forces-of-a-large-state-may-be-carried-off-but/)

[Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/)

> [He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/he-who-has-never-learned-to-obey-cannot-be-a-good-commander/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [My first job as commander in chief is to keep the American people safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/my-first-job-as-commander-in-chief-is-to-keep-the-american-people-safe/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [“Oh,” Lewis said, “well if you won’t let us then— Wait…wait a minute….I’m looking at my shoulder patch and it turns out I’m the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-weir/oh-lewis-said-well-if-you-won-t-let-us-then-wait-wait-a-minute-i-m/)

[Andy Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-weir/)

> [Bill Clinton is not my commander-in-chief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-north/bill-clinton-is-not-my-commander-in-chief/)

[Oliver North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-north/)

> [America needs a Commander in Chief, not a Global Community Organizer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-cheney/america-needs-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-global-community-organizer/)

[Liz Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-cheney/)

> [The president of the United States is the commander in chief, and the people who work with him at the National Security Council are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/the-president-of-the-united-states-is-the-commander-in-chief-and-the/)

[Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/)

> [“Is it some law of human nature that you inevitably become whatever your first commander was?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/is-it-some-law-of-human-nature-that-you-inevitably-become-whatever/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/the-commander-in-the-field-is-always-right-and-the-rear-echelon-is/)

[Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/)

> [“Ex ‘Fleet man?” “He was a full Commander, last I heard, sir.” “Interesting.” Falconer commented. “Get me his specs. If I have to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/ex-fleet-man-he-was-a-full-commander-last-i-heard-sir-interesting/)

[Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/)

> [“The great commander can certainly move fast and strike like lightning, but his art of war consists first and foremost in moderation, measured geometric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/the-great-commander-can-certainly-move-fast-and-strike-like-lightning/)

[Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/)

> [ One of the things I would immediately do \[as Commander in Chief \], in addition to defeating them here at home, is bring back… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/one-of-the-things-i-would-immediately-do-as-commander-in-chief-in/)

[Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/)

Browse all 177 Commander quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“The ultimate source of power, here as in the whole course of Arab history, is the personality of the commander. Through him, whether he be an Abbasid Khalif or an Amir of Nejd, the political entity holds, and with his disappearance it breaks.” The echo of her words would ring throughout the region for the rest of the century, in men like Gamal Abdel Nasser, Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Janet Wallach"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in-the-whole-course-of-arab/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Commander"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in-the-whole-course-of-arab/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/janet-wallach-42879_history_the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in_1850409.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/janet-wallach-42879_history_the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in_1850409.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/janet-wallach-42879_history_the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in_1850409.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The ultimate source of power, here as in the whole course of Arab history, is the personality of the…” — Janet Wallach",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Janet Wallach",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-wallach/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“The ultimate source of power, here...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in-the-whole-course-of-arab/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-wallach/the-ultimate-source-of-power-here-as-in-the-whole-course-of-arab/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
