"The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence, it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected," or so said Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese general of Wu, who is credited as the author of "The Art of War." How a nation fights its wars is as much a product of that nation's culture as the art it produces, the music it plays and the form its politics take.

Even the laws governing war changed with time, adjusting to the expectations of civilizations. Whereas decimation and mass brutality were the rule in the Roman era, by the 20th century, such actions were deemed war crimes. Certainly, some generals were successful because their natural instincts fit within the constraints of their time, be those constrictions legal, technological or religious. Other generals pushed hard against the limits of their times, overcoming enemies without and within because of their rejection of cultural norms.

Culture today changes a lot faster than it once did, in part because technology changes the dynamics of war much more rapidly than it once did. Add to this a cultural landscape where under-represented views can come to the fore much more quickly, and you're faced with a world where the future of war is much less predictable. As a result of this rapid change, one's stomach for a certain kind of war changes with age. Take a journey through the great wars with us, build your ideal team of military leaders, and we will guess how old you are.