Shooting people has never really appealed to me because I prefer to be right up close and personal, but I have to say, guns do turn me on...
there is a difference between knowing what the world is, and realizing what it could be if we as humanity were to look at things from a different perspective. i like to think i'm shining light on that new perspective. 
showing people it exists, and that inside that perspective.. we as humans can live more harmoniously with eachother.
Flaws are sort of a noteworthy trait. Ignoring flaws can lead to downfall in itself. If his ambitions were truely successful, it would have survived after his death, but instead the territories he gained simply split again after his passing.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - Remembering only their successes strikes me as just as dangerous.
You speak as if you knew his ambitions were to keep everything alive after his death. It seems to have fell apart quickly, so chances are that they weren't something he dedicated a lot of his life to making sure happened.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Just becasue someone said this, doesn't mean you can apply it to every situation.
He didn't really in the grand scheme of things make much of an impact if none of his achievements outlived him.
His wishes spanned far enough to trying to change the world, and in the end status quo resumed at his passing. If this is your model for changing the world, then you must only be thinking in the short term. 