Nebuchadnezzar was a king of Babylon. The story of his temporary madness is told in the book of Daniel, 4:33: "He was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' [feathers], and his nails like birds' [claws]." William Blake made a famous engraving depicting Nebuchadnezzar.

Hannibal lost an eye due to conjunctivitis while his army was marching toward Rome.