Ariel Sharon Hero or butcher Five things to know

.cnn_html_media_utility before color red content '>>' font size 9px line height 12px padding right 1px .cnnstrylccimg640 margin 0 27px 14px 0 .captionText filter alpha(opacity 100) opacity 1 .cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a .cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a visited .cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a link .captionText a .captionText a visited .captiontext a link color 004276 outline medium none .cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto margin 0 auto padding right 68px width 270px > Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a decorated warrior who also took steps for peace died Saturday January 11 after eight years in a coma. Sharon was 85. The former general suffered a stroke in January 2006 and has been hospitalized since. Here he meets with Israeli journalists in Tel Aviv a month before the stroke. Sharon born on a farm outside of Tel Aviv began working with the Haganah a militant group advocating for Israel's independence after graduating from high school in 1945. He's shown as a young commander in the Alexandroni Brigade of the fledgling Israeli army in 1948. Ariel Sharon addresses troops of Unit 101 before their attack on Khan Yunis in what was formerly known as the Gaza Strip on August 30 1955. Sharon had established the elite commando group two years before. The officer turned politician had a career marked with victories and controversies. By February 1966 when this photo was taken Sharon was an Israeli military hero. Sharon rose through the ranks of the Israel Defense Forces and was a major general during 1967's Six Day War which ended with Israel notably if controversially expanding its territory. In June 1967 Sharon led his tank battalion to a crushing victory over the Egyptians in the Sinai during the Six Day War. Here he witnesses an aerial attack. Former Prime Minister David Ben Gurion is briefed in 1971 by Sharon in a trench near the Suez Canal in the Sinai. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan (left) visits with a bandaged Sharon during the Yom Kippur War in October 1973 on the western bank of the Suez Canal in Egypt. Sharon said his greatest military success came during that war. He surrounded Egypt's Third Army and defying orders led 200 tanks and 5 000 men over the Suez Canal a turning point. Sharon transitioned into government including stints as military adviser agriculture minister and defense minister. Here he and Prime Minister Menachem Begin attend a Knesset meeting in June 1977. Sharon with his son Gilad and wife Lily during a stop in Egypt in 1979. An official Israeli inquiry found Sharon indirectly responsible for the September 1982 killings of as many as 2 000 Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps outside of Beirut Lebanon. The report which led to Sharon's prompt resignation determined the then defense minister did nothing to stop Christian militiamen allied with Israel from entering the camps. Here demonstrators are seen near Prime Minister Menachem Begin's home in Jerusalem calling for the resignations of Begin and Sharon. Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon in combat helmet and flak jacket leads his troops toward a meeting with Christian forces in East Beirut in June 1982. Israel had invaded southern Lebanon in retaliation for an assassination attempt linked to the group Abu Nidal. Sharon no longer in the Israeli military stands at the future site of a settlement in Gaza in February 1990. Serving as foreign minister Ariel Sharon talks with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during the October 1998 Middle East peace summit in Maryland. Sharon made a political comeback in the 1990s eventually becoming leader of the Likud party in 2000. In February 2001 the prime minister elect touches the ancient stones of the Western Wall as he prays at Judaism's holiest site in Jerusalem. He took office the following month. The prime minister at a March 2002 media briefing in Jerusalem announces a widespread army operation against what he called Palestinian terrorism. He spoke out against Yasser Arafat then a key Palestinian leader. Sharon said that Israel considered Arafat an enemy and that he would be completely isolated at this stage.'' In June 2003 Sharon right met with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas left and U.S. President George W. Bush to discuss a Middle East road map for peace. After the meeting Sharon expressed his strong support for a two state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Sharon sits alone as he waits for other Knesset members to arrive for a vote on March 28 2005. Sharon pushed for Israel's historic 2005 withdrawal from 25 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza which was turned over to Palestinian rule for the first time in 38 years. Immediately after he fell ill in early 2006 Sharon's prime minister power was transferred to Vice Premier Ehud Olmert. Sharon is shown only weeks before his devastating stroke. The politician pays a visit to his Negev Desert farm in early 2006. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert looks toward the empty chair of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a note is passed to him during a special meeting of the cabinet in April 2006. Israel's Cabinet declared Sharon permanently incapacitated a decision marking the official end of his five year tenure. Sharon suffered his stroke in January 2006 and was in a coma. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

(CNN) Ariel Sharon the former Israeli prime minister who died Saturday at age 85 made a name for himself as a military and political leader who put Israel's security above all else.

It was a position that earned the controversial figure the nickname the bulldozer as a fearless leader who got things done.

To many Israelis he was a hero. To some in the Arab world he was a killer.

Here are five things to know about Sharon

1. Some saw him as a war hero

Sharon who rose through the ranks of the Israeli Defense Forces first gained hero status among Israelis during the 1967 Six Day War that saw Israel attack Egypt Jordan and Syria to counter what they saw as an impending attack by the Arab nations.

Under Sharon's command Israeli troops routed Egyptian forces during a nighttime battle to capture Um Cataf a crucial crossroads in the Sinai. That victory is considered a major factor in Egypt's loss of the Sinai to Israel.

During the 1973 Yom Kippur War Sharon earned the nickname The Lion of God among Israelis for surrounding Egypt's Third Army and defying orders leading 200 tanks and 5 000 men across the Suez Canal roughly 100 miles from Cairo.

Israelis mourned the death of Ariel Sharon

2. Others accused him of war crimes

During the Lebanon war in 1982 Sharon a former army general then serving as Israeli defense minister was held indirectly responsible by an Israeli inquiry in the 1983 massacre of Palestinians by a Lebanese Christian military at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

The inquiry which led to Sharon's prompt resignation found he did nothing to stop Christian militiamen allied with Israel from entering the camps despite fears they might seek to avenge the killing of their leader the previous day.

Many in the Arab world dubbed Sharon the Butcher of Beirut and Palestinians attempted to bring war crimes charges against him in European courts.

3. He made a provocative visit to an important mosque

Sharon long insisted that a controversial visit to the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem one of Islam's most holy sites in 2000 was not a provocation.

But it is considered among many to be one of the flashpoints that sparked the Second Intifada a Palestinian uprising that followed a failed round of peace talks with Israelis. During the visit Sharon walked through the mosque's compound. Within hours protests over his visit turned violent.

The mosque and its compound sits on Temple Mount a holy site for Jews that is known to Muslims as Haram al Sharif The Noble Sanctuary.

At the time according to published reports Sharon said his visit was intended as a message of peace. But critics have said Sharon already considered a possible contender for Israeli prime minister knew the visit to Al Aqsa would spark violence.

Ariel Sharon A life on front lines of war and politics

4. He removed settlers from parts of the West Bank and Gaza late in his career

Sharon who early in his political career promoted the establishment of settlements on occupied land appeared to do an about face in 2005 when he ordered the Israeli withdrawal from 25 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

Under Sharon's order the military dragged settlers from their homes. The move was part of Sharon's plan to pull Israeli troops from Gaza ending nearly four decades of control.

While considered an essential move for peace talks Sharon's right wing Likud Party was outraged. It lead Sharon to break with his party and form a new one Kadima Hebrew for Forward.

5. He suffered strokes spent years in a coma

Sharon was serving as a prime minister when suffered a small stroke in December 2005. That was followed by a massive stroke in January 2006 that left him on a respirator and in a comatose state.

Immediately after he fell ill his power was transferred to Vice Premier Ehud Olmert. In April 2006 Israel's cabinet formally ended his term as prime minister after declaring him permanently incapacitated.

The former prime minister's health fluctuated during the time he was in a coma. In January 2013 doctors said testing on Sharon indicated some brain activity when he was shown photos of his home and heard his son's voice.

CNN's Alan Duke and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

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